Love of Steel [The Callens 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (9 page)

She’d called Parker to see when he’d be free to look at the balcony. The current play was going on that night, but perhaps he would be working with the actors for the next play during the day. He said between four and five he’d fit her in.

Fit me in, indeed.

She totally got that he was busy. Hell, who wasn’t, but he’d hesitated too long before suggesting a time. He’d asked for the iron pieces and that was what he’d get. She loaded the pieces in her truck and headed to the theater. In case she misunderstood his delayed comment, she changed into something sexy and put on makeup.

When she pulled up, there were few cars in the lot. Maybe the rehearsal for the upcoming play hadn’t started yet, or else they were on a break. The balconies were heavy so she needed some help carrying them up the stairs.

Inside, the theater was fairly dark and eerily quiet. She walked down the main aisle and headed backstage. Voices sounded. One was definitely Parker, and the other sounded a lot like Logan. Her step quickened.

She pulled back the curtain and both of her men were there. As soon as they saw her they stopped their conversation and grinned as if they’d been talking about her. They strode over. Part of her wanted to throw herself at them and kiss both of them silly, but the other half was a bit peeved because they hadn’t contacted her in days.

She directed her gaze at Logan. “Did you find your charger?” Even to her ears she sounded pissy, but she couldn’t help it. It was how she felt.

As expected, he looked rather perplexed. “For my phone? It was never lost.”

“Oh, so your phone is working?”

His head lifted as if he finally got what she was saying. “It’s a two-way street, you know. You have my number.”

“True.” Getting into a debate wasn’t on her to-do list. “I have the balconies in my truck and need to find two strong men to help me carry them in.”

“Let’s get them!” Parker said.

All three went out to her truck and carried in the set. The men spread them out on the floor.

Parker studied them. “These are wonderful, but is there any way you can add a few more scrolls on this second one?”

He had to be kidding. “I’m swamped right now. I’m sorry.”

Logan moved next to her, wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, and squeezed. “You know, darlin’, if you married a wealthy man, you wouldn’t have to bother taking on projects that don’t interest you just to make money.”

His lame comment came out of nowhere. “I don’t need to get married to do what I like. I need another assistant.” She pulled out her cell phone to check the time. “I know you both have a tight schedule, and I have to work on another piece. We’ll be in touch.”

She balled up the bottom of her top, spun on her heels, and walked out as evenly as possible.

Why don’t you marry a wealthy man?
Her mom had fallen for a wealthy man and look what she had to show for it—nine kids and years and years of constant cooking and cleaning. No thank you. Her mom had no
me
time.

The farther Jade got from the theater, the more pissed she became. Both Parker and Logan seemed to have the same attitude about her job. She took pride in running her business. Maybe she wasn’t the best at managing her time because she kept agreeing to help people, but she did make a living at what she loved. Did they really think she needed a man to support her? They sure as hell didn’t know her very well. Hard work brought satisfaction. Of all the people she knew, those two should understand about sweat equity.

Stupid men
.

She parked in the back of her place and entered through her workroom. She wanted to let Dakota know she was back and entered the store. A customer was leaving.

“Hey.”

Dakota spun around, a frown marring her pretty face. “What are you doing back so soon?”

“I just had to drop off the ironwork.”

“Wasn’t Parker there?”

Her hidden question came out loud and clear. Why wasn’t there a long, intimate conversation or perhaps a quickie? “Logan was there.”

Her eyes brightened. “All the more reason to hang around. Did they talk about joining forces?”

“Not directly.” She told her about Logan’s demeaning comment.

“Holy shit.”

Thank goodness she understood. “Exactly.”

“No. I mean, he’s thinking about marriage.”

“Not to him.”

She tugged on her spiked hair. “How did you come to that conclusion? I think he was testing the water to see whether you were interested in a long-term relationship.”

Jade shook her head. “I have no objection to marriage, but I do to being someone’s
little woman.
I take pride in my accomplishments, even if my dad thinks all I do is tinker.”

Dakota slapped her hands on her thighs. “You have no clue what you want.”

I want Logan and Parker on my terms
. “Maybe not.” She didn’t have to time to talk about this. The wound was still too sore. “Listen, sweetie. I really have to get back to work. I’ll check back with you at the end of the day.”

“Sure. Go bury your head in the sand. What you need to do is spend some thinking about those men and how they light your fire, both in your head and in your body. A relationship takes compromise. If you ever hope to be with anyone, you’ll need to cut back on your workload in order to get some good loving.”

“Will do.”
Just not today.

Jade headed upstairs to change. She wanted to give a few hours to working not only on the Fitzpatrick chandelier but also on her aunt’s shovel. She couldn’t believe Parker suggested she add some more scrollwork to the balcony. She’d given him the drawing of what she planned to do, and he seemed fine with the design. What was up with needing more?

Damn
. She’d never be able to figure out men.

* * * *

Jade hadn’t slept much last night. She’d been trying to answer the question Dakota had posed about her desire for a relationship. She wanted to be with her two men but on her terms. Every girl dreamed of having a couple of children, but Jade wasn’t willing to toss aside her hard work to stay at home all day long—at least not for a few more years.

Or was she making up excuses? Was fear motivating her obsession with being independent?

Hell, if I know.

In the middle of some delicate torch work, her phone vibrated on her hip. It was Parker. All night she kept telling herself that only Logan had made the comment about giving up her job to marry a rich man. Maybe Parker still appreciated her desire to work.

She turned off the torch. “Hi, Parker.”

“Hey, sugar. Just calling to let you know that rehearsal is at seven tonight.”

“Rehearsal?”

“You said you’d be in the play, or at least you didn’t say you wouldn’t do it. I need you.”

Damn
. He did sound desperate. When he pleaded, it was hard to say no. The problem was that Logan would be there. Parker probably wanted her in Logan’s presence to lower her resistance toward both of them. She’d fallen for Logan’s debonair attention once. In her mind, the sex had been out of the world, but to him, it had probably been rather ordinary.

“I’ll be there.” Someday she’d learn to say no.

Once he disconnected, she turned on the torch and returned to what she loved to do. She’d finished about a fourth of the shovel when her stomach grumbled. Time to eat and shower, even though the thought of food upset her.

Dinner consisted of an apple, a hard-boiled egg, and a piece of chicken. She didn’t go all out in the makeup department, but she wore an extra-frilly blouse and a pair of her sexiest heels. Since Logan was the leading man, she wanted to be sure he had eyes for her and not just the leading lady, whoever she was.

The parking lot was filled with half a dozen cars. Maybe she should have asked Parker for a copy of the script so she could understand her role. She guessed it was too late now.

She entered through the back door as the current production was going on in a different part of the theater. Laughter floated up from this second stage. A large table sat in the middle with the group of actors huddled over their scripts. Parker sat at the head of the table, and Logan was next to a beautiful redhead Jade had never seen before. In the past, Parker had convinced some equity actor to do his show to help draw an audience. Maybe this lovely lady had her card.

Jade inhaled, pretending the flutters in her stomach came from the fact she’d never acted and not from the jealousy coursing through her. Standing as straight as she could, she floated toward them, pretending this was going to be the most fun night she’d ever had. There was a free seat next to Parker, but she doubted he’d saved it for her.

Waiting until after Parker stopped the scene, she stepped into the light. His eyes lit up.

“You came.”

You asked me to.
“I’m here.”

Parker pulled out the seat next to him. “Everyone, this is Jade Callen. She’s a virgin, so be kind.”

He must have done that on purpose, knowing she’d instantly picture how he’d pressed her back against the wall and fucked her silly. Heat crept up her face, but she graciously smiled and took her seat.

“Your timing is perfect. Let me give you the set up. Logan is playing Justin Boudreaux, a gentleman from New Orleans who’s quite the playboy. He’s engaged to Cecile Rambert here.” Parker nodded to the beautiful redhead. “Her real name is Marlene Deneuve.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Marlene’s smile appeared genuine, but given she didn’t look much older than Jade was, she was probably swooning that she got to play opposite the handsome Logan Smithfield.

“We just read the scene where Cecile is pressuring Justin about setting the date for the wedding. In reality, he’s only with Marlene because he needs her father’s vote on the city council to put a certain establishment in the city limits.”

She could draw her own conclusion about what kind of establishment that might be. It probably was like the Siren Lounge, where couples went to engage in sex in front of an audience.

“What’s my role?”

“You want Logan and are trying to convince him to leave Cecile.”

This wouldn’t take much acting on her part. “You told me I didn’t have many lines.”

“You don’t, but you have a body, hands, and lips. Use them.”

“That’s it?”

He sucked in his cheeks as if he was working hard to keep from laughing. She wouldn’t look at Logan. He’d be grinning.

“I can help give you some acting guidelines afterwards.” He winked.

This time she had to smile at his blatant overture. Maybe he was really interested in her. “Works for me.”

Logan pushed back his seat. “Let’s put the table up and do some blocking.”

She must have missed a lot of rehearsals or else she had no idea how this play stuff worked. Since there was little evidence of a set, she wondered if Parker expected her to start building the flats as well as act in the show. If she helped him anymore, her business would fizzle.

They started at the beginning. The actors would read the lines. Since she wasn’t on until the beginning of act two, she sat off to the side and watched. Logan mesmerized her, but then so did Marlene. The woman was magnetic. Why his character would even consider not marrying her, Jade didn’t know. Logan’s character seemed close to his real personality. Given that Parker told her he’d written the play with Logan in mind, she wasn’t surprised.

As the play unfolded, she could understand why Justin Boudreaux would need Cecile’s father’s help, but there was also a sexual draw between them.

Parker stepped on stage. “Cecile, as soon as Justin answers the door, you strut in, throw your arms around him, and give him the best kiss you can.”

Jade heard the direction and understood what needed to happen, but when Marlene did as Parker instructed, her stomach churned. Parker never said that Logan was supposed to grab her ass and run his hands up and down her back. She might have accepted the act during the actual performance but not during the first week of rehearsal.

The first act took forever to get through. She couldn’t concentrate on the show because when Logan wasn’t on stage he was in the wings doing who knew what with Marlene.

“Let’s take a break, folks. Ten minutes. Then we’ll do act two.”

Jade stood, not really sure what she was supposed to do. Doing nothing wasn’t her style. Maybe at the next rehearsal she could work on the set in back while the actors rehearsed. If she had just a walk-on part, she didn’t see the need to be here the whole time.

Parker jogged over to her. “So what did you think?”

“It was wonderful.”

Parker drew her into his arms and hugged her. “Don’t worry. You’ll be great, too.”

A man who could read her mind was a dangerous one. “I’m not worried.”

“Here’s the scoop. You’ll be playing a woman named Ellen. You and Justin had a baby together four years ago, but he quickly abandoned you after you told him you didn’t want to get married.”

She tried to put herself in this woman’s place. “Justin should have insisted.” She liked men to be noble.