Marrying Mari (14 page)

The front door opened and out came an older version of Irene. Or rather, the original version. Allison Stone was not as tall or willowy as her daughter, but had the same gleaming pale blonde hair and big brown eyes. Ethan’s eyes were inherited from his dad, Mari noticed. Allison wore a twinset the duplicate of her daughter’s except in a creamy white with a knee-length skirt in beige. She looked perfect. Mari was suddenly conscious of her own baggy pants and less-than-new T-shirt and jacket.

Allison went straight to her son and hugged him. “Hey, you.” The affection between mother and son was obvious.

Then Allison turned to Gabriel and hugged him as well. “Sweetheart. It’s been too long.”

The connection between the five was clear, and Mari was pleased to see how warmly Gabriel was greeted, as if he was indeed another son come home.

And then Allison turned to look at her, and her stomach twisted in nervous knots.

Ethan took her hand. “Mother, this is Mariella Amorini.”

She held out her hand. “I’m so pleased to meet you, Mrs. Stone.”

“Oh.” Allison took her hand and smiled at her. “Let’s not be too formal. I’m Allison, and this is Nate, Irene. Tony is somewhere here. Come on into the house.” The older woman slid an arm through Gabe’s and then Ethan’s. As she walked up the steps with the two of them, Allison said over her shoulder, “I am looking forward to getting to know you. I’ve heard about you from both boys.” Gabe laughed, and she rolled her eyes. “To me they’ll always be my boys.”

Nathaniel gallantly offered his arm, and Mari let him lead her up and into the house.

Chapter Ten

The interior of the house was cool. The group moved straight down the hallway toward the back of the house, and Mari only got impressions of big, elegant rooms filled with portraits and furniture and vases filled with flowers. Allison chattered to the two men, while Irene inserted comments. Nathaniel let her catch glimpses of the rooms on either side of the long hall. The hallway opened directly onto a huge back porch that led, with shallow steps to a patio where an enormous barbecue grill was ready for cooking. “Now, you men go down there and cook. I want to get to know Mariella.” Allison kissed Ethan’s cheek, then flapped her hand again. “Shoo.”

“Yes, Mother, just as you say. But before we are banished, Gabe and I have an announcement.”

“Good thing I’m here then, yeah?” A new male voice interrupted, and Mari looked behind Gabriel’s bulk to see a slimmer, younger version of Ethan step out onto the porch. One with brown eyes instead of blue, but the same dark, glossy hair, this time hanging to the collar of his rumpled polo shirt.

“Tony.” Allison looked him up and down. “Go upstairs and change. Right now,” she scolded.

“But, Mother, Ethan’s got something important to say,” Tony said. “Don’t want to keep everyone waiting just for me.” Tony’s voice held an undertone of antagonism.

Gabe’s lips tightened, but after a glance at Ethan he simply stepped over to Mari and took her hand in his.

Ethan looked away from his brother at his parents and sister. “Gabriel and I have asked Mari to consider becoming our third.” Irene erupted into applause. Tony went into the house without speaking and Mari saw Nate sigh, looking after him.

Allison stood silent, shock on her face, for a moment. Then she said, “Well, goodness. My goodness. I’m—speechless.” She turned to her husband. “Nate?”

Nathaniel wrapped an arm around Allison’s shoulders and squeezed her gently. “Ethan, have you and Gabriel explained to Mariella the, well, the special conditions your marriage must meet?”

“Of course,” Ethan said. “We’ve explained everything. You should know that Mari’s mother grew up in the Colony.”

“Her mother? What about her father?” Allison’s voice was sharp.

“Mom!” Irene frowned.

Ethan casually laid a hand on Irene’s shoulder. “Her father is not from the Colony, but—” he held up a hand to forestall Allison’s comment, “—
but
Gabriel and I are confident we have an argument the Board will listen to and that they’ll approve our mating. In any case, right now we’re simply in the trial phase while Mari decides whether she can tolerate both Gabriel and me as mates. We’ll be making a formal proposal to the Trustees this coming week.” His voice softened. “Mom, I wanted you to meet Mari because I know you’ll be our best support when the time comes.”

“Of course,” Irene hugged him, then stepped forward to hug Mari again. “Of course we will, right, Mom?”

Mari saw Allison hesitate and look up at her husband. Ethan’s parents exchanged a look, and then Nate said, “Mari, of course you’re welcome in our home. I’d like to hear more about this plan my son has cooked up, but today we should just all get to know one another.”

Allison shrugged lightly and smiled brightly.
Too
brightly, Mari wondered, given the nature of Ethan’s news? But Allison was speaking to her husband again. “See, it was a good thing I decided to invite everyone to the barbecue.”

Ethan groaned. “Define ‘everyone’?”

Nathaniel laughed. “Don’t blame me.”

“What? Your whole family should meet Mariella. Especially now. Don’t you want them to meet her?” She turned to Mari. “Of course, the boys said barely anything other than that they had met a girl. But we knew they were looking for a third, because of the contract. What?” she said again, as all three men groaned, this time more loudly. “Well, you did tell her about the contract and its clause that you mate by the end of this year, didn’t you?”

“Mother,” Ethan said sharply. He glanced at Mari.

“Oh, don’t act like you’re the CEO of me, my darling. You’re not.” Allison tossed her head. “Now. Mariella. Would you like white wine, sparkling water or a beer?”

“I’d better say sparkling water and keep my head.”

“Sweet.” Allison said. “Come sit here by me, and Irene will get our drinks and the men will grill steaks and things.” She drew Mari down onto a wicker loveseat. Everyone fell into place at Allison’s commands. Ethan bent down to speak in his mother’s ear.

“No scaring her, Mother.”

“Go away, son. Your father needs your help.”

Ethan kissed Mari’s cheek. “Don’t let her boss you around.”

Gabe pushed him aside and pressed a kiss on her lips. “My two favorite women in conversation. Why does that scare me?”

She smiled, aware of Allison’s eyes on them. “Go on.”

Both men moved down to the patio. They pulled beers out of an icy tub, handing one to Nathaniel, who was preparing the grill. Irene went in search of drinks, and Allison turned to Mari.

“Now. Tell me about your family. What are they like?”

“It’s just my mother and me. She’s originally from the Colony, like Ethan said. Her maiden name was Anna Worth.”

“Anna Worth.” Allison tilted her head again, thinking. “No, I don’t remember her. Why did she leave?”

“I don’t know. Until this week I didn’t know the Colony existed.”

“Oh? Well, she probably had her reasons for keeping the truth from you. Was she hiding from her family? Oh, of course, she didn’t tell you. How did she explain her past?”

“She told me her parents were dead. That she’d grown up in Queens.” Mari colored, wishing there was more when Allison pursed her lips and folded her hands together.

“So she lied to you.” Mari felt herself stiffen in reaction as Allison went on, “What about your father and his family?”

“My father is out of our lives. My mother divorced him. I haven’t seen him in a very long time, and his parents are also dead.”

“Did your mother tell you that too?” Allison put her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Mariella. I didn’t mean to suggest she’d lied twice. Couldn’t your parents reconcile?”

“No.” When Allison continued to look at her with eyebrows raised, Mari went on, “He had another woman. He wanted to marry her and raise their child somewhere else.”

“Oh.” Allison looked shocked again and faintly disapproving. “I see.”

Mari rushed on. “Ethan and Gabriel told me there’s no divorce in the Colony, that’s why they want me to be certain before we go through the ceremony, but my father wasn’t from here, you see. I believe in fidelity, and I wouldn’t consider mating with Gabriel and Ethan unless,
until
I am certain about the three of us.”

Allison patted her hand. “Of course.” But she looked worried, despite the reassurance.

The older woman studied her until Mariella shifted in her seat. She felt color rising in her face and pulled her hair from behind her ear to cover her bruised cheek. “I’m sorry I’m not dressed more appropriately.”

“No. You’re very pretty. Adorable. But the boys have always been drawn to pretty women. How old are you? I’m sorry, that was rude, wasn’t it? But you look so young. Truly, Ethan didn’t tell me anything except that he and Gabriel were bringing a girl today.”

“I’m twenty-three.”

“Twenty-three! You know the boys are thirty-two. Well, nearly. Gabriel has two months to go and Ethan five. That’s almost a decade between you.” Allison tilted her head to the side. “Doesn’t it bother you?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Allison. I insist you call me Allison.” She patted Mari’s hand.

“All right. Allison. Um, the age difference doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

The older woman nodded. “I can see this is all so new to you. I hope they’re not rushing you, my dear. But they do have that deadline. You know about their agreement with the Trust, of course. That they must find a mate and form a triad within a limited period. It’s certainly a good thing they found you when they did. Have they explained about the Colony?”

Mari nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Allison. What do you mean about limited period?”

“Oh, dear.” Allison glanced toward the men. “Well, when Ethan proposed his idea to the Board of Trustees, the one about the restaurant and the club, his whole point was that he and Gabriel were not going to live in the Colony until they mated. The Board agreed to give them so much time to establish their interests in New York and find a third, and that time runs out at the end of this year. Of course, they’ll move back here with their mate to raise their children. The Colony is truly one large family, and I know both Ethan and Gabriel are eager to take up their responsibilities to the group. And after all, they can only mate with a Colony-born woman.” The older woman glanced at Mari quickly. “I mean someone with Colony blood.”

“What would happen if they mated with someone from outside the Colony?” Mari asked, feeling a chill inside.

“They wouldn’t. It would be so disappointing not only for their families but to the confidence and respect the Board has shown them. They simply wouldn’t. But if they did, the result would be the equivalent of being expelled from the Colony. They’d lose everything. We take our membership laws very seriously. That distinction, who belongs and who doesn’t, is crucial to our identity. To the very essence of preserving the Colony’s status quo for nearly four hundred years. So have you told your mother yet about Ethan and Gabriel and their proposal?”

Mari looked away, at Ethan and Gabriel. They were laughing with Nathaniel. “Not yet.”

“You wonder how she might take your decision to marry into the Colony, since she ran away from it? I hope she’ll understand.” Allison patted her hand. “Here’s Irene.”

Ethan’s sister set down a tray on the nearby matching wicker table and curled up in a big armchair. “I’m dying to know how you met my brother and his big shadow?” Irene handed her a tall glass of bubbly water with lime and ice.

Both women looked at Mari inquiringly, and she took a deep breath. “Ethan called our service. I’m a bike messenger.”

“So you showed up in Ethan’s office and it was love at first sight?” Irene smiled. “I didn’t think my brother was that romantic.”

Mari smiled back, more at ease with the younger woman. “It was something like that. Both Ethan and Gabriel were there and no, it wasn’t that quick. They were a little overbearing. Overwhelming,” she corrected herself, “that’s a better word for it.”

“Fate stepped in,” Irene laughed.

Mari glanced at the men again and said, “Not exactly. They, um, had arranged the meeting. You should ask them about it.” She blushed and sipped her drink, avoiding the other women’s eyes.

Allison studied her. “That sounds fairly devious. When you met what did they tell you? Did they tell you about the Colony?”

“No, that happened later at dinner. At Insatiable. They sort of laid it all out there. I can’t believe that was just this week, just last Tuesday.”

Irene nodded at her, smiling. “That’s my big brother. Once he gets an idea in his head, he goes for it.”

Allison said, “So you just met this week?”

Mari nodded, feeling even more awkward. “It was quite a week. We met, and they explained all about the Colony and idea of mating on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday I had my accident. Since then I’ve been stuck in bed,” she explained, then blushed, “I mean, recovering from my fall. I got scraped up, bruised. Nothing serious.” She touched her cheek again.

Irene patted her hand, chuckled. “And have they been big, overprotective males since then?”

“Well…” she snuck another glance at the men, only to find Ethan staring back. She smiled at him.