Free Finished by Claire Kent Page A

getting emotional, even if it’s supposed to be avoiding all that. We’re talking about people, and people are always complicated. Two people is hard enough, but you have to deal with three people’s feelings, possessiveness, and self-interests.”
    Julia didn’t respond immediately, as she thought about the comment and acknowledged it as true.
    “And with your two guys, I wonder if it would be even harder.”
    Stiffening, Julia asked, “What do you mean?”
    “It wasn’t an insult. Please don’t get mad. You know how horribly jealous I am of you for having two sexy, fantastic guys when I don’t even have one. I just mean that they’re both alpha males, and that’s bound to cause some conflict.”
    Julia frowned. “Mike’s not really alpha.”
    “He certainly is. He’s not as obvious about it as Drayton, and he took a backseat role to begin with—but you can’t tell me he’s willing to submit in anything that’s important to him.”
    “Well, no. I just meant he’s…he’s…sweet,” she concluded lamely.
    Helen smiled, almost mischievously. “He is that. But he’s also strong. And possessive.” Before Julia could object to this, she added, “I’m always halfway expecting him to break out into his aristeia or something.”
    Julia narrowed her eyes. “ Aristeia ? You know I hate when you do that.”
    “Sorry,” Helen said with a little laugh. “That’s something from Greek epics. Where a hero breaks out in the middle of battle for his moment of glory. He dominates completely, like he’s possessed by something bigger than him. I always have this sense that Mike’s going to break out like that eventually.”
    Julia just shook her head, vaguely disturbed by the thought.
    Then Helen said in a more serious tone, “Think about it. If he wants something, he’s not going to give it up easily.”
    “That’s true. But it’s never been a problem in our relationship. He’s always wanted what we have.”
    Helen looked like she wanted to say something more, but then she shook her head and shifted the subject. “And Drayton…”
    “What about Drayton?”
    “You know I like Drayton, so please don’t bite my head off. But I’ve always thought he was a little self-seeking. I don’t mean he doesn’t care about you or want you to be happy, but he also really wants to make himself happy. And, to him, that means being completely free. If it came down to a choice…”
    Despite her resolve to be mature and reasonable, Julia couldn’t help but bristle at this apparent insult to Drayton. But she bit back her immediate reply and made herself take the comment seriously. “I can see why you think that—really, I can. It’s just his manner. It’s one of the things that makes him so…so irresistible. But it’s not who he really is. You’ll just have to trust me on that.”
    “Okay.” Helen backed down immediately, her brown eyes wide and sincere. “I believe you. You know him better than I do. I guess my only point is that this kind of relationship has to be complicated—even in the best of circumstances. And you guys haven’t made an emotional commitment, so it’s going to take a lot of trust and honesty to make the thing work. You just have to decide whether it’s worth all of the effort.”
    “It is,” Julia said without hesitation. “And I think it can even get better. I want it to.”
    Helen grinned and finished off her margarita. “So tell me more about this pampering session they gave you. I spent the weekend with freshman essays, so I need details, please.”
    ***
    A couple of days later, Julia had lunch with Drayton. It was his idea, and she was happy to oblige, since it seemed like he was really making an effort to mend any potential rifts between them.
    When she asked if she should ask Mike to join them, Drayton said he was busy, so she and Drayton had lunch on the terrace of a restaurant near her work.
    It was a pleasant, sunny day, and Julia had a good time—since Drayton was