this?”
She looked guilty but unrepentant. “I didn’t know what you’d be faced with. I thought you might need him,” she said quietly in his ear, leaning in under the guise of brushing something off of his shirt.
Elliott straightened and threw an arm around Simon’s shoulders. “Simon. Thanks for taking care of my girl.”
“Your girl? We thought...” His mother trailed off, frowning in confusion.
Elliott offered a charming smile. “Sure. Tawny and I are engaged. Didn’t Simon tell you?”
“No. That particular detail wasn’t mentioned.” His father’s eyebrows beetled together into a unibrow.
“But Simon and Tawny...” His mother verged on tears.
“Elliott’s such a kidder.” Tawny swatted at Elliott, angled so that only Elliott and Simon saw the serious glint in her eyes. “Quit teasing Dr. Marbury.” She looked back at his mother. “We need to let you get some rest. In fact, come on, guys, we’ll go get a coffee.” She stopped just short of snapping her fingers at them.
His mother beamed her approval. “Ah, a woman after my own heart, one who knows how to take charge.” She nodded at Simon. “You’ve done well, son. I like her.”
“I like her, as well,” his father said.
Well, bully, they were three for three, because so did he. This would be a fine mess to sort out later. “I’m a lucky guy.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Tawny said, casting an adoring look his way.
“But...” Elliott looked from one to the other, clearly confused.
Tawny cut him off. “An iced coffee would be heaven, wouldn’t it? Let’s go find the café.” She grabbed Elliott by the arm.
“Ouch. You pinched me,” he said.
“Oops. Sorry about that.” She turned to Simon’s mother. “Try to get some rest.”
“I will. Thank you for coming with Simon.” His mother looked at him. “You will stop back in before you leave, won’t you?”
“Yes. Get some sleep.”
Tawny led Elliott from the room. Simon followed. Tawny in charge was a formidable sight.
They’d barely made it to the hall when Elliott said, “What was that—”
“Put a lid on it, Elliott,” Tawny snapped at him. “I desperately need a cup of coffee to make me close to human. We’ll talk then.”
She swept forward like a regal queen. Elliott deserved everything and anything she threw his way, and Simon was damned glad he wasn’t Elliott.
Richard straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall across from the nurses’ station and approached Elliott. The look that passed between them was the unmistakable look shared by lovers.
“I see you did bring the rainbow coalition,” Tawny said.
Richard glared at Tawny and linked his arm through Elliott’s.
Simon found it fairly disconcerting to see his best friend arm in arm with his gay lover. But in the scheme of things, no more disconcerting than finding himself in Tawny’s bed or discovering that his parents thought he might be gay. Altogether it had been a very curious night. And it wasn’t over yet.
They took the next available elevator. At half past three in the morning they were the only passengers.
The doors closed and Elliott drew a deep breath, sniffing the air like a scent hound. He visibly paled, looking askance at first Tawny and then Simon.
“The two of you slept together.” It wasn’t a question.
“What are you talking about?” Tawny challenged.
“The two of you...you reek of sex.” Elliott rounded on Simon. “I can’t believe you screwed my fiancée.”
Simon had known they’d have this conversation one day, he just hadn’t anticipated it being quite so soon. He looked pointedly at Richard. “You don’t have a lot of room for outrage.”
Tawny moved to stand directly in front of Elliott, her body screaming confrontation.
“Let’s get a couple of things straight. I’m not your fiancée. Who I screw, when I screw and how I screw is no longer any of your business. I could do the entire NY Giants team for halftime entertainment and it wouldn’t be any of your business. Once you dipped your wick there—” she stabbed a finger in Richard’s general direction “—you were never coming here again. Literally or figuratively.”
“Honey, his wick’s no longer interested in anything you’ve got,” Richard sniped.
“Which is a good thing,” she lobbed back.
Simon bit back a laugh. Well said. She’d bloody well laid it all on the line. She really was a magnificent woman.
The doors opened to the first floor and Simon herded everyone off the elevator.
“I think we could all use a cup of tea...or coffee,” he said, steering everyone to the right, following the signs to the café.
Tawny grumbled at Elliott. “You were supposed to show up to