Alien in the Family

without any doubt at all, that they’d make awesome in-laws, great grandparents, and they already got along fabulously with my parents.
    “I’d guess they knew their son was in love with you, too, and were happy about it, or at least hoping you’d come around.”
    “I don’t know. Probably. Everyone but me seemed to know.” My heart felt tight. “I did so many things because of him, things I didn’t even realize would be important when I was older. I never say the wrong thing to him, I never have to be something I’m not, no one’s going to give me a test to see if I’m good enough to marry Chuckie. And I’m going to hurt him so much by marrying Jeff.”
    “Or hurt Jeff by marrying Reynolds. Yeah, that’s the way it works. But,” he leaned me away from him a bit so I could see his face, “I think you made the decision already. Before you knew you had the option. You’ve always had an option other than Jeff. More than one.”
    “Christopher.”
    “That’s one. Or just leaving the whole business behind.”
    “I guess.”
    “Of course, I think if you did, he’d come after you.”
    “Yeah, Jeff does have a little bit of stalker boyfriend in him.”
    “You like that.”
    “I guess so.”
    “No, you do. I know you’re not as confident as everyone else thinks you are. Hell, I’m not, either. We both know how to pretend effectively. So does Jeff. You think you’d have said yes to Reynolds if he’d proposed before you met Jeff, but my money says you would have said no.”
    “How so?” My money didn’t say no, but maybe Reader was right.
    Reader shrugged. “He’s too laid back for you. That’s a great trait in a close friend, and for some a great trait in a mate. But you’re attracted to Jeff because he’s intense. That happy, jokey, ‘it’s all good’ attitude is a sham, and you know it. Reynolds never loses it—I’m sure he can, but I interacted with him when Reid was after you. He was as upset as the rest of us, more so, really, but he never lost his cool, never panicked. On the other hand, if Jeff had kept his cool you’d be dead.”
    “I suppose.” It was something to think about, though I knew Chuckie better than anyone, and there was absolutely an intense side to him. I was just one of the few people who ever got to see it. Because Chuckie only let the people he really loved and trusted see that side, which was why Reader didn’t think it was there.
    Chuckie was indeed laid back, but he’d learned how to be, how to keep his cool when bullies wanted him to lose it so they could pound on him. The drive that made him constantly successful came from the intense part of him. I knew the intensity was there—I’d seen it up close, personal, and naked, after all.
    Guilt, of course, chose to share that my being with Martini in front of him was probably trampling Chuckie’s heart. Guilt also reminded me that, despite Reader’s thoughts to the contrary, if I’d been even remotely clued in, I’d have married Chuckie and never have met Martini. Stress suggested it was only a matter of time before Martini figured this out, too.
    Because Guilt was an Equal Opportunity Emotion and didn’t like to pick sides, it shared that the moment Martini realized I might have even a shred of regret related to marrying him, his heart was going to be trampled, too. Stress also mentioned that there was no way Martini wasn’t going to pick up that I’d been thinking about having had sex with Chuckie, and that he’d be less than thrilled that my thoughts about sex with Chuckie were and remained extremely positive.
    “James, I’m honestly not feeling any better about this.”
    Reader hugged me yet again. “Someone always loses in a love triangle. That’s the way it works out. You just have to be honest with yourself—who do you love more? Who do you want to spend the rest of your life with? Whose children do you want to have?”
    “What if I say Chuckie?”
    Reader was quiet for a moment. “If that’s your real answer, I think my plan would be to get you and Reynolds as far away from Jeff as possible.”
    “I don’t think Jeff would try to hurt either one of us.” Because he’d be too hurt to do anything other than walk away. “Christopher might, of course.”
    “You trying to tell me I need to charter a jet? Or just grab the fastest car we can get our hands on?”
    I looked down. No Unity Necklace. I’d gotten used to looking at it any time I’d felt romantically insecure in the