Page 218 of The Holy Grail
“I could use another drink, but other than that, I’m doing great,” Malcom replied.
Evan took in the signs of intoxication—the slightly glazed eyes, the semi-exaggerated speech, and being a tad unsteady on his feet—and asked, “How many have you had?”
“Drinks? Three and a half. The last one I set down somewhere and lost track of it, so that one probably shouldn’t even be counted.”
Jules hugged Malcom from behind, resting her cheek against one of his shoulders. “How long do we have to stay?” she asked him.
“Probably a little longer,” he muttered. “Did Paige and David leave?”
“Yes.”
“I wanted to thank them for coming.”
“I thanked them for you, so no worries. Same with Evangeline and your mom.”
“Thank you. And after some more people leave, we can get out of here.”
“Hopefully the bar runs dry soon then, because I think most people are hanging around for the premium booze,” Evan said.
Malcom pressed his forehead to Evan’s. “Do you ever miss your father?”
Evan’s answer was quick. “No.”
“Then I won’t, either. I mean, I won’t missmine, because obviously I wouldn’t miss yours.”
“I knew what you meant.” Evan reached up with his free hand to smooth some of Malcom’s hair, then rested it on his cheek, before leaning in to press a kiss to his lips.
Malcom made a soft noise in the back of his throat and returned the kiss, his free arm going around Evan’s back. So caught up in the warmth of Evan at his front and Jules at his back, Malcom was slow to register the door to the library opening, until his brother’s voice broke through the little cocoon.
“What … is this?” Martin wanted to know, from the doorway. “What’s going on?”
Gently disengaging himself from Evan and Jules, Malcom slowly turned to look at Martin, whose expression was a combination of shock, disbelief, and distaste.
“The three of us are in a relationship,” Malcom said, surprising himself by answering with such candor.
“The three of you are in a relationship,” Martin repeated, stepping forward.
“Yes. It’s a three-way, committed relationship.”
Martin pointed at Jules, then Evan. “You’re with both of them?”
“Yes.” Malcom pointed at himself, Jules, then Evan. “One, two, three … that’s the ‘three’ part in the three-way relationship.”
Martin stepped closer. “How long has this been going on?”
“Well … Jules and I have been together for almost seven months, and Evan joined us about three months ago, give or take. So, this—” he broke off to indicate the three of them, “—has been going on for … three months.”
“Did Dad know about this?”
“Yes and no.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means he knew about Jules—”
“He did?”
“Yes. Then he found out about Evan, but he didn’t know the three of us were together.”
