Luis sent his twin brother a quick glare. “We’ve both done things to each other we regret.”
“I’m sorry,” Gage said. “Luis is right. We’ve both been very competitive all our lives.”
“At least I know Luis wasn’t turning me down for sex all weekend because he’s tired of me,” Jase said. He’d never felt so rejected in his life as he had the previous weekend. Each time he tried to make love to Luis, unaware that it was really Gage, he’d received rejection. Now that he knew it was really Gage and not Luis, he felt a sense of relief. “I was really starting to worry there was something wrong.”
Gage shrugged. “I couldn’t have sex with you, Jase.”He glanced at Luis. “And I couldn’t betray Luis that way either. By the time you arrived at Cider Mill Farm, I wasn’t sure how to get out of the situation without getting into trouble.”
“I agree,” Jase said. “I’m glad you didn’t carry the entire charade out. That would have been wrong.” If Gage had slept with him, pretending to be Luis all along, Jase never would have been able to forgive him. At least the guy had some morals.
Luis smiled. He’d been taking all this in without saying a word. “I’m still just as attracted to you now as I was the first day I met you, and I love you even more, Jase. You never have to worry about that.” Then he leaned across the table and kissed Jase on the mouth.
Gage stood up and said, “I guess I should be going now. I promised Daksha I’d stop by the hospital after dinner. I hate the thought of leaving him alone there. And I’m sure you guys have things to talk about.”
Jase hesitated for a moment, then stood up and walked to the other side of the kitchen table. He put his arms around Gage and said, “It would have been nice to meet you under different circumstances, and I’m still not quite certain how I feel about you locking Luis up for an entire weekend like that, but you and Luis seem to be working this all out and that’s important for both of you. And you’re family. I’d like you to stay for dinner and I’d like to get to know you better.” He smiled at Luis. “And I think Luis needs you in his life.” Jase had always been concerned about the way Luis seemed to block out his past; he’d never thought it was a healthy way to live.
Luis stood up and hugged Jase. “You’re wonderful.”
Gage stepped back and said, “Are you sure you want me to stay? I feel a little out of place now. It might be better if I just leave.”
Jase lifted his chin and said, “Where I come from, family is the most important thing in the world. You’re the only family Luis has now. I want to get to know you better. I want our son, Hunter to get to know you, too. Unless you have somewhere else to be, I insist you stay for dinner.”
Luis and Gage exchanged glances. When Luis nodded and gave his approval, Gage said, “I’d like that. Hunter’s a great kid, and I’d like to get to know you both better, now that you know who I really am.”
Jase smiled at Luis. “I can’t wait to see the look on Hunter’s face when he sees you have an identical twin brother.” Hunter was due home at any minute. A friend’s mother was dropping him off and Jase had taught Hunter how to find the hidden key outside so he could get in on his own.
“I’d rather not go into details about what happened this past weekend,” Luis said. “I don’t think Hunter needs to know everything, especially the part about how Gage locked me up. He doesn’t have to know Gage pretended to be me all weekend.”
Jase nodded. “I agree. It would be too confusing. But I still can’t wait to see his face when he meets his Uncle Gage.”
“I’ll pretend it’s the first time I’ve ever met him,” Gage said.
“Good,” Jase said. “Now that that’s all settled, we should figure out what we’re doing for dinner.” He hugged Luis again and kissed him on the cheek. Though he’d been tricked by Gage, he couldn’t blame Luis for any of this. And Gage seemed sincere enough. He could have really stabbed Luis in the back by sleeping with Jase all weekend. If that had happened, Jase probably wouldn’t have asked him to stay. Jase didn’t have any siblings of his own, so he wasn’t familiar with the complicated relationships between brothers, let alone identical twin brothers. But he’d heard stories about them, and he didn’t want to judge Gage until he got to know him better.
“Gage does have a few more explanations to make, though,” Luis said. He took on a sheepish, naughty expression, as if he’d rather avoid the subject on one hand, but couldn’t wait to talk on the other.
“I guess I do,” Gage said, staring down at his feet.
“To whom?” Jase asked. “The only people who met him this past weekend were our friends in Cider Mill Farm, and they don’t have to know any details. We may as well keep it all quiet.”
Luis gestured toward Gage. “I’d rather you explain this one.”
“I’m afraid I wasn’t completely discreet this past weekend,” Gage said. “I sort of fooled around with Cory the handyman, then I had a little fling with Ted, your neighbor at the end of the easement road.”
Jase blinked. “You did them both last weekend?” Jase had been there; he had no idea.
“He only blew Cory,” Luis said. “But he did a lot more with Ted. Gage always was a little bit of a slut when we were younger. That’s what led to our original falling out ten years ago over a guy named Snake.” Luis smiled. He seemed to take pleasure in this announcement.
Gage seemed to take offense. “It wasn’t like I was really cheating on anyone. Up until now, I really was single and free at the time. And they were both so needy.”
Luis covered his mouth and laughed. “Gage hates to see any man in distress. He’s such a good sport when it comes to going down on his knees.”
“Well, they were in distress. But I would have done them both anyway,” Gage said.
“I’ll bet,” said Luis.
“Well, then,” Jase said. He noticed a little brotherly friction had started between Luis and Gage and he decided to settle things fast before they started arguing again. “I guess we’d better get that all straightened out next weekend. I’d hate to have both Ted and Cory think it was really Luis having sex with them when it wasn’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Gage said. “Maybe I really should leave now. I guess Luis is right. I always have been a little too eager to please men. But I’m trying to change. Now that I have Daksha in my life, I’m going to be monogamous.”