Page 77 of Finding Grey

We’d heard the buzz of the intercom for the front gate a few minutes earlier, and Sean had jumped up to go answer it. I hadn’t thought much of it, until he returned with my father at his side. Roger’s eyes darted about nervously as he held a wrapped gift under one arm.

My body went rigid as I stood up. Making my way over to them, I locked eyes with my father. “What are you doing here?” We’d barely spoken in the last fourteen months. Any thoughts I’d had of him reaching out in those early days, of him attempting to repair the rift between us, had been met with silence. The man had more pride than heart.

“I invited him,” Sean said, and when my gaze turned to his, he held it steadily. “It’s been long enough, Dante.” His mouth twisted sardonically as he shrugged. “And, of course, one can never get too many birthday presents.”

“Oh, yes,” my father said gruffly. “This is for you.”

“Thank you, Roger.” Sean took the box with a nod.

“I’m sorry I didn’t make it in time for lunch,” he added. “My flight was delayed.”

Sean shook his head. “No problem, there’s plenty of leftovers. Come on, I’ll get you a drink to start you off.”

I watched them walk over to the bar, not sure how to feel about what Sean had done. His heart was in the right place, as always. But I wasn’t sure I was ready to welcome Roger back into our lives, especially when he hadn’t put in the effort to make it happen himself.

A few minutes later, Sean’s arms slid around my waist, pulling me from my thoughts. “Life is good,” he murmured low in my ear. “We’re good. Right now, we have everything we could possibly want in life. I wondered if maybe it was time to expand our happiness to include your dad.”

My own arms covered his, holding him to me. “I don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I,” Sean admitted with a chuckle. “But we can work on that, and besides, as long as we trust each other there is nothing he can do to come between us.” We both looked over at Roger, who was shaking hands with Phil. Both men wore grim expressions, until Phil said something we couldn’t hear and then cracked up laughing. Roger rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand, but his mouth had curved into a chagrined smile.

“Although,” Sean added as we watched the two older men, “I have a feeling Roger’s days of being underhanded are behind him.”

“Let’s fucking hope so,” I said, turning to look at him with a hopeful laugh. “I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”

Smiling, he pressed his lips to mine in a brief, tender kiss. “And I love you, my gorgeous rock star.”