Page 40 of The Sinner's Son

Royce couldn’t help the grin stretching across his face.

“Okay, so you have no shame there.” Sawyer shook his head. “Really, Ro, how am I going to look Eddie in the eye?”

“Like you always do. Never let them see you blush.”

Sawyer rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Pretty sure it’s supposed to be sweat.”

Royce dismissed him with a wave and reached for the shampoo. “It sounds like you have a highlight reel’s worth of screwups to punish me for.”

“You’re not supposed to look so happy about it.” Sawyer took the bottle from him and poured a generous amount into his palm. He lathered his hands and gestured for Royce to turn around, then slid his talented hands into Royce’s hair and massaged his scalp.

“Lower,” Royce urged.

Sawyer chuckled but didn’t comply. “That will lead to other things. Our guests will be here soon, and I have a meal to prep.”

“Do you want me to call Eddie and reschedule?”

“Of course not,” Sawyer replied. “I just want to be consulted before you invite people over.”

“You’re right,” Royce conceded. “I’m sorry. Eddie was this odd combination of relieved to be alive and freaked-out aboutwhat the rest of his life looked like. The dinner invite was a knee-jerk reaction.”

Sawyer smacked a soapy hand against his ass, making Royce jump. “You should’ve called me the moment Eddie had a medical emergency.”

“You already had enough stressors this morning,” Royce said.

“What if his condition had been more serious?” Sawyer’s question was somber and sincere.

Royce turned and cupped his face. “Baby, what would you have done? You’re an incredible man, but you aren’t a doctor.”

“I would’ve assured Eddie that I’d love and care for you for the rest of our lives.” Sawyer swallowed hard. “I know firsthand that dying people don’t think about themselves. Eddie would’ve worried about his kids. He’d be miserable with guilt over all the time you’d lost.”

“Eddie and I have tried this relationship thing before,” Royce said cautiously.

“And we both know this time is different.”

Royce took a deep breath. “Yeah, it is.” He leaned forward and kissed Sawyer. “I won’t make this mistake again.”

“Good.” Sawyer tipped Royce’s head back to rinse the shampoo. “And I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Alec to dinner too.”

Royce opened his eyes and clocked Sawyer’s smug smile. “Asshole.”

“Dickhead.”

Sawyer snickered as he began washing his own hair.

“Since we’re coming clean, literally and figuratively,” Royce said, “there’s something I want to ask you.”

Sawyer gripped his hips to swap their positions so he could rinse the shampoo.

“How do you feel about becoming a guardian to Cayden once his mom passes? I hope like hell Dane isn’t dead, but if he is…”Royce let his words fade because they both knew what it meant. Cayden wouldn’t have anyone.

Sawyer calmly finished rinsing his hair before meeting Royce’s gaze. “I already called the attorney who’s handling our second-parent adoption for Lil Plum. I figured she’d have some suggestions for us. If the worst-case scenario becomes a reality, we’ll be ready.”

Royce stared at his husband, the most gorgeous, thoughtful, and intuitive man on the planet. “I fucking love you.”

Sawyer winked. “I know.”

“Can I tell you something?” Eddie asked.