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It wasn’t a deep kiss. It wasn’t even an intense kiss. It was just…gentle. But he was going to take it. He was going to take it, and he was going to let it give him hope. Sebastian’s kisses made him feel like that mattered.

Especially when Sebastian leaned back and grinned at him like a cat who’d gotten the cream.

“Yeah, that was pretty good.” His heart was beating a million miles a minute.

“Pretty good. Well, I mean, I’ve had better.” Sebastian chuckled at himself and shook his head. “I’m really not good at this flirting thing. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to be flirting. I mean, you’re, you’re kind of my ex.”

“No, no.” He shook his head, rejecting that notion with everything he had. “No, we never broke up. I can’t be an ex if we didn’t break up.”

Sebastian blinked at him. “So what are you, a former?”

“I don’t like that either. I could be a lost lover?”

“An interrupted lover?” Now Sebastian was poking the bear.

“That sounds sort of like the rhythm method. No, I think I want to be your long-lost love. I was lost. It was love. I’m pretty long…”

“So.” Sebastian’s eyes went wide. “You’re not any better at this flirting thing than I am.”

“No, I totally am not, but I still like having fun with you.” He held Sebastian’s gaze. “That was one of the things I missed most about you. How much fun we had.”

Bastian nodded, making this soft little sound that almost broke his heart. “I missed that too. I kept thinking, even when I thought I hated you, that I wish Colton was here with us. That you would have loved this birthday or that trip to the park.”

“When’s her birthday?” Colton didn’t know when his own daughter’s birthday was.

“Halloween. She was born in the middle of the day on October thirty-first. Earlier than, I guess about—eleven in the morning, enough to where she could wear her little costume before Halloween was over. It was a tiny little itty wee frog costume. So cute.”

“Do you have pictures?” Dammit, he should have been there. He was meant to have been there. His parents had robbed that from him.

“Are you kidding?” Sebastian chuckled. “I’m a dad. I have pictures of everything. And if and when I don’t have pictures? Xavi and Xander do. Because they are the godfathers.”

“So she hasn’t gone trick-or-treating.”

Sebastian shook his head. “No, she’s been too little, and it’s her birthday, right?

So…years two and three, by the time trick-or-treating was even a thought in Secret Springs, she was exhausted and grumpy and just wanted her bottle and a nap, you know?

I mean, birthdays were pretty exciting at two and three years old. ”

“But did she dress up?” he asked.

“She dressed up for both. Her first birthday, she was Minnie Mouse. Her second birthday, she was a pumpkin. And her third birthday, she picked out her own costume. She was a chicken.”

“A chicken? Uh. Like with feathers and everything? That’s great.” It was weird.

“She was a great big feathery chicken.”

“I never knew anybody who was a chicken for Halloween.”

Sebastian’s eyes lit up. “Oh, you don’t understand. She was a chicken for her birthday . Everybody came to her birthday in farm animal costumes. You know, the cow goes moo, the chicken goes bock bock. The horse goes whinny whinny?”

“No shit? What did you dress as?”

“The farmer. Overalls. Straw hat. No pitchfork, though. With this lot, someone would have stabbed themselves in the face.”

Colton chuckled. “Yeah. Or stabbed someone else. I think your buddies wake up and choose violence most days.”

“Only against you.” Sebastian made a wry face and chuckled. “Well, mainly. Xander can be a little aggressive. Xavi is usually very Zen.”

“Uh-huh. He’s been a little wild about our descending on the coffee shop some mornings. Gives the guys hell about not wanting to settle for hotel coffee, just like he did me.”

“Well, you know, the ladies make the coffee. Not Xander. He and his sous slash dishwasher come in at lunchtime and work through supper.”

“Maybe they should contract with Xavi for the coffee.”

Bastian tilted his head. “That’s an exceptional idea. At least when it’s high season or there are large parties like yours.”

“We’d totally pay an upcharge for it. That urn the ladies use is…intense.” Colton kissed Sebastian’s nose.

“I’ll tell Xavi to talk to them.”

A knock came at the door, and Sebastian popped up off his lap. “I’ll get it. You rest your leg.”

He watched, bemused, because no one on his crew did for him, really. They were his friends, but they fully expected him to growl if they tried to help when he was wobbly. This was…nice.

He felt cared for.

Of course, he wanted Sebastian as his lover. His omega. None of the guys inspired even a hint of sexual heat in him.

In fact, ew.

Sebastian thanked whoever it was at the door, then rolled in a cart with domed plates on it. “So, what did you get us?”

“When I called down, Xander told me it was chef’s choice, and I told him you were coming so he wouldn’t spit on it.”

“Oh, gag. Well, let’s see…” Sebastian lifted domes. “Garlic bread. Caesar salad. And chicken pesto pasta.”

“Yum.” That actually sounded amazing. Not what he might have ordered by himself, but as a date-night meal? So yay.

“Mmm. I bet there’s cheesecake too.” Sebastian peeked under the last dome. “Yep. Basque cheesecake with cherries.”

“We’ll set that aside, huh?”

“For now. But I’ll definitely revisit that. Xander makes the best cheesecake.”

“This all looks delish.” He frowned when Sebastian sat back in his own chair.

“Stop scowling. You don’t need me sitting on your leg all through supper.”

“Are you sure? It felt pretty good to me.”

Bastian blushed a pretty pink. “Well, it felt good to me, too. But I worry about your leg.”

“Trust me, baby. With you around, I don’t even feel it.”