Page 44

It also means no money. That wouldn’t be a huge problem if it were just me, but William and Parker work full time as programmers, and they not only deserve a better income than I can offer on my own, but they also deserve to see their work being celebrated.

I don’t think my celebration is good enough on its own.

I shift when the door to the bathroom opens and have to smile back when Carter beams at me.

“You’re here,” he says cheerfully. Just then the doorbell rings all through the house. “Looks like everyone is.” There’s a lightness to his words, almost like laughter, and I remember how good the last few days with him have been.

I welcome the distraction that is the beautiful sight of his naked chest. He’s wearing a towel around his waist and scrubbing another towel over his head.

When my eyes travel back up to his face, I see he’s frowning, and I don’t know why. Seems I know very little today.

He walks over and crouches by my feet, then takes my hands, and I can’t bring myself to meet his eyes right now.

“Are you all right, darling?” he asks quietly.

“I’m fine,” I say automatically, and thanks to a lightning-quick peek, I see his frown darken.

“Please don’t lie to appease me or yourself, Liam. What happened?”

I open and close my mouth at least three times, but still no words come out.

“Was it Tristan? Did he have more bad news?!

“No, not really. Kind of, yes,” I amend. “There’s just no one good option to proceed with ESoothe, but there are options.” That’s what Tristan and William kept saying on the phone, at least.

“That’s good,” he says, sounding encouraging. “And what else?”

I turn fully to look out the window again, the sky is dark now.

“Nothing.”

God, please don’t let him keep asking. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist the embarrassment of telling him the truth much longer .

“Liam,” he says, in a chiding kind of way I’ve never heard from him before, but I’m pretty sure it’s chiding because it makes me feel the way it felt when Mom had to explain over and over why I couldn’t stay till the end of her concert when I was ten years old.

A sigh escapes me as my shoulders slump. What’s the use in resisting? Carter’s shown me time and time again that no matter what embarrassing shit comes out of my mouth he won’t stop liking me, right?

“I’m nervous about having dinner with your friends.” There’s a long moment of silence where I have to find out what his expression is. He’s still frowning, but the center of his forehead is drawn upward instead of downward this time. That means he’s not angry, I think.

“You’ve met them before.” The cadence is slower this time, and I find that I don’t think it’s as soothing as it normally is. I shift in my seat, suddenly uncomfortable.

“I know I have, but not since we...” I trail off, not knowing how to finish that sentence, and shift again, even roll my shoulders to try and get more comfortable.

“Since we became real boyfriends,” he finishes for me, with an emphasis on the word real that I suspect has a double meaning, though it escapes me what it could be.

I snap my head back toward the window, but not for long since he squeezes my hands and stands.

And this time his frown is gone, and not only is he smiling, but his voice has that airy quality from before again.

“I could tell you my friends are going to be thrilled to have dinner with you until I’m blue in the face, but the only way you’re going to believe it is if you see it firsthand. So why don’t you wait just one minute while I get dressed and we’ll go down together, yeah?”

The sudden tightness in my throat is as unexpected as how my heartbeat slows.

He understands.

Me, what I need, how my mind works... he somehow understands all of it.

“Ca—” I stop to clear my scratchy throat. “Can I borrow a shirt? You were right about the heat and the nerves made me perspire more than usual.”

I enjoy his smile as he leans down from his standing position until he’s so close I can detect the sandalwood and honey of whatever products he used in his shower.

“Of course you can, darling.” He presses his lips softly and way too briefly to mine and then walks to the door next to the bathroom. “Come on, you can choose whatever shirt you want.”

“I’m glad summer camp is going well,” Carter says looking at Mike and Adam.

I finish plating a slice of the beef Wellington Milton made—which had us all staring in wonder when he brought it over to the dining table—and pass the plate to Carter, then get a piece for myself.

“Yes, now we’re ready for the pre-season,” he answers Carter, and when I have my plate on the table in front of me, he once more looks around to all of us.

“Bon appetit.” The big smile on his face remains, even while he chews, and then he calls out to Milton that he must be some kind of god to be able to cook like this.

I don’t talk much throughout dinner, except when Theo asks me quietly how the meeting at the ball went.

“Mrs. Blackwell decided not to invest,” I admit, and look away to the wall behind him.

“I’m sorry. That’s so irrational.” The first part was said softly but not the second part. “Do you know why?”

“No,” I admit. “She’s out of the country right now, and she told Tristan she’d speak to me and tell me her reasons in person if I wanted to talk to her when she came back.”

“Well, that sounds decent at least. It still doesn’t make sense if you ask me.”

“I don’t understand it either, but we’re trying to figure out other options.” I inject as much enthusiasm as I can, but my shoulders are still slumped.

Thankfully Theo doesn’t recommend I talk to his father like Tristan did. I don’t want to talk about this any longer.

And Mike seems to come to the rescue only a moment later.

“So, Carter and Liam, we have some exciting news for you.” I’m touched that he included me, but whatever this news is, I doubt I’m important enough in their lives that they really think I need to know.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Carter asks. He’s been sporting a serene smile ever since we greeted his friends, and though it looks like he’s content—and I don’t doubt he is—it also looks too... practiced. I don’t know if that’s the right way to describe it, but it’s not a look I’ve ever seen on him.

“Actually, the news is from the four of us,” Sebas says, and looks at Adam who’s sitting next to him. He throws an arm around Sebas’s shoulder and nods, then the four of them turn in our direction, and with identical smiles, they all speak in unison.

“We’re having a baby,” they cheer.

I am... very confused, but thankfully, so is Carter.

“I’m sorry, what? Did you all suddenly decide to enter a polyamorous relationship?” That’s a good question. I hadn’t thought of that possibility.

No possibilities had entered my mind, actually.

“No,” Sebas cries out and rolls his eyes hard enough to make me wince. “We’re just pregnant at the same time.”

I remember a time when Mom sat Logan and Larson down and explained why they shouldn’t try to fly with their sheets tied around their necks like capes—when they were twelve and eight, so old enough to know better—and it sounded way less condescending than Sebas just did.

“Alex is our surrogate,” Mike explains.

“And Lucy is ours,” Adam finishes with a smile as big as that big shot of him holding the Lombardi trophy over his head.

“This is amazing,” Carter cheers and scoots his chair back. The rest of them follow—and I do as well since it seems like something we’re all supposed to do—and then they’re all hugging. I go shake their hands and congratulate them as well.

They do seem really happy, all four of them.

“So, who’s Alex and Lucy?” I ask once the noise dies down.

“Oh, sorry.” Carter hurries over to my side and grabs my arm. “They’re Adam’s twin cousins.”

“They told us years ago they’d be surrogates for us if we wanted, and we did,” Theo says. His smile is a little more tense than anyone else’s, and I can empathize there. The thought of having a baby on the way seems very stressful to me.

As if this too was choreographed, everyone begins to walk back to their chairs and sits, so again, I follow their lead.

“They graduated from Law school and Med school this spring, and now that they’re past the three month mark, we can finally tell people.” Mike bounces on his chair a few times, then as if he can’t help himself, he leans down and kisses Theo hard on the mouth.

“I’m really happy for all of you. I know how much you want this.

I’m beyond excited to get more nieces or nephews.

And who knows? Maybe they’ll both have twins,” Carter says, and I can hear the humor in his voice, so I know he’s teasing.

Though it is statistically more probable to have twins via surrogate and artificial insemination, and when you add that the surrogate is a twin herself, the chances skyrocket.

What’s really funny, though, is how all four of them lose their smiles right along with most of the color in their cheeks.