Page 86 of Winning You

Frankie kissed Lucas’s hand until his words died. “I will be there if he needs me, but you’re important too. I will make it work.”

“I was just going to say that if he needs you and doesn’t mind me, we can postpone the sexy stuff and do family time,” Lucas said with a tiny grin.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

Lucas’s brows dipped. “What do you mean?”

“I…my ex.” He shook his head. “It’s not important. He’s not important. I’m just not used to someone getting it.”

Lucas sighed and touched Frankie’s cheek, drawing him close again. He did that a lot, kept them bare inches apart, and he was starting to get addicted to it. “It doesn’t have to be all on you, okay? You don’t have to meet me more than halfway.”

Frankie didn’t know what to say to that, so he kissed Lucas softly, chaste but lingering, until the front door opened again.

“Are you guys still being disgusting?” Gage called.

Frankie knocked his forehead against Lucas’s as he laughed.

“Don’t hate him, but he is always like this,” Lucas murmured.

“I would never.” Frankie stole one last quick peck before pulling away and letting his boyfriend go.

Lucas turned and walked out of the room, Frankie behind, following Gage’s voice to the living room, where he was standing with Fallon.

Frankie looked at his brother. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m ready, and Gage said we had to come over together because he needed emotional support.”

“You are so fucking drama,” Lucas groaned. He walked to the kitchen counter, his fingers dancing over the surface until they found his cane. “Hey, Fallon. You doing okay?”

“Been better.” Fallon’s fingers were tapping against the sides of his thighs, and Frankie could tell he was only barely holding back his urge to sway back and forth. “Can we go? My nerves are making this harder than it should be.”

Frankie grazed a touch over Lucas’s back as he walked past him. “I’ll see you later, yeah?”

“Oh. Yeah, that reminds me. If you’re not busy,” Gage said, “there’s a new campaign starting tonight with a new party.”

Lucas shook his head. “Nope. Not even remotely in the mood.”

“Oh.” Gage swallowed. “Well, I invited Fallon?—”

“That has nothing to do with me,” Lucas said simply.

“But—”

“Seriously,” Lucas said. “I’m struggling to do the nice, polite thing right now because I’m in pain, and I don’t want to go relive all that bullshit from yesterday, but I have to. I’m not going to be offended if you start a new campaign without me. I haven’t been feeling it lately, and I’m really not right now.”

Gage’s shoulders sank. “I’m sorry. If you need me?—”

“I don’t. I have plans.”

“What—oh. Oh god.” Gage looked at Frankie with wide eyes. “Right. Cool, cool, cool. Sweet. Amazing. Fantastic…”

“Stop,” Lucas said.

Gage’s jaw snapped shut, and then he turned to Fallon. “Pick you up at six? We have to stop and get a mountain of chips and salsa.”

Fallon’s eyes went wide. “O-okay. I can do six.”

Frankie wanted to cut in, to make sure his brother was okay with it. Fallon sometimes said yes to things when he thought that he wasn’t socially allowed to say no. But calling him on it always embarrassed the fuck out of him, so Frankie kept his mouth shut.