Page 66 of Zero Divergence
Erik narrowed his eyes but wasn’t stupid enough to argue with Royce. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll just be going.”
“Make sure our waiter brings us the bill,” Sawyer said. “We don’t accept comps.”
Erik shrugged. “If you wish.”
“He does,” Royce said.
Sawyer watched the manager slink away, then turned his attention to Royce. “What’s the likelihood Jonah got his evening romps mixed up?”
“Not likely at all.”
“Blakemore had to know we were going to ask, so why not be upfront with us?” Sawyer asked.
Royce considered it. “If nothing else, it gave Blakemore time to come up with a plausible story that contradicts Jonah’s statement. I doubt Blakemore knows much about Jonah beyond his penis size and favorite position.”
Sawyer nearly choked on his sip of Coke.
“Don’t be jealous, GB,” Royce teased him, reaching over to pat his back like Felix had done for Jonah earlier.
“Don’t be a dickhead,” Sawyer said once he could breathe without hacking more.
Royce winked. “It comes so naturally.”
Sawyer leaned forward and kissed Royce’s smiling lips. “We got what we came for, so let’s go home.”
Royce pressed another kiss to Sawyer’s mouth, tracing the curve of his lower lip with the tip of his tongue. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
Sawyer signaled their waiter over, then handed over his debit card before the guy could set the bill on the table.
“In a hurry, I see,” the much younger guy noted. Maverick raked his gaze over Royce and smiled wickedly before looking at Sawyer again. “Honey, I cannot blame you. Good luck getting him out of here in one piece.”
Sawyer briefly tensed until Royce’s hand found his thigh beneath the table. Just that little touch eased the jealousy burning in his gut. What the hell had come over him? He hadn’t liked the first flirty waiter’s response to Royce either. He’d been ready to cause a scene, which wasn’t like him at all.
“Not my type,” Royce whispered against his lips.
“That body glitter would geteverywhere,” Sawyer said.
Royce chuckled. “I could live out the rest of my life without testing the theory. I’ve battled it enough during crafting projects with Marc and Daniel. Once, I bought them slime with glitter in it for Christmas. Candi packed it in one of their backpacks when I watched the boys while she and Marcus went someplace.” The memory made Royce’s gray eyes shimmer brighter than Maverick’s gold dust. “Of course, I didn’t know the boys brought it with them until they dug it out and smeared it into the carpet in the spare bedroom after I made them blanket forts.” Royce laughed and shook his head, tightening his grip on Sawyer’s leg.
“Did you get the slime out?” he asked.
Royce shook his head. “No, I ended up removing the carpet and replacing it with laminate flooring. Candi was horrified, but Marcus laughed and said I deserved it.” Royce smiled and released Sawyer’s thigh to cup his face instead. “Marcus said something afterward I quickly laughed off and dismissed.”
Leaning into Royce’s touch, Sawyer said, “What was that?”
“He told me I’d know better when I had kids of my own. He said it so naturally as if it were a foregone conclusion.” Royce smiled broadly. “Keep in mind, I hadn’t gone out with the same girl more than two times since high school, so I asked him how much he’d had to drink with dinner. Marcus just laughed and said, ‘Just you wait and see. Everything changes when you meet the right person.’ And you know what?”
“What?” Sawyer managed to croak out.
“He was right.”
“Oh.”
Tears burned the back of Sawyer’s eyes, and he had to blink a few times when his vision blurred. He recalled the night he’d cried while telling Royce his dreams of having a family had died with Vic. Royce had told him his dreams weren’t gone; they were delayed. It had been a bittersweet breakthrough in their early partnership because, in his next breath, Royce made it clear it wouldn’t be him fulfilling Sawyer’s dreams by acknowledging he’d be jealous of Sawyer’s future husband. Was Royce ready to admit how wrong he’d been?
Instead of forcing the tears back, the blinking sent a few spilling down Sawyer’s cheeks. He should’ve been embarrassed for losing his shit in the middle of the VIP lounge, but he wasn’t. Royce leaned his forehead against his, brushed the tears away, and swallowed hard. It helped ease Sawyer’s nerves to see Royce struggle with his emotions too.
“Everything does change when you meet the person meant for you,” Royce said. “I crave things I never realized I wanted before, and I find myself suddenly impatient to have them. Blanket forts and glitter slime were things I had planned to experience only as a favorite, honorary uncle, but never as a father, until I met you, and now I can’t wait. Someday, I’m going to make you mine in every possible way, and we’re going to raise some hellions.”