by Aiden Bates
“Okay.” Adrian dropped back into his seat. “I’ve been thinking about getting a job.”
Mrs. Caldwell’s head jerked up and she gave Adrian her full attention. “No way. That’s nonnegotiable. While you’re in school, you focus one hundred percent on your studies. That’s all we’ve ever asked—for focus. And you can’t focus if you’re distracted.”
I shifted. The mood at the table had changed, and Mrs. Caldwell had moved from being a relaxed hostess to a mother on alert. I straightened in my seat.
“I think I can manage.” Adrian shrugged, maintaining his casual demeanor. “I think I can get a job at a dental practice and it will actually enhance my studies to, you know, be a dentist.” He shrugged again. “But you know, if you don’t agree…”
Even I knew he was walking on thin ice as Mrs. Caldwell’s eyes narrowed, but he was an expert at deflecting attention, apparently, and thank fuck he’d spoken up before the entire family started wondering why Eli couldn’t stop looking at Gray.
“But you know we prefer to provide for you while you’re still in school.” Mrs. Caldwell took a sip of her drink.
“You know what?” Mr. Caldwell spoke up, his tone much more jovial than his wife’s as he looked around the table at his guests. “This is something we can discuss after dinner, Adrian. I’d like to hear your plan.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Adrian nodded, and the awkward moment was over as chatter sprang up around the table again.
Mr. Caldwell leaned toward me and lowered his voice a little. “Rome, can we catch up after dinner?”
I nodded. “Sure.” But curiosity ate at me. Had he seen something? Did he know Grady preferred Eli? I didn’t know if I was going to receive a lecture or a warning, but Grady looked at me, his eyes happy.
“I think Dad liked you.”
It was quiet on the Caldwells’ deck, if you didn’t count the gentle slapping of the pool water and the rustle of breeze through the leaves on the trees. Fairy lights picked out points of interest in the garden as I looked out. It seemed like a paradise, and so different than the way I’d grown up. I envied the brothers who’d been able to spend their childhoods here, and I wondered if Grady thought he’d ever missed out.
“It’s good to see you, Rome.” Mr. Caldwell took a sip of his strong espresso coffee from the tiny cup that looked like a thimble in his hands.
“And you, sir.” I leaned back and looked at the stars in the sky. It didn’t feel like a lecture at least.
“I’ve always considered you part of this family, and it’s good to see you at one of Vanessa’s dinners finally.” He chuckled. “You always took care of Grady at Elsdon House, and I know Grady could have been a target for a lot of those kids simply because he was on a partial scholarship.” He stopped and shook his head. “When I think how much the mighty dollar means to some of those kids… Anyway, I just wanted a chance to say thank you, and also say how happy it makes me to see Gray so happy.”
“Thank you.” I looked at my fingers as I curled them in my lap, unsure what to say. “It makes me happy that you feel that way.” I felt so awkward and out of my depth, having a man-to-man chat with my boyfriend’s dad.
“I’m glad you boys are together.” Mr. Caldwell took another small sip.
“I’m glad Grady wants to be with me.” I shrugged, unsure what this conversation was. Maybe it was a lecture disguised as a friendly chat. But it sounded a hell of a lot like some sort of warning—just delivered in a really genteel way.
“Grady needs handling with care, I think. His heart is fragile.”
I nodded. “I’ll do the best I can to make sure Gray is happy and always taken care of.”
Mr. Caldwell covered my hand with his. “I have no doubts about that, Rome.”
Maybe not a warning, then. He seemed to genuinely trust me, and I smiled, my heart warm that Grady’s dad believed I could be good for his son and that I’d look after him. It felt good to be so accepted.
17
Grady
I glanced out through the large doors. Dad and Rome were sitting on the chairs on the deck. Hopefully, Dad wasn’t giving him too hard a time. It was probably the chat to see if he was worthy of dating a Caldwell. I rolled my eyes a little. Actual adult living his own life, but I still had to put up with choreographed family dinners and parents who wanted to know my boyfriend’s intentions.
I took the last wine glass from the table into the kitchen, but the dishwasher was full, so I just left it by the sink. I turned to head to the living room and join my family, but Eli blocked my path.
I held in my groan and kept my face neutral. I didn’t want Eli here, but I wasn’t going to bother to tell him that. It would actually mean speaking to him.
He sighed. “Gray, don’t be like this.”
Irritation licked through me. “Like fucking what? I don’t have anything I want to discuss with you, so you aren’t worth the breath or the energy. And don’t try to turn things around. You were the one who forgot how to be a good friend, you forgot that you’re actually supposed to like the people you call friends, and be a decent human being—you know, kind, supportive, nice. So, if you hurt me, don’t worry about it. I’m just being like this.” I moved the walk past him. I hadn’t meant to waste even that many words on him.
He reached out and brushed his fingers over my forearm. “I’ve been trying to say I’m sorry all week. But you haven’t been making it easy—you’ve been avoiding me.”
Yeah, that much was true. I’d been avoiding him because he was a dick and he’d hurt my feelings for the last time. So I didn’t try to deny it.
He met my gaze but mustn’t have liked what he saw there because he quickly looked away. “Look, I was an asshole. I reacted completely inappropriately, and I was wrong. We’ve known each other a long time, and I like to think I’m one of the people who knows you best of all. I was wrong to accuse you of using your connections, and I shouldn’t have said it. Of course I know you’d never do anything like that.” He paused and took a breath. “And I don’t want to lose you as a friend. Especially not over a job and some dumb shit I said. I really am sorry.”
This guy was unbelievable. I looked at him and wondered if I’d ever known him at all. “Let me make it plain for you, Eli. This isn’t just about ‘some dumb shit’ you said. Your words were fucking hurtful, and I think deliberately so.” I stepped away from him. “So, thanks for unloading your guilt on me, but it’s going to take a lot more than some more dumb shit from you to make me feel any better about things. Sorry isn’t just a word. It has to be a behavior, and I really don’t think you’re there yet.”
He swallowed hard and looked down, but Eli had always done a fantastic job of projecting his hurt and making it someone else’s problem, and I couldn’t let his feelings be priority above my own. Not this time.
I left Eli in the kitchen and headed to find everyone else. Eli could follow me or head home. I didn’t much care.
I plunked down on the soft sofa, next to Adrian. My parents’ living room had a lot of furniture—it needed it, if we didn’t want to spend our family time playing musical chairs or taking turns sitting on the floor. That would have been the textbook definition of the phrase shift your feet, lose your seat.
“How’s it going, dude?” I couldn’t help but admire Adrian’s bravery from earlier—ambushing Mom and Dad at a family dinner with an idea he knew they wouldn’t like.
“Do you think they might go for it?” He turned his blue eyes to me, and I pursed my lips then glanced at Mom.
She was seated, queen of all she surveyed within her living room, looking out over her family, and her feline-like gaze was firmly trained on Adrian. There wasn’t a lot that lady didn’t see, and from time-to-time she could be downright scary.
“Don’t look now, but she’s watching us.”
But Adrian, being Adrian, waved and grinned in her direction, like he actually wanted to annoy her into throwing a firm no at him, before turning to me. “You’ve got to h
elp me convince them, Gray.”
I blew out a sigh. “Nothing like an impossible task before bed.”
“Oh, come on. The rest of you work. I think it’s only fair I should, too.”
I scoffed. “I think you’re forgetting where you are in the pecking order, A. You’re the youngest, and none of us—” I gestured around at all of my brothers “—got to go to work and school at the same time.”
But Adrian just smiled. “Grady, Grady, Grady.” He shook his head. “Haven’t you heard? The oldest makes the rules—and isn’t that just Kairo all over?—the middle children are the reason the rules exist, and the youngest… Well, your rules just don’t apply to me.” He shrugged, and I smiled reluctantly.
He was probably onto something. The rules had progressively relaxed with subsequent children until I was pretty sure Adrian had grown up almost feral compared to Kairo.
“That’s just because the lunatics start running the asylum,” I said.
“So, you’ll help?”
“Sure.” I nodded. “Why not?”
The thing was, Adrian was smart, and he wasn’t an irresponsible student who used his spare time partying. Some days, he gave Kairo a run for his responsible money, and if Adrian thought a job was starting to impact his studies, I was pretty sure he’d quit work.
I got up from the couch and scooted over to the foot of Mom’s chair, Adrian close behind me.
“Hey, Mom,” I greeted her, using my best innocent expression. “That was a great meal.” Fake subservience always seemed to work best on Mom. She knew we weren’t that submissive, I knew she wasn’t unreasonable, but it was the part I played. Always a cute middle child.
“Hey.” But she looked at me and knew this wasn’t just a social call.
“I love you,” I threw in, and she grinned as I fell into my familiar role.
“And what do you want?” The smile still teased her lips.
“I was just, uh… you know, talking to Adrian.” I indicated my brother.
“Yes?”
“And I think he might be onto something with the working through dental school thing.”
“Oh, yes?” Still with the fake interest. She did great at this.
“Yes.” I scratched my neck.
“How did you find out working through college worked for you?”
I looked at her. What? She wasn’t actually supposed to make this hard. “I just think Adrian has a point about the benefits.” I glanced at him. Come on, dude… Jump in. Do some of your own legwork here.
Luckily, he seemed to catch on to the thoughts I was trying to push into his head. “Absolutely. If the work doesn’t benefit my studies, I won’t keep doing it. And I’ll keep an eye on my grades, too.”
Mom nodded. “That’s definitely your first priority.” Then she sighed. “Look, we’re not unreasonable people. We’ve just never wanted any of you to be overloaded with both work and studies, so we’ve always been happy to support each of you through college. That said, if you’re telling us your path is different, we’ll support you to do that, too. Let me talk to your Dad when he comes back from chatting with Rome, and I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”
Adrian clenched his fist in triumph and shot me a glance that let me know in no uncertain terms that the rules really didn’t apply to him. I smothered my chuckle.
“Uh, and I still love you,” I said to Mom.
I did pretty well avoiding conversation with Eli and Benji the rest of the evening, and that was one of the many bonuses to a large family—all of us got the opportunity to hide out and not participate too much, if we wanted, because there were plenty of other bodies and voices to carry the social load.
But I wasn’t so lucky as I was heading back from the bathroom. Benji was leaning by a potted plant in the hallway, and he touched my upper arm as I passed him.
“Can I have a word, Gray?”
I wanted to refuse. His overfamiliarity with my name irritated me. But he’d taken me by surprise—and a leaf out of Adrian’s book, if his unexpected ambush was anything to go by—so I smiled automatically. “Yeah, what’s the problem?” Because there was bound to be one.
When Benji smiled, it was one hundred kilowatts of fake. “I’m sure there’s no problem,” he drawled. “Nothing we can’t solve between ourselves, anyway.”
I nodded, then stopped, unsure what I could be agreeing to.
“Great. Glad we’re on the same page,” Benji said. “Now, about whatever this weird little argument is between you and E—”
I huffed a sigh. Great. So Eli had no joy making me see things his way, so now he’d sent his little fiancé to try, too.
He stopped and pinned me with the hardest stare I’d ever seen from him. “Rude.” Then he rolled his eyes and continued whatever point he’d been starting to make when he first spoke. “This little spat between you and Eli needs to stop because I won’t stand to have my wedding ruined by it.” He all but stamped his probably manicured foot in its thousand-dollar designer loafer.
“Oh, it’s not going to be a problem at all.” I kept my tone light. “And I swear it won’t ruin your wedding in any shape or form.”
He raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow before examining the fingernails on his left hand. “And you know this because…”
Oh, Sweet Jesus. “Because, Benji, I’ve stepped back. I’m not going to be part of the wedding anymore.” I didn’t know why I emphasized his name, but it felt good.
His eyes widened, and he ran a hand through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions. “What? What do you mean?”
“I’m not going to be in the wedding.” I repeated it slowly and carefully.
“I heard what you said, but what do you mean? You can’t just drop out.” He glared at me. “Does Eli know?”
I nodded. “Did he not tell you?”
Benji looked at the floor and shook his head back and forth. “No, no, no,” he moaned. “This can’t be happening. Eli has no other friends he can count on. No one else will stand up for him.” He looked back at me, his eyes wild. “How much will it take for you to still be best man?”
I looked over his shoulder toward the living room and my brothers. Rome had rejoined them, and I didn’t have time to be shooting the breeze with Benji when I wanted to be… Huh? “What did you just say to me?” I turned my attention back to him. “Did I just hear you right? Are you actually trying to bribe me to be part of your wedding?”
Benji stepped right up to me until his chest bumped against mine. “I won’t have my wedding ruined just because you’re jealous of me.” He spoke through gritted teeth and kept his voice low.
I stepped back and chuckled. “What the fuck, dude?” I’d never seen this side of Benji and it was certainly fucking strange. “Jealousy isn’t why I’m not in your shitty little wedding.”
“Oh, hey, Benj.”
Just fucking great. Eli was here, too. And Rome was still in the other room, and my secret bat signal to alert him to the fact I was in trouble and needed him to swoop in for a quick rescue was apparently malfunctioning.
Eli slung his arm over Benji’s shoulders. “What are you two doing, getting all cozy in the hallway? You know, maybe it’s time I took you home and reminded you who your baby is?”
I rolled my eyes, but anger flared through me as soon as I saw Eli. He had some explaining to do. “For God’s sake, Eli. Why does this nutjob think I’m jealous?”
Benji shrugged, and he glanced nervously between Eli and me. “Because…” He glanced between us again, really fast. “Because Eli told me.”
Strong arms wrapped around me from behind, and Rome’s deep chuckle sounded against my ear, warming me. I relaxed against him. Everything was okay now that he was here.
“Why on earth would Grady be jealous when he has me?” His voice was almost deceptively soft as he flexed the muscle that controlled his business arrogance, and his confidence oozed across the space between us and Eli and Benji.
Blood rushed to E
li’s face, and his eyes narrowed, but Benji’s flush looked like one of embarrassment. It was way past time for them to leave. Eli should have never accepted Mom’s summons for dinner. I just wanted them to go.
The bad mood the discussion with Benji had created bled into my ride home with Rome.
“You okay? You’re quiet.” He half turned toward me, trying to maintain his focus on the road at the same time.
“I’m just thinking.” I sighed. “I wish Mom hadn’t invited that pair of fuckwits to dinner.” I shifted. “Gave me indigestion.”
“Well, that I can fix.” Rome flipped his blinker on and made a right turn, straight into the drive-through bakery that sold my favorite cupcakes.
He drove up to the window and ordered one, which he presented to me with a flourish. “For my favorite man,” he said.
I laughed and fluttered my eyelashes.
“You don’t have to put up with Eli’s shit, you know?” Rome pulled into a parking spot then turned to me. “Just say the word and I’ll make ‘em disappear,” he growled and grinned.
I laughed again, the cupcake and Rome both working to make me feel better. “Thanks for having my back, even when I’m a grumpy bastard,” I said.
Rome leaned over and kissed me softly. “Always,” he murmured.
18
Rome
November
I sat beside Matthew and Coop as Coop and I prepared for our new roles. As I shadowed Matthew in preparation to become chairman, Coop was shadowing me before he started as CEO. I’d been pretty much buried in work and always learning or teaching. I needed to step into Matthew’s shoes in a seamless transition that didn’t harm the business, and I needed Coop to do the same into his new role.
But I didn’t want my necessary focus on my business to damage what I was creating with Gray. My balls tightened at just the thought of him, and as important as Hayes Financial was, Gray was more so.
