A Bundle of Mannies

by Lorelei M. Hart

  “He told me about that performance.” I snapped my mouth shut, fearing I wasn’t helping.

  “Did he tell you he was determined to sing loud enough his dad could hear him in Heaven?” A tear slipped from his eye, and I found myself enveloping him in my arms, wanting to take away some of his hurt.

  “He did hear him. I know he did,” I reassured as both our tears began to flow freely.

  We stayed in that intimate embrace until my phone ripped us from the moment, reminding us both we had places to be.

  “I’m going to get the boys.” I gave him one last squeeze.

  “Like an angel,” Kylos said as we parted ways.

  Like an angel indeed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kylos

  I had to be losing my mind, asking Graysen for what we both knew was a date. As I dressed for dinner that night, instead of going over my remarks to the gathering as I should be doing, I was going over where I thought the evening would go. Unlike me, the manny did not have the luxury of a quiet, private time to prepare. Strains of a children’s television show—educational judging by the singing alphabet, although geared to Seth drifted to me. But Eric was singing along, Seth was trying, and they were both giggling.

  A rap at the sitting room door let us know the babysitter had arrived—Maisy, the same one from the day before—and we were on our way. Graysen wore the same suit but a different shirt and tie, and he’d look good in just about anything.

  I sized him up and had an idea. “Graysen, can you come in here?” I retreated to my cabin.

  “Sure.” He strolled in. “Ready to go?”

  “Just about.” I rifled through the closet. “Aha. Here it is. Take off your jacket.”

  “What? Aren’t we leaving?” He sounded puzzled.

  I held up a hanger. “I think this will fit you. It’s never hung quite right on me.”

  Graysen wrapped his arms around him and stepped back. “You don’t need to give me clothes. If this isn’t nice enough, I don’t have to go.”

  Ugh. “You sound like Eric, and I have taken an oath no longer to make anyone feel inadequate. You don’t look bad, but I think this light gray will look good on you. If you don’t want it, I’ll just donate it somewhere. It was just a thought.”

  He considered me then the jacket then me again. “Fine.” He slipped out of his own, slightly wrinkled suit coat, and I helped him into the other. Stepping in front of him, I smoothed the lapels and tried not to accept it was far more about copping a feel than smoothing the fine weave. “It’s very light, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I bought it for the cruise in fact.” And had clipped the tags out just this morning. “My tailor just didn’t do the alterations correctly, and with this light wool, another round would spoil it.” I moved back and took his arm. “Come look in the mirror. It’s as if he did it for you.”

  In the bathroom, he turned this way and that, smiling. “I am sure I can’t afford this, but as you said, it fits as if it was made for me.” He stroked his arms, something I would have preferred to do. “So, maybe I can make payments?”

  “No.” I watched him in the mirror, beyond tickled at his delight in the jacket. “If you don’t take it, it will just hang in my closet for years until the moths get it.” Not that a moth would dare invade my cedar-lined walk-in. “So you’re doing me a favor if you take it. I hate waste.”

  A tentative smile lifted his lips and revealed, once again, that bright-white smile, almost too white to be real. Except I was pretty sure he didn’t use whitener because it didn’t have that glow that always turned me off. “I don’t believe you for a minute, you know. But I will accept your very generous gift because it does look fantastic on me and, with your broad shoulders”—a compliment! I tried without success not to preen—“it wouldn’t fit well.”

  Our faces were side by side in the mirror, my chin right over his shoulder. “And why shouldn’t we be the best-looking pair at dinner?” If I spoke in his ear, if he gave a little shudder, it was simply because of how we were standing. For what happened next, however, I had no excuse.

  “Well, you are always the best-looking man in the room,” he said, breathlessly as I turned him away from the mirror and into my arms. “Thank you for the jacket.”

  I nuzzled his cheek. “You’re welcome.”

  “What if the kids come in?”

  It was my private bath, not the one they used, but they were kids. Even Eric had a tendency to show up at inopportune bathroom moments. A toddler would be even more likely to wander in. So I gave the door a soft shove with my foot then reached back and twisted the lock. “Now they can’t.”

  I bent to take his lips, brushing mine over them first, savoring the moment before urging them apart and plunging my tongue inside. We didn’t have long, locked door or not, before someone interrupted us, and I could no longer avoid the desire to kiss him. It wouldn’t be more, couldn’t be more. Shouldn’t be this…

  He tasted of the cinnamon toothpaste he used. I’d noticed the smell before. I locked my hands at the small of his back, holding him steady as he tangled his fingers in my hair and responded to my licks and nips. Our tongues twined together in a complex dance, and I backed him up against the vanity, sliding a knee between his and grinding my hard, aching cock against the bulge in his slacks. I wasn’t innocent, obviously, and had had a few dates that ended in someone’s bedroom since my husband died, but I’d never, not even with him, been this desperate for someone. I pushed any feelings of disloyalty aside, especially since I knew this couldn’t go far. And certainly not in the bathroom of our suite, but I still reached for his waistband, thinking of...well, I don’t know what, or maybe I did. The voice in my head was insisting it would just be once, it would be fast, no one would know.

  And that stopped me.

  This man, this incredible talented, smart, handsome omega did not deserve to be my secret bathroom quickie.

  I lifted my lips from his, about to say something to the effect, trying to form the words, when a rap came on the door, saving me.

  “Unka, Unka…”

  And… “Seth, your uncle and my dad are in the bathroom. Let them alone.”

  My cheeks burned. Graysen’s flamed red.

  I cleared my throat and said, “We’ll be right out, boys, just tying our ties.”

  Their footsteps moved away, and we faced the mirror again.

  “We can’t do this.” No matter how much I wanted to.

  “No,” he replied. “We are responsible for them. A shipboard affair would only confuse us all.”

  “Right.” Except I knew, with him, it would never be an affair. It would be an entanglement from which I might never recover. And if it didn’t work out, the boys would also suffer. They’d both been through enough, between Eric’s dad dying and Seth’s putting him last in his priorities. They deserved stability.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Graysen

  “It’s showtime, little man. Are you ready to watch your brother, I mean Eric on stage?” Marilyn gave the slight squeeze to Seth’s cheeks that had become her habit. He loved it and would lean into her hand so I didn’t see any reason to disallow it.

  It wasn’t the first time over the past two weeks she’d slipped about them being brothers, and I had no belief that it was a slip, but I pretended for the sake of not having to face the implications of her comment. Kylos, Eric, Seth, and I looked like a family to anyone who didn’t know it wasn’t the case.

  Kylos doted on Seth, going so far as to use the toddler carrier on more than a few occasions. Eric walked proudly, holding Seth’s hand and teaching him about all the things they encountered. And me? I did the worst job of pretending our date never happened. Sure, we’d agreed to not go any further while I was still in his employee because it felt wrong to me. Dinner after our kiss and make-out session had been as cordial as anyone could wish, despite what still simmered inside me. It was the only part of what Kylos and I had tested the waters on that felt wrong.

/>   I could only wish on the stars in the night sky that it wasn’t the magic of the cruise and the sirens singing across the waves that had our connection so deep.

  “Thank you so much for allowing this, Ms. Temple.” Technically, it wasn’t showtime, it was a dress rehearsal, but I wanted Seth to see the performance and equally wanted to not have to leave the room during the production if Seth got too squirmy or loud, so dress rehearsal it was.

  “Marilyn, and of course. Introducing your children into theater young is one of the most important things you can do for a child.” She gave Kylos a little side eye, and I bit the side of my cheek to avoid letting the giggle escape my mouth at her jab.

  Kylos took it in stride.

  “Not engineering?” he bantered back, and she held her hand to her chest with a gasp.

  “Surely, you know I am no longer in my youth despite my stunning appearance. Let’s try not to shock the old woman to death with your silliness.” She was having way too much fun. I was going to miss her. We all were and had mentioned it more than once over the final days of the cruise.

  “Apologies. I had no idea you were a day over twenty.” He bowed his head after giving her a wink.

  She shooed us inside. We’d still not seen Eric in his costume or heard him sing his songs for the production. My helping had been all about the sets in a room assigned for their creation, something I’d initially been upset about, but as I walked into the auditorium with Seth on my hip and Kylos by my side, I appreciated that we’d all be experiencing this together.

  Being the only members of the audience who weren’t some sort of director or another turned out to be an interesting experience. They started the musical four times in a row before getting the opening lighting and sound correct. So when the fifth time rolled around, I’d expected more of the same, the curtain falling before Eric made his entrance.

  “We may never see him,” I whispered to Kylos as Eric walked on stage proving me wrong.

  Eric stood there in the center of the stage, his presence so powerful I was blown away. I’d always heard of stage presence and, quite honestly, felt it to be a made up kind of thing to describe someone who people just liked to watch perform—either for their looks or their skill.

  And then Eric changed my opinion completely. He wore a bird costume that was half puppet half clothing, and it was as if all people on the stage disappeared. Even Seth, who had been fidgeting and looking all places but forward during the first four takes, gave him his undivided attention.

  And then Eric opened his mouth and his first of many songs began, a song about finding your family. A fitting show for the type of cruise it was, but I couldn’t help but feel like it was written just for me. Eric’s bird traveled the globe, seeking what he had already had but been blind to see—a family. Not a traditional one, but one that loved him and he loved back.

  Darn Marilyn and her ability to see me. So many of her little comments made over the past two weeks started to click in my brain. She saw everything, which probably contributed to her ability to perform so beautifully.

  And also made her annoyingly wonderful.

  Kylos reached over and held my hand as the final chorus echoed through the theater, Seth climbing onto his lap. He loved Kylos and Eric. I did, too, even if I was too scared to admit it. They had wormed their way into my heart, and the thought of losing them or having them become less than what we’d become during our short time together stung.

  I was so not ready for this cruise to be over. For my time with Kylos to be over. Sure, we had already agreed to see where things went. But the fear that the entire connection was situational had a knot building in my stomach, which was not the place I wanted a knot. I was officially a hot mess.

  As the curtains fell and we clapped as loudly as we could, Kylos leaned over, speaking low in my ear, “This really makes you think, doesn’t it?”

  “Maybe too much,” I agreed as we jumped to our feet, giving the cast the biggest, boldest, loudest standing ovation three people in the history of theater ever had. And later that night, when Kylos and I watched the full production, the entire theater roared with equal enthusiasm, the smile on Eric’s face showing everyone that he was officially bitten by the theater bug—he’d found his joy.

  I couldn’t be prouder.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kylos

  We still had a day aboard ship before we docked, but Eric’s show, performed for all who wanted to come in the same theater where a famous singer had been headlining, was the highlight of the entire voyage. For me at least. I had never realized I had a budding star on my hands, but the boy who lit up that stage had all of his father’s talent and the drive to make it a career.

  A career that terrified me because it was in no way a sure thing. Even with a good friend like Marilyn Temple who vowed to pave the way should he choose to be an actor. She suggested voice classes—with a teacher in our town who she knew well. Dancing. Acting. Gymnastics for some reason. It seemed that the choice he leaned toward was even more absorbing than the one I’d set him on.

  But this one made him beam with joy. And growl with frustration when rehearsals hadn’t gone well or he forgot a line. He’d need to learn patience as well. But as we disembarked, my attention was focused on the two boys holding hands and chattering down the gangplank. Seth’s language skills had taken one heck of a leap in his time with Eric. Which made me proud. He didn’t lack patience in that department.

  The long black car waited for us, and, as before, the luggage would be sent separately, this time including Graysen and Seth’s things so we didn’t have to wait like most of the passengers. I wouldn’t have minded, though. Because as soon as we reached his house, our employment contract was over, and he hadn’t suggested we get together again.

  As his employer, I hadn’t felt it was my place to do so. Maybe he would say something.

  But we sat shoulder to shoulder, facing forward while the boys faced backward and continued their conversation about the trip, mostly about which was their favorite island and flavor of milkshake. At least they were talking for the first ten minutes or so...then they were asleep.

  “They did have fun together, didn’t they?” Graysen said after adjusting Seth so his head wasn’t hanging forward and he returned to sit next to me. “Even if they are completely misguided.”

  “What?” I couldn’t think of anything he could be referring to.

  “About the ultimate best ever milkshake. It’s clearly the Elvis special. Peanut butter, banana, and—”

  “And bacon you smuggled down there from the breakfast buffet. I was appalled.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, until you tasted it.”

  “And they put it on the menu,” we said at the same time.

  “A shake a day was an awful lot of calories,” I said, patting my waistline.

  “But worth it, right?”

  “So worth it.” His house was just around the corner, and I had to say it. He wasn’t going to. “So, I’ve been thinking…”

  But his moan caught me off guard. “My house! What happened to my house?”

  I leaned past him to look out the window. “Was there a fire?”

  The roof was blackened in one section, and no workers were in sight. Graysen clawed his phone from his pocket and dialed. “Hello? What happened? Yes, that’s me, how did you guess?” I’d never heard any tone like this from the easygoing omega. “And you never tried to contact me? You didn’t think I’d want to be…disturbed?” He set the phone on his lap and counted to ten then picked it up again, but he was so red in the face, I was afraid he’d have a seizure or a stroke.

  “May I?” I held my hand out, and he passed me the device, still counting under his breath. “Hello, this is Kylos Thermopolous...no, you probably don’t know me, but realize that if this isn’t handled and handled fast, I am your worst nightmare.... Tomorrow at nine?” I glanced from the sleeping boys to the growling omega. “We’ll meet you then. Good day, sir.”

&nbs
p; Disconnecting, I turned to Graysen. “Well, from what I can tell, the news is not good, but his insurance will cover it. Something about a torch... We will find out the details tomorrow.”

  “Did he say anything about putting us in a hotel tonight?”

  I shrugged. “I didn’t ask, but after our trip, I didn’t think you’d want to be in a hotel.”

  His eyes were wide. “Well, we can’t stay there, can we? Is it inhabitable?”

  “No. But we’ll find out everything tomorrow morning. I thought maybe you could stay at my house tonight?”

  A sharp intake of breath. “I can’t ask you to do that,” he protested. “It’s not your responsibility.” His eyes shone with tears. “He was the only one I could afford, who’d take payment the way I needed to… I should have known better.”

  Unable to keep my distance, I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and brought him close to me. “Shh. We don’t need to worry the boys. Seth will just think it’s more vacation, and Eric already told me how sad he was to see you go. Once we have all the details, you can decide, but why don’t you consider just staying with us until your home is repaired?”

  He sniffed, but kept his voice low. “Do you think they will give me the per diem for the hotel even if I don’t go to one?”

  “Most likely...if they don’t want a call from my attorney.”

  He sat up and wiped at his damp cheeks. “We will accept your offer on one condition.”

  “Which is?” I was intrigued.

  “You let us pay you what we get for accommodations. I won’t stay for free.”

  “Deal.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Graysen

  “I made dinner.” I stepped into Kylos’ open arms as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen. He’d been busy beyond belief since I’d moved in—started staying here—whatever it was I was doing. We needed to discuss that, but I was too chicken to bring it up, afraid I was going to burst the bubble of happy I currently resided in. And really, it had only been a week...and a half. Yeah, I needed to bring it up.