The look on Joey’s face as he took in the first floor of my house was something I tried to memorize and store in my heart forever. He was in awe like a kid in a candy store. “Damn…this is nice, Vince. And Tyler found it for you?”
We’d come in from the garage, the door dumping us right into the kitchen. “He did.”
“This kitchen is beautiful.” He ran his hand over the porcelain countertop. It had muted veining that matched the cabinets and cascaded down the waterfall edges. Joey narrowed his eyes at me. “Do you even cook, Daddy? Hmm?”
“Not much. No.” I flashed him a smile. “Breakfast is my specialty.”
“I bet.” The saucy little thing.
“Are you angling for a spanking?” Hudson had said that’s something they played with every now and then, and I certainly wasn’t opposed to it, though I didn’t want to ever hurt him. Still, a little sting might go a long way.
Something in his expression was a clear change in his presentation. “No, Daddy. I’m a good boy.” And damn, his voice…that soft but eager tone.
“Good. Then let me show you around.” I crossed the kitchen and pointed at the doorway between it and the dining area. “Bathroom is in there.” It was a simple powder room. I turned around and pointed forward. “Living room. And another bathroom.” I pointed to the far end. That one had a shower, and I’d had the designer rearrange it to open to the back patio for convenient access from the pool. “Bedrooms and such are upstairs.”
He examined the space, paying closer attention to the smaller details like the picture of me and Grant in front of my first racecar after I’d won that race. It set the tone for my entire career, really.
“Wine?” I asked, gesturing to the dry bar I had set up beside the patio doors.
“Sure.”
“We can go outside. White or red?”
Joey shrugged. “I’m not, uh…”
“Not big on wine?”
I could see the struggle on his face, though I wasn’t sure why. “Not experienced.”
“Okay. Let’s go with a dessert wine. It’s sweeter.” I poured two glasses, and after handing him one, I opened the patio. The door pushed wide, completely exposing the inside to the outside.
“Whoa. That’s cool.”
“I thought so.” It was essentially my first home, and I loved it so much that it would probably be my last. Pride didn’t begin to cover how I felt. “I’m glad you like it. Come on.”
We went out and sat in the comfortable chairs on the covered porch overlooking the pool. I flipped the firepit on, sending flames up across the blue rocks.
Joey whistled. “Seems like you thought of everything. Seating, fire, kitchen, pool.” He waved his hand around as he spoke.
“Haven’t used the kitchen yet. You’ll have to come over for dinner.”
“Want to grill out for your birthday?”
“Maybe.”
He sipped his wine, his gaze still darting around. “Tell me about the charity.”
“Straight to the point.”
“Well, it is why I came over.”
Even though I wanted him to be here for other, more personal reasons, I was excited about working with Joey this year on the benefit project. I pursed my lips together, because I was hoping for more than talking about charity work. Maybe afterward. “Well. Sage is an LGBTQ-plus organization that advocates for seniors. It’s a national charity. I mostly did events wherever I was going to be, but this year I’m not racing. I want to do something here and maybe make it an annual thing.”
“When is it and what do you have so far?”
“Mid-December. And since it’s Christmas, I thought we could do a Christmas ball. I have a few places to choose from.”
“Where?”
