Parker smiled down at him and pressed a chaste kiss against the corner of his mouth. “I do, but they’re fine with Eddie until I’m back.”
“Eddie isn’t a doctor.”
“They’re fine,” Parker said again, turning his attention back to Leonidas. “You’re fine, too. Will we be seeing more of you?”
“Maybe,” he answered, at the same time Theo said yes.
Parker made a quick exit, the bagel he’d stolen hanging out of his mouth. The past five minutes had been an absolute whirlwind and Leonidas wasn’t sure what to make of it.
“So,” Theo said, sensing his confusion. “Parker and Ronan are married. Parker is the doctor in town. He’s kind of a menace, but we love him anyway. No offense, Ronan.”
“None taken.”
“Levi is James’s boyfriend. He and his brother used to own a kosher bakery here, but now it’s the gluten-free place. Levi has a food truck, and he uses the kitchen at the lodge a lot.”
“Who is James?” Leonidas asked, trying to piece it all together.
Theo opened his mouth and snapped it closed. Wrinkles appeared in the corners of his eyes and he gave Leonidas a kind of sad look.
“James is another one of Andy’s brothers,” Theo said, tilting his head to the side. “You came all the way here to see him and you…”
Theo trailed off, not speaking the rest of the thought, but it settled like a stone in Leonidas’s gut, confirming the truth.
Yes, he admitted to himself silently, he’d come to America to pursue a man he knew nothing about.
He was a fool.
As if sensing he was about to beat a hasty retreat to the closest airport, Ronan flattened his hands on the desk and stood up with a groan. He forced a smile, like he was in pain, and leveled a focused look at Leonidas.
“Let’s see about getting you a place to stay.”
21
Andy
Andy wokeup cold and alone on the floor of a hotel room that didn’t belong to him. He didn’t know what time it was, and he didn’t know where Leonidas had gone off to, but that bowl was still on the dresser and his duffel bag on the bed, so Andy at least knew he was coming back.
He got himself dressed and let himself out of Leonidas’s room, leaving his spare key behind and checking to make sure the door had latched when he pulled it closed. Andy went to his room, took a shower, then got dressed in clean clothes and went to the lobby to see if he could find any of his brothers. He managed to find Theo, who he wasn’t happy to see, with Eddie and Levi huddled around the front desk.
They all looked up when the doors opened, wide-eyed like they’d been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. When they realized it was just him, and not whoever they were worried about, their expressions softened.
“What are you hiding?” he asked.
Levi stepped away from the group and wiped his hands on the front of his jeans. He gave Andy a quick look and shrugged.
“Bagels,” he answered.
“Hiding bagels?”
“Eating them,” Eddie said, turning with a mouthful of bread. “I need to get to work.”
“Don’t tell Parker,” Levi warned.
“Why not?” Andy walked to the front desk and leaned over. There was a box of bagels. Everyone had one in hand and there were three left in the box. His stomach growled, so he reached in and plucked one out for himself.
“Parker isn’t allowed to have bagels,” Levi said, then he walked out.
Eddie straightened and swallowed the bite he’d been chewing.
