Thomas kissed Ben’s knuckles. “And I love you. Let me lock up and we can head over.”
He grabbed his wallet and phone from the apartment and locked the deadbolt, checking the knob before joining Ben back in the hallway. With ease, he threaded their fingers together and headed down to his car. Driving was the least he could do, considering how much Ben had put in for the weekend. The restaurant was the place he and Kenzie often met at for brunch, which wasn’t terribly far from the apartment. Ben’s nerves radiated off of him for the entire drive, and no matter how tight Thomas held his hand, they didn’t waver.
In the parking lot, he stopped Ben and grabbed him by the face, forcing his stare and hoping that he could get through to the man he loved. “I promise that this will be okay.”
“I know.”
“If you want to back out, you can take my car home and I’ll meet up with you later. No hard feelings,” he said with absolute sincerity.
“I can’t just go home.”
“You can.”
“I want to meet her,” Ben said, covering Thomas’s hands with his own. “But you were nervous when you met Lara, right? It’s just like that.”
“I need you to know that I won’t stand for either of my children treating you poorly,” he said, pressing his fingers into Ben’s cheeks with the promise. “You’re part of my life and they’ll treat you the same as they would treat me.”
“That’s…” Ben swallowed back whatever he wanted to say. “I can’t ask that of you.”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling.”
“I know things have been touchy with them for years, and I don’t want to make it worse,” Ben worried aloud.
“Impossible.” He leaned close and pressed their mouths together. “I love you and so will they. Besides, Dakota isn’t even here. It’s just Kenzie.”
Ben snorted an unamused sound in his throat. “The sharp one.”
“She’s the best parts of me.” That seemed to do the trick and some of the fight fell from Ben’s shoulders. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” Ben tried to shake out of his hold, but Thomas refused, instead taking Ben’s hand and meshing their fingers together. He led Ben into the restaurant, relieved enough to find that Kenzie hadn’t gotten there yet. It gave them time to get in and get settled, and after Thomas ordered them both drinks, Ben excused himself to the bathroom.
In his absence, their drinks arrived, and so did Kenzie, with an unexpected guest in tow.
“Dakota.” Thomas stood from the table to hug Kenzie, but he wasn’t sure how to greet his son. Kenzie chuffed at the confusion and slid into one of the empty chairs, ignoring the awkward greeting Thomas was trapped in. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Kenzie said I should come,” Dakota said, sounding as petulant as a five year-old.
Thomas sighed and sat back down, glad his drink had already arrived and well aware that he would need it. Maybe he should have sent Ben home anyway. Even though he hadn’t anticipated Dakota showing up, the table was already fraught with tension at their arrival and he knew it would only get worse once Ben returned.
“I told him I was meeting your boyfriend and he said he wanted to tag along,” Kenzie said.
“Meeting my boyfriend?” He arched a brow at her, smirking as she reached for the bread and immediately began to de-crust it. “I thought this was to celebrate my birthday.”
“Do you think if I tell the host we’re celebrating, dessert will be free?” she teased.
“The sheer number of candles required would burn the place down.”
“Maybe your boyfriend can help blow…them out,” she said.
“Watch your mouth.” He wagged a finger across the table at his youngest child, attention slowly drifting to his oldest.
He wasn’t stupid enough to think that Dakota had any interest in actually meeting Ben, and he worried that he’d only shown up to try and get money or, worse, a place to stay out of him. Neither of those things would be happening, though, and that knowledge helped him rest a little easier.
“Where is this boyfriend?” Dakota asked, glancing at the second drink on the table before looking over his shoulder.
“He went to use the restroom. I’m sure he’ll be right back.”
“Did you and Ben have a nice trip?” Kenzie asked, tossing her crust at him.
