Isaac
I clutchedthe gift bag in my hand as I walked through the doors, but it may as well have been my heart because one thing was certain, it wasn’t in my chest anymore.
No, my heart was on the other side of the doors in Max’s hands, and it had all been my fault because I’d given it away so easily and far too quickly. Never for one moment had I considered this moment would come and that I would be this affected.
After all, we’d had less than two days together, and what did I know about Max?
Okay, so he was a nurse, he loved caring for people, and he helped LGBT kids in the center, but for all I knew, in real life, he was also an ass. Maybe he mistreated the checkout lady at the supermarket, or he shouted at the other nurses, or he left his dirty socks under the bed.
Once I was through all the security checks, I found my gate and sat down. On the flight to New York, I’d ended up chatting with a woman who was visiting her family, and we hadn’t stopped until we separated at the gate when she ran toward her son, daughter-in-law, and newborn grandson.
It was a shame she was staying in New York until after Christmas because she would have been a pleasant distraction now. Instead, here I was, staring at the tarmac outside and coming up with stupid reasons to think badly of Max—and failing miserably.
Even though we’d only had a short time together, there was no denying how good Max was. Yes, there was a lot I didn’t know about him, but I’d also felt more with Max than I’d ever felt with anyone else I'd been with.
In another life, I would have loved to explore our chemistry more, find what else we had in common, or if there were things that annoyed us about each other. As it was, the best I could hope for was that we’d keep in touch, although if I was finding it hard separating from Max now, how would it be having contact but not being able to touch him?
As I was about to turn my phone into airplane mode, I saw a message from my brother. It was a photo of Sofia with the captionCan’t wait to meet you, Uncle Isaac.
I replied that I couldn’t wait to meet her, too, and that I was about to board the plane.
The only thing that worked to keep Max off my mind during the flight was work. As soon as it was safe to use the tray in front of me, I got my notebook out and made copious notes about everything I learned from Dorian and Jean-Paul.
I already had a few ideas I could implement at the Rainbow Foundation pretty quickly, both to raise some money and also fun stuff for the kids to do. It would take some time to make it all happen, but if there was one thing I'd learned from this trip, it was that I'm not on my own. Both Jean-Paul and Dorian had insisted that I kept in touch with them and had even promised to stop in Portugal the next time they were in Europe to visit Jean-Paul's mom in Paris.
I knew that my first stop after landing at the Lisbon airport would be my brother's house because I couldn't wait another day to meet my niece, but I didn't expect to see him waiting for me at the airport.
“Olá, jet setter,” Alex said as I ran into his arms for a hug.
“Hey yourself, daddy,” I greeted back and saw my brother beaming at the nickname.
“Come on,” he said, grabbing the handle of my suitcase. “Joana is cooking us dinner, and if you're lucky, Sofia might be awake for you.”
“Lead the way.”
We were about halfway to my brother's place when my phone buzzed with a text.
David:Are you back yet? I'll exchange your gossip for custard tarts.
I chuckled and hit the reply button.
Me:You know that's why you're my best friend, right?
David:Because I'm insanely gorgeous?
Me:And you can bake. I'll give you the down low if I can crash at yours tonight. On my way to meet Sofia now.
David:Give my congratulations to Alex and Joana. Can't wait to meet your niece. See you later then.
I put the phone back in my pocket and turned to my brother.
“So, what's it like being a dad?”
“Best feeling in the world. God, Isaac, she's so small and precious. I'm scared shitless I'll break her, but at the same time…” Alex trailed off, so I looked at him. Even in the darkness of the car, I saw the difference in my brother. I was going to point it out when he spoke again. “My whole world has changed, Isaac. I thought my life was complete when I met Joana, but this one person, so small and helpless, makes my life whole.”
My throat tightened and tears threatened in the back of my eyes, and I had to look away so Alex wouldn't notice and ask questions. I wasn't sure I was ready to talk about Max yet.
“Are you ready?” he asked, and it was only then I realized we'd arrived.
