He picked at the overly sweet cake and Charlotte handed him an iced tea.
Charlotte said, “I’m sorry if I overstepped before. I hope you’re not angry with me.”
“No. I understand. I’m happy Sean has people in his life who care about him.”
“And anyone who Sean cares about is important to us.” Surprising him, she squeezed his shoulder for a second, then left him. He drank his tea, but when he noticed Sean slipping inside the house, he followed him.
He tracked Sean down a long hallway and found him sitting on a couch in a sparsely furnished room, with the shades drawn against the bright sunlight. Sean quickly glanced up, his eyes widening when Tristan closed the door behind him.
“Is everything okay?” He sat next to Sean.
“I don’t know. I’m here for my nieces’ birthday, but all I’m thinking about is you and what you said on the train.”
“I’m not going to apologize. I didn’t like the road you were taking and wanted to make sure you knew it wasn’t a one-off like you thought. I’m not sure what it is, but…” Damn, the nerves were almost as bad as the first time he took the stage to pole dance. “What I am sorry for is interfering with your family time. I know how important that is to you.”
Sean slid a hand up his arm. “You didn’t. And you’re kind of important to me too. In case you didn’t know.” His smile, the first directed at Tristan that afternoon, relieved some of the tension coiled in his gut.
“So we’ll talk more once we get home?”
“I’d like that.”
Before he could dip his head to place a soft kiss on Sean’s lips, the door opened, and he sprang back. Of course it was Charlotte, who swept over the scene with her sharp eyes. But to his surprise, all she said was, “People are starting to leave, and a few of the moms said they wanted to talk to you, Sean.”
His brow wrinkled. “Me? Why?”
Her eyes danced. “Go find out.”
He followed Sean out of the room, passing Charlotte, who murmured, “Still sticking to your story?”
He ignored her to keep pace with Sean, who, it seemed, had made a fan club of this small circle of mothers on the North Shore. One, dressed in designer everything down to her sneakers, was the leader of the group.
“You weresoamazing with the kids. Ashley loves you.”
Red-faced, Sean shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “Thanks.”
“Would you be able to come to her birthday party to sing and do the balloon toys?”
Another mother piped up. “And my church is having a fall festival, and I’m in charge of the entertainment. I’d love for you to come and put on a show for the children.”
The others also chattered about how they wanted Sean to perform for their kids’ parties, and what was his calendar like for the rest of the year, and did he do older children’s parties as well?
Sean met his eyes, and Tristan could see he was a little overwhelmed and caught off guard, but he handled it nimbly.
“Oh, wow. I guess so. Sure.”
“Do you have a card?” the first mother asked. “I’d like to have it so I can contact you.”
“Us too,” the others chorused.
“Oh.” Sean’s face fell. “No, I don’t. I didn’t think…”
Charlotte came to the rescue. “But you can all let me know what you want, dates and times, and I’ll give Sean the information. Then he’ll email you. He’s just getting his website set up.”
Sean stared at her. “Uh, yeah. Right. My website.”
Tristan smothered a smile. He knew what Charlotte was up to, and he was neither surprised nor against it. Sometimes life presented you with a chance you never anticipated, and this might be the start of something stable for Sean.
When the women left, Sean waited by the huge quartz island in the sun-soaked kitchen. Outside the kids climbed all over Ray who seemed to enjoy it as much as they did.
