“Is Oliver okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s getting sleepy and Mom says they’d be happy to have him spend the night if we’d like to stay out late and have fun.” It wasn’t until after he’d repeated the message that he realized how it sounded, and his gaze flew to Siobhan. His mother wasn’t even trying to be subtle.
Her cheeks were pink, but she was trying not to laugh. “You can tell her we appreciate the offer, but the entire point of us being here is for Oliver to get comfortable with sleeping at your house, so we’ll be there shortly.”
He knew there was no way Siobhan had missed what his mom was getting at, but at least she wasn’t offended. If she wanted to pretend she was amused that his parents were missing the point of the sleepover, he’d let her.
Honestly, he wouldn’t have minded taking his mom up on her offer, but that was Siobhan’s move to make. Yes, they’d held hands across the table for a minute, but that had been more of a comfort gesture than a romantic one. Other than that, there had been no hot looks, no touching and definitely no kissing.
Oliver was still awake when they arrived, but barely. And Siobhan had to work hard at keeping him awake during the drive back to his place. She didn’t want him to just wake up there, which was a possibility considering how hard he slept. It was important for him to go through the process of getting ready for bed and doing the routine, according to her, and she was probably right.
“How about I give you kisses down here and Daddy puts you to bed tonight?”
Brian wondered how long it would take before hearing himself called Daddy didn’t hit him with a surge of emotion. He hoped it was never.
Oliver blinked at him, and he smiled back. “I’m pretty good at reading stories.”
“Okay.”
“Do you remember what you do at bedtime?” Siobhan asked, pulling Oliver onto her lap.
“Get changed and brush my teeth and get a story and then night-night.”
She ran her hand over his hair, and Brian saw a hint of sadness in her smile. It couldn’t be easy for her to share him, and every day he appreciated her more. “Good job. Give me night-nights now.”
After Oliver squeeze-hugged her neck and gave her a smacking kiss, Oliver took his hand and they went up the stairs together. Brian had been practicing with the baby gates and he was pretty proficient at this point. Stella wasn’t a fan of them, of course, but they were only closed when Oliver was here.
It probably took him longer to go through the routine than it did Siobhan, but Oliver didn’t seem to mind. At this point, he was so sleepy, he probably didn’t even care. He sighed contentedly when Brian tucked him into bed, and by the time he finished a story about a train who waslearning not to be naughty and ignore caution flags, he was surprised Oliver was still awake.
Barely, but he was awake enough to open his arms for a hug. “Night-night, Daddy.”
Brian closed his eyes as the little arms wrapped around his neck, and for a moment he just breathed in the scent of his hair. Then he kissed him on the forehead. “Night-night, son.”
After turning on the little night-light, he turned back. “Mommy will be in that room right there and I’ll be downstairs, so if you need anything, just holler, okay?”
He made a small sound of understanding, almost out. Brian turned off the light switch and partially closed the door. Not totally, but enough to block out the television or conversation from downstairs.
Siobhan was still on the couch, her legs drawn up so her feet were tucked under her. Stella was sprawled next to her, her head on her lap. When he’d first brought Stella home as a pup, he’d tried to tell her she wasn’t allowed on the couch or the bed. She’d disagreed.
The television was on, and Siobhan had the remote in hand, flipping through channels. She paused when she saw him, giving him a smile. “I’m nosy and wanted to see what channel you’d left it on.”
He made an exaggerateduh-ohface that made her laugh. “I don’t even remember what I was watching.”
“There was a show about game wardens on.”
“Oh, yeah. Stella likes to watch that and cheer on the K-9s from the comfort of her couch. I’m not a big TV watcher, so go ahead and choose anything you want.”
She shrugged, setting the remote down after putting it back on the original channel. “It was a long day thatended in a big emotional rush and a large dinner, so I’m not far behind Oliver. How did that go?”
“He went down surprisingly easy,” he said, dropping into his battered leather recliner, which had been a hand-me-down from his uncle Joe.
“After extra outside time at daycare because it’s getting cooler and a long car ride and then being at your parents, he’s exhausted. But he’s never had a problem going to bed, as a rule, and he’s really comfortable with you.”
“It feels miraculous, honestly.”
She shrugged. “He’s a pretty open, loving kid which obviously can be a concern as a parent sometimes, but also spending a week with both of us helped. Even though you weren’t as hands-on, his subconscious probably recognized that I trust you and your family, so he can.”
“Is he always so easygoing?”
