“He’s getting ready for the babies,” Crawford said, as if Marcus should already know. “Cleaning the condo, reorganizing trivial things, and generally doing far more than the doctors would be happy to know he’sdoing.”
“Guess you can fire your housekeeperthen,huh?”
Crawford was silent for a moment, but when he spoke again, there was a sharp, steely quality to his voice that let Marcus know he was toeing the line. “If we didn’t have a housekeeper, I’d be more worried than I am about Owen’s condition. He doesn’t need to do more than he’s already doing. He only just agreed to go on paternity leave from Stonecrest. I will not have him work any more than healreadyis.”
“Crawford,” Marcus said flatly. “Calm down. I’m kidding. I know you’ve been all Papa Bear lately, but take it down a notch or two. Youknowme.”
“You have myapologies.”
“You’re fine.” Marcus yawned and stretched. “Although next time you have huge, life-changing news, maybe organize yourself to make sure that news happens at adecenthour.”
“It’s ten in themorning.”
“When is the last time that I’ve been awake at ten in the morning on a Saturday?” Marcus rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “But I’ll forgive you. You’ve been away from the scene for a while. You’ve probablyforgotten.”
Ten in the morning meant time for coffee. Marcus climbed out of bed and padded, barefoot, to the kitchen. He kept his phone againsthisear.
“Are you going to keep derailing the conversation, or can I get on with what I wanted toaskyou?”
“There’s more news than your upcoming nuptials?” Marcus asked. He replaced the filter of his percolator while he ground some fresh coffee beans. “How are you going to top newslikethat?”
“Is thatapun?”
“Maybe.” Marcus’ lips twitched. “But pun or not, tell me. I’m dyingtoknow.”
“I’d like you to be mybestman.”
Marcus’ hand stopped on the way to the coffee grounds. He dropped it, his fingers latching onto the edge of the marblecountertop.
“Best man?” Marcus asked indisbelief.
“Yes.”
“Areyousure?”
“Marcus.” Crawford’s tone left no room for argument. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t mean it. The words I speak, I speak with certainty. Will you be mybestman?”
Marcus rubbed at his eyes again, this time not to clear away the sleep, but to try to do away with some of the shock. He’d known Crawford for close to seven years—ever since Crawford had first stepped foot into Marcus’ favorite haunt, The Shepherd, a members-only kink club. He’d watched as Crawford discovered himself, growing into the strong, willful man he was today. To think they’d come so far wasjarring.
“I’d behonored.”
“Then I look forward to seeing you there,” Crawford said. “We’ll be issuing the official invitations after the twins are born, when we have a better grasp on just how much trouble we’reinfor.”
Marcus crowed a laugh and shook his head. He released the edge of the counter to grab the coffee grinder and dumped the ground coffee into the percolator. “You never do anything half-assed, do you, Crawford? Your subs, your relationships, and nowfatherhood.”
“Doing it right is more important than doing itquickly.”
“I guess.” Marcus selected a coffee mug from the cabinet. Coffee dripped into the empty pot, tantalizing him. “But I don’t think you’ll be singing the same tune after the twinsarrive.”
“One day you’re going tounderstand.”
“Nah. Not me.” Marcus dug through the fridge and came out with the container of fruit salad he’d prepared the night before. “I’ve been in the game longer than you have. I’ve seen more faces than you ever will. I’ve never met a man who’s made me want to change. If I can play for as long as I have without any emotional connection, I don’t have high hopes that I’ll wake up tomorrow to find the perfect man has crawled into bedbesideme.”
Marcus nudged the fridge closed with his hip. He brought the fruit salad to the counter, took off the cling wrap sealing the top, then poked a few pieces of melon with a fork to make sure they were stillcrisp.
“It will happen,” Crawford promised. “How long did I wait? Like I said, doing it right is more important than doing it quickly. One day someone is going to change your life, and then I’ll be the one in your shoes, getting a call at ten on a Saturday while you gush about yourundyinglove.”
Marcus laughed again. “Owen really has done a number on you,hasn’the?”
