“Right. Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.” Adrian took a deep, grounding breath. He didn’t turn around to look at Sterling, but feeling his gaze was enough. “Goodnight.”
Adrian closed the door, then headed down the third-floor stairs and slunk his way across the bar, then down the stairs to the dance floor. It wasn’t long before he was in the back of a car headed back to the Loweestate.
A family.Asif.
Adrian had enough trouble trying to hold together the one he already had to think of startinganother.
14
Sterling
Two young menexited the Lowe family home early one Tuesday morning, one of whom Sterling knew very well. Adrian, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a loose graphic t-shirt, locked the front door and tested the doorknob to make sure it was secure. The younger, thinner man attached to his hip looked different than he had two month ago, but there was no mistaking him. The sheen of his golden-brown hair and the shape of his face were too similar to Adrian’s to think he was anything other than hisbrother.
A few weeks at home had doneGabrielgood.
Sterling pushed off the hood of his car. He met Adrian not all that far down the path leading to the front door of the Lowe household and walked him to the passenger side door. As he approached, Gabriel shrank away, but didn’t separate fromAdrian.
The fear in his eyes wasn’t right. It left Sterlinguneasy.
“Thank you for coming to pick us up.” Adrian’s hand rested on the door handle, but didn’t yet pull it open. “You didn’tneedto.”
“I wouldn’t have you go to your first prenatal visitalone.”
“Gabriel would have been there.” Adrian nodded at the timid young man doing his best to blend in with the car and disappear. “I could have driven. It would havebeenfine.”
Sterling should have known to expect the pushback—Adrian had been doing his best to avoid his calls and texts. Communication was better than it had been before Adrian’s confession, but to Sterling, it was still lacking. And to make matters worse, the topic Sterling was most interested in discussing hadn’t been brought up at all—Adrian still hadn’t given him ananswer.
Not knowing stretched Sterling’s patience to thelimit.
Adrian’s pregnancy wouldn’t last forever, and they were already more than eight weeks since conception. Time was ticking, but all Sterling could do was wait and hope he’d made a good enough impression that Adrian would consider his offerfavorably.
“You know…” Sterling glanced over Adrian’s shoulder at Gabriel, who was making himself small against the side of the car. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Sterling. It’s nice tomeetyou.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened and his lips formed a tight, terrified O. He made no other sign he’d heard Sterling. It was as though acknowledgment turned him from living flesh into astatue.
“Gabriel…” Adrian slipped away from the door to stand by Gabriel’s side. He set a hand on the small of Gabriel’s back, and slowly Gabriel defrosted. “Can you introduce yourself to Sterling? He’s my… boyfriend,remember?”
The title made Sterling want to beam, but he shelved most of his enthusiasm and settled for a smile instead. Whatever was wrong with Gabriel, he didn’t want to exacerbate the issue by revealing too much about his relationship with Adrian. Sterling was sensitive enough to see that not all was well with him, and he didn’t want to trigger him any more than healreadyhad.
“Hello, Sterling,” Gabriel whispered. He didn’t meet Sterling’s eyes, but Sterling didn’t try to push the issue. The small way Gabriel spoke betrayedhisfear.
“Hello.” Sterling smiled. “Thank you for coming out with us today. I’m sure Adrian appreciates thesupport.”
A glint sharpened Adrian’s eyes, but Sterling couldn’t tell if it was thankful or irritated. “Ido.”
“I didn’t want to be alone,” Gabriel admitted. “It’s not… good to bealonehere.”
Sterling wanted to pry, but he kept his questions to himself. He could infer what Gabriel meant. He’d seen the red flags firsthand on the night of Gabriel’s return. Knowing would only make him more concerned. If anything happened to the baby, Sterling didn’t know what he’d do. All of it was so sudden, but being a father was second nature to him, and he was excited to have a chance to do it the right way this time around, no matter if Adrian was there beside himornot.
“And you don’t have to be alone. Not ever again.” Adrian kept one hand on Gabriel’s back and used the other to open the back door of the car. “Get settled, okay? We’ve got to make sure I keep myappointment.”
“Yes.” Gabriel lowered himself into the car and sat. Once his feet were safely inside and he had started to do up his buckle, Adrian closed the car door and kept one hand on it as he turned to look atSterling.
Sterling methisgaze.
“We haven’t really talked about Gabriel.” Adrian’s expression tightened, and for a moment he looked troubled. “He’s… he’s delicate. Don’t talk about anything related to youbusiness. He doesn’t… he isn’t really ready to hear about anything like that. I’ve been trying to get him to see someone, but he shuts down every time I bringitup.”
“I won’t say a word.” Sterling didn’t plan to. In all things, he was discreet. The proclivities of his patrons were no exception. “I’m not here because of The Shepherd. I’m here becauseofyou.”
