Alex wascalling.
He accepted the call and held the phone to his ear. “Alex?”
“Hi,” Alex said. His voice sounded stiff, but Laurence took that as a good sign. At least he wasn’t crying. “Do you think you can come over? My parents would like to meetyou.”
“I’ll be there in asecond.”
The call disconnected. Laurence tucked the phone into his pocket and left the vehicle. He’d parked half a block away—close enough that he could pick Alex up quickly if there was an emergency, but far enough away that he likely wouldn’t be spotted from thehouse.
6062 Syracuse Drive didn’t stand out from the houses around it. Twin juniper spiral topiaries stood guard on either side of the walkway just short of the front door, eye-catching pieces compared to the simple, aesthetically placed shrubbery that had been planted to flesh out the rest of the property’s gardens. The house’s windows were large and bright, its smooth stone façade uniform in color and simplistic in design. On the second floor was a small rooftop terrace that stretched along the side of the house over what appeared to be an elongated living room. A black iron fence enclosed its street-facingside.
Laurence took it all in as he traveled up the walkway to the front door. There was a small stoop separating the roofed entranceway from the stone path leading to it. Laurence took a moment to compose himself, then rang the doorbell andwaited.
He didn’t have to wait forlong.
The door opened abruptly. Alex jammed himself in the newly created space, his back to Laurence. “Mom!”
“Alex,” Samantha said brusquely from inside the house. “Get out of theway.”
“Mom!” Alex glanced over his shoulder at Laurence. “He’s here. Hewantsto talk to you and make things right. That’s why we’re here in the first place. But if you’re not going to calm down and talk to him like the rational woman I know you are, then I’m not going to get out of the way. I’m not going to let you see him like this. I know that you don’t agree with our decision, but it’s ours to make, and you have to respecthim!”
“Let me see him,” Samantha demanded. Her words weren’t shrill or overly emotional—they were sharpened icicles falling from great heights, slashing through wind and threatening whatever lay below. Anger like that was more dangerous than an outburst, and Laurence didn’t want Alex to suffer it anylonger.
He put a hand on Alex’s shoulder and squeezed. “Let me see her. It’sokay.”
“It’s not okay. She needs to treat you withrespect.”
“Alex,” Samanthawarned.
Laurence caught a glimpse of Samantha’s gray slacks and simple blouse beyond the doorway—Alex’s body was too small to obscure everything inside the house. He could speak over Alex if he needed to, but he knew to do so would be to marginalize Alex’s place in the conversation, and he refused to do it. Alex may have insisted on going alone to break the ice, but now that the news was out in the open, Laurence didn’t intend to hide him away like he was an afterthought or an inconvenience. They would face opposition together, and they would come out stronger forit.
Alex sighed in defeat. He stepped out of the house to stand by Laurence’s side and took Laurence’s hand in his own. The small sign of solidarity brought Laurence relief and reinforced his belief that everything was going to be okay. No matter what happened, they would find a way. He’d been going over just-in-case scenarios, planning for the worst, and he knew he could make it work even if everything today went horribly wrong. It would take effort, but he was no stranger to giving life everything hehad.
And with Alex as his end goal, hard work was worthit.
Samantha stood in the doorway, her head held high. The muscles in her neck were pronounced, and her shoulders were rigid. The easygoing, fair woman that Laurence knew from work was gone, and in her place stood a woman scorned. Her eyes traced back and forth between them as if to decide which of them deserved her irefirst.
Finally, her gaze settled on Laurence. Laurence met it and heldit.
“Mr. Gwynn, from the CCO,” Samantha said softly. She didn’t need to speak any louder than that—her words carried well, and Laurence’s ears were attuned to them. “Can you explain what the ever-lovinghellyou thought you were doing when you decided to take my son’sheat?”
“I didn’t take his heat, Ms. Harper,” Laurence replied. He kept his tone even and answered her questions as honestly as he could without throwing Alex under the bus. “At the time, I had no idea that Alex would be fertile. That doesn’t excuse the fact that I wasn’t safe with him, and I do accept blame forthat.”
“He’s twenty-one,” Samantha almost hissed. “You’re a grown man. You should knowbetter.”
Alex squeezed Laurence’s hand, and Laurence held firm. “I’m not arguing. Ishouldhave knownbetter.”
“I was the one who seduced him,” Alex said. He took a small step forward, as if doing so would shield Laurence from his mother. “Every time we did anything sexual, I was the aggressor. And I’m going to tell you right now that if he’d tried to use a condom with me, I wouldn’t have let him. I’m not saying that to be flippant, but I know me. I wouldn’t have wanted him if he was going to play with mesafely.”
“Why?” Samantha turned her gaze on her son, and the ice in her voice cracked and splintered, showing the imperfections at its core. Samantha was scared. Laurence had never seen her emote like that before, and his heart broke forher.
He knew the pain she was going through. When Matthew had told him the news, he’d never felt like more of a failure. If he’d been in Samantha’s position—faced with the man who’d knocked his son up—he would be equally, if not more, upset. But knowing that pain, Laurence understood that it was important for him to meet with Alex’s parents and let them know that he had no intention of jerking Alex around. The pregnancy was an accident, but that didn’t change the way Laurence felt about the young omega at hisside.
All he had to do was prove it, and by being here, he was taking steps toward making sure thathappened.
“Why?” Alex laughed. “Mom, I know that you like to think that I’m the same innocent little boy I was when I was eight, but… I’m not. My innocence went down in flames a long time ago, and now I’m a hot mess. I like the thrill of unprotected sex. Laurence didn’t rub his hands gleefully like a cartoon villain and diabolically state to the audience that he was going to plunder my unprotected ass—if anything, I was the cartoon villain, eager to enact my scheme to get that innocent man’s raw dick in myass.”
“Alex!”
