A thought occurred to Damien.
KnotMyProblem: TD, your wedding is coming up soon, isn’t it?
TeenDad2: Yup! Just twenty-one more days <3omg you guys should see Bo. He’s so excited. And we got Penny the cutest dress. I can’t wait
Twenty-one days. Damien rubbed his mouth as he thought it through, the grit of his stubble abrasive on his palm. Unlike xV, who’d forked over squintillions of doctor bucks to book a private island resort and ferry his family to Fiji, TD and Asshat Aaron were getting married in Aurora, where the majority of the Single Dads—and Matthew—lived. Could he swing prolonging his stay? With Bankes out for blood, probably not, but Damien could use the time he had to his advantage. Not only could he give Gwynn his letter in person so they could talk it out face to face, but he’d be able to spend time with the boy who’d stolen his heart.
Excited, he opened his text chat with Matthew.I have news that’ll help you feel a little better
What is it?
In three weeks, I’ll be in Aurora overnight for TD’s wedding. I’ll be staying at a hotel. I know since you’re caring for the girls you might not be able to swing it, but I want you to be there with me
Are you serious?It was hard to determine tone through text, but Damien read excitement into those words.Of course I’ll be there! I’ll figure out a way to make it work. What day?
Before Matthew could reply, there was a frantic knock on his door. An associate Damien didn’t recognize popped her head into the room. “Sir, Luczak sent me. The projection reports for the Herscher acquisition aren’t adding up and we need you to look at them.”
Damien sighed. The stench of some particularly stank-ass garbage wafted in on the breeze. It was, if his nose was correct, on fire. “Tell him I’ll be there in a second.”
“Yes, sir.” The associate disappeared, leaving Damien a few seconds to wrap up his conversation before he had to go. He spent them following up with Matthew.
I’ll get back to you ASAP with all the details. Work calls.Unsatisfied with leaving the conversation on such a casual note, Damien added,Baby boy, I really am worried about you. It’s killing me that I can’t be there to take care of you when you need it. If you’re not feeling better by the end of the day, let your dad take you to see a doctor. You need to take care of yourself.
I will.
I’m serious. When you know more about what’s going on with your health, I want you to text me. I lov—Damien stopped and looked at what he’d been typing, alarmed. He deleted the last part of the message before he could make a fool of himself and tried again.I adore you, and I’m gonna make sure you get better. I’ll be back in touch with information about my arrival as soon as I can.
I’ll be good and let you know what’s going on. Have a good day at work, Daddy. I’ll be here when you get home.
Damien sucked in a breath through his teeth, jammed his phone into his pocket, and collected his partially consumed protein shake. If Bankes saw him in the hall and made snide remarks about his raging erection, Damien would look him in eye, strip all the emotion from his face, and tell him in a low voice that assholes made him horny. Technically, it was the truth. What Bankes chose to infer from it was his problem.
22
Matthew
By the end of the day, Matthew did feel better, although the smell of the seasoned chicken breast his father was preparing for dinner curdled his stomach. He spent the night in bed with a glass of ginger ale and a slice of buttered toast, trading texts with Damien until Damien told him that it was time to go to bed. Eager to be a good boy, Matthew agreed.
The next day was better, as was the day after that, although Matthew was sick at least once both days. A week later his energy had improved, but inexplicably his nausea remained. Emily and Violet, upset to see him ill, were sweet and soft with him. They played calmly and quietly and made a show of sneaking around the house on their tiptoes so he could get some rest. While Matthew’s father was unhappy that Matthew wouldn’t agree to see a doctor, he respected Matthew’s reasons to stay home—he wasn’t running a fever, and with the improvement he was making, parasites likely weren’t to blame. It was probably the flu. Or… something. Whatever it was, Matthew was determined to best it, and spent as much time as he could resting. While he did his best to recover, Alex adjusted his studio hours so he could be home with the girls during the day.
Out of anyone, Damien was the most vocal about his concern. He checked in daily to see how Matthew was doing and fretted when Matthew confessed that he still wasn’t fully recovered.
I don’t like this at all. You said you’d be my good boy and let your dad take you to the doctor if you didn’t get better. What’s changed?
I did get better, Daddy.
Not all the way, you didn’t. It’s not like you to have a smart mouth. All I want is for you to be okay.
I will be,Matthew promised like he always did.It’s not all that bad, I swear. I’ll be better soon
Damien was right—it wasn’t like Matthew to split hairs and try to weasel out of promises, but the thought of having to depend on his father for his medical care made him feel like he was a burden. It was bad enough that he was the one who’d supported Matthew through his pregnancy and who’d given Matthew a job when he’d found it prohibitively expensive to afford childcare for Emily with the minimum wage jobs he was qualified for. He was sure that in his father’s eyes, this bout of illness was just another one of Matthew’s failings, and as badly as Matthew wanted to be good for Damien, he couldn’t find the courage to ask for help.
It felt like such hypocrisy.
Matthew had no problem accepting Damien’s help and flourished under his care, but when it came to his father, he felt ashamed when he couldn’t be self-sufficient. Every one of his weaknesses served to prove that he was, and always would be, a child.
With Damien, it was different. Damien coddled him because he wanted to—not because he thought Matthew couldn’t function on his own. Everything Damien did for him, he did because he cared, not because Matthew was forcing his hand. He indulged Matthew out of love instead of necessity—not that his fatherdidn’tlove him, but he was obligated to Matthew in ways that Damien wasn’t, and it changed the flavor of their interactions.
When he arrived in Aurora, Matthew had no doubt that Damien would punish him for misbehaving. According to the internet, it was what Daddies did with naughty little boys. But Matthew could tolerate a spanking better than he could slipping down another notch in his father’s esteem.
