TD and Megadook were married.
After tonight’s conversation with Gwynn, their wedding might be the last Single Dad event Damien would be invited to.
The thought stung.
Damien watched TD run by, grinning ear to ear, and reflected on the potential outcomes of tonight’s talk. If it went well, there’d be a little awkwardness for a while, but through the power of friendship and maybe a few life-threatening events that would force them to work together, they’d overcome this bump in the road. If it went poorly, well…
Damien frowned. He couldn’t even make a joke.
If it went as poorly as he thought it was going to go, he’d never be welcome in the Single Dad chat again.
No more shooting the shit with the guys to make the day go by faster.
No more bellyaching about his life when he was stuck in the office at midnight and still had hours of work to do.
No more placenta-bot—which, to be honest, was probably a plus.
No more glitter war.
If he didn’t manage to turn the situation around and find common ground with Gwynn, he’d lose his friends forever. Damien couldn’t let that happen. There had to be a way to talk this out.
“You wanna go grab a beer at the reception?” Harley asked as guests began to file out the doors. “If you’re gonna be in town until tomorrow, we could head out for the second official Single Dad Bar Crawl. This is your chance to get revenge and try to drink me under the table.”
“Are you serious?” Damien arched a brow and masked his pain and uncertainty behind a cocky grin. “We all know who’d be walking away with the crown,” Damien gestured at himself, “but let me get back to you on that one, okay? I’ve got something I need to take care of before I make any other commitments.”
Harley nodded. “Sure. You know how to get in touch.”
For now, yeah. Damien tried not to think about if that were to change.
He followed the other guests out of the greenhouse only to find Matthew—and his father—waiting for him not thirty feet from the door.
* * *
Damien came to an abrupt stop, causing Evie Warwick, of all people, to crash into him from behind. With a yelp, she hopped back and occupied one side of the wrought-iron doorway, causing the flow of exiting guests to slow to a trickle. A few of TD’s distant relatives looked at them strangely as they passed, but they could look all they wanted—Damien didn’t care. All he could focus on was Matthew. He was supposed to be back at the hotel where he’d be safe.
Damien looked down the cobblestone path leading out of the garden, through the huge iron gates, and onto the street. Wedding guests were clustering there, chatting and laughing, oblivious to the nuclear devastation about to turn the garden from something out ofPride and Prejudiceinto a replica ofPredator.Only this time, no one was going to make it to da choppa.
“Mr. P?” Evie asked flatly. “You’re kind of blocking the way.”
“Sorry.”
“You sure you’re okay, Knot?” Harley asked from somewhere behind Evie.
Damien nodded. “About as okay as anyone staring down a perfect killing machine can be.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Damien cleared his throat. “I’ve got something I need to do. I’ll meet up with you guys later.”
Wishing like hell he had an invisi-shield, Damien left the progression and made his way to where Matthew and Gwynn were standing. Gwynn’s back was to Damien. If Damien could sneak closer without Gwynn noticing, he could catch Matthew’s eye and silently beg him to leave before things got bad. At least then he could spare Matthew the heartbreak of seeing his father skin Damien alive.
Of course, nothing was that simple.
As Damien approached, Matthew’s eyes got wide and his face turned pale. Gwynn, who unfortunately had a basic understanding of human body language, looked to see what was frightening his son. He came face to face with Damien.
“Knot?” Gwynn furrowed his brow. Sunlight glinted off the lenses of his glasses. “We were just talking about you.”
Matthew’s expression sank. He bowed his head like a puppy who knew he’d done wrong, but hadn’t been able to help it.
