Emily was more excited for penguins than she was for the baby. All Matthew could do was laugh. Parenthood wasn’t as predictable as he’d once thought—his life was forever in a state of flux, and with another child on the way, it was only going to get crazier, but this time, Matthew didn’t have to face it alone.
“You ready to change and get going?” Damien asked. He held his hand out to Matthew and helped him down from the examination table. “I have a feeling someone woke up feeling extra crazy today and won’t be happy stomping floor tiles for much longer.”
Emily was across the room by Dr. Triassi’s station. She growled menacingly at an anatomical poster.
“Yeah.” Matthew flicked his gaze back to Damien and smiled. It was a small and simple thing to help him off the table, but it made Matthew’s heart flutter all the same. He held Damien’s hand for a little while longer, savoring his touch, then let go and headed for the privacy screen.
While he changed, he heard Damien ask Dr. Triassi a question. “So, uh, placentas. I don’t have to worry about them moving, right?”
* * *
Despite what Damien had described as a “fresh dumpster fire burning in the Financial District,” he insisted on accompanying Matthew and Emily home before heading off to work. On the way through the door, Emily roared at the concierge, who looked at her with dead eyes, seemed to consider his life choices, and roared back.
Emily cackled and darted across the lobby.
“Good one, Wilson!” Damien held his hand up for a high five on the way past.
Wilson’s eyebrow twitched. He did not give Damien a high five. “My name is Wade.”
Damien shot a couple finger guns his way, then fell into line beside Matthew, who was trying very hard not to laugh. Damien leaned in and whispered into Matthew’s ear, “I don’t mean to alarm you, but I think our concierge might be Deadpool.”
Matthew couldn’t take it anymore—he burst out laughing, then grabbed Damien by the front of the shirt and tugged himself in for what turned into a crushing kiss. Damien grabbed his ass and held him closer, and for a brief moment, it felt like nothing else mattered. Not their cramped living situation, not the issues Damien was going through at work, and not the instability that was their future. As long as they had each other, everything would be fine.
“Daddy!” Emily gasped. She tugged at Matthew’s shirt. “You’rekissing him again!Are you gonna get married? Are you? Are you?!”
Matthew ended the kiss and pushed away from Damien’s chest. His face was on fire, and his skin tingled where Damien had last touched him. If he wasn’t careful, the unwelcome erection from Dr. Triassi’s office would come back to crash the party.
“Not today,” Damien answered in Matthew’s place, holding Matthew’s gaze. A smile that spoke of love but that whispered emotions even more deep and complex lifted the corners of his lips. “But maybe someday soon.”
39
Matthew
Tablets were not made for men with young children. As Matthew did his best to accurately input his information into New York University’s digital admissions form, Emily alternated between watching what he did with fascination and jabbing her finger at the screen, disrupting his place. They were snuggled up together beneath her blankets on the pullout bed she slept on. GeeGee was wrapped around Emily’s shoulders like a cape.
For what felt like the millionth time, Matthew clicked back into the text field he’d last been working in. “Emily, please don’t touch the screen. We can play a game together later, but this is important. Is that okay?”
Emily made a noise like a deflating balloon and wilted onto the couch. “Soon?”
“It might take me a few hours.”
“Daddy,” she groaned. “So long.”
To his credit, Matthew didn’t sigh. He did, however, save his progress and exit out of the application. Until he found a way to occupy Emily, he wasn’t going to be able to get much more work done.
Without the distraction of the screen, he gave his daughter his full attention. “What are some things that are fun to do on your own?”
Emily pulled GeeGee over her face. “Nothing.”
“Emily Alice Gwynn.”
Emily lifted GeeGee up to give him a disparaging look.
“What if you called Grammie and said hello? Violet should be visiting with her right now. I’m sure they’d love to hear about all your newest adventures.”
“Grammie?” Emily scrambled out from beneath GeeGee and sat up. “I wanna tell Grammie about the… the middle park.”
Middle park—which was Emily-speak for Central Park—had quickly become one of Emily’s favorite places, although she still couldn’t remember its name. They’d been several times since arriving in the city, and while only two days had passed since they’d last gone to visit, Emily was already eager to go back.
