When my brother slid his hands down to Liam’s backside, I took that as my cue to leave them to it. I pulled a soda out of one of the coolers and went to sit next to Greg. “How are you doing?” I asked.
He smiled. “Good. Liam was very excited about me playing in the show. I didn’t know he played the piano.”
I nodded. “I’ve heard him a couple times. He’s not bad. Marco said he plays guitar too.”
A complicated expression crossed Greg’s face. “I guess I missed all that. But then again, Liam is four years younger than Sean and me.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I forgot you and Sean went to high school together.”
Again, he looked…sad. I gestured to his face. “What’s that expression? Did something happen when you were in high school?”
At first, it looked like he wasn’t going to answer me. Then he blew out a breath and said, “My mother is an addict. It wasn’t toobad when I was younger and my father was still around. But he left when I was in eighth grade, finally tired of picking my mom up off the sidewalk or from the police station.”
My gut twisted. “Wait. He left you alone with an addict?”
He nodded. “Well, me and my younger brother and sister.”
I already knew where this was going. “Don’t tell me, let me guess. You ended up being in charge of your younger siblings.”
Greg tapped the end of his nose. “Got it in one. I ended up making sure they got ready for school and had something to eat in the morning. I made their lunches and most dinners.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. “Jesus Christ. How did you manage to get any schoolwork done? And what about piano practice?”
He pursed his lips. “A couple things happened. First, my middle school music teacher found out I was struggling and would let me practice during lunch period. Then, someone called child services on my mom after my sister went to school in January with no coat because hers was too small. They threatened to put us in foster care if she didn’t clean up her act.”
“Oh shit. What happened?”
He shrugged. “That worked for a while. She stopped using and even went to meetings. But as we got older, she started to slip again. She had a new boyfriend every other week. Scumbags, every last one of them. I had to put a lock on my sister’s door. I almost called child services myself, but my brother and sister begged me not to. They didn’t want us to be separated.”
I stared at him in awe. “With all that, you still managed to get accepted to Rutgers Mason Gross?”
This time, the sadness in his expression was so profound that I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold him close. “Yeah. I worked hard for that. Any free time I had, I spent preparing for that audition. My academics were tight. I had straightAs in everything except math, but it was enough to get me a full scholarship.” His eyes got glassy and he took a few deepbreaths before he spoke again. “And then I threw it all away two years later because my boyfriend didn’t want me going to school and spending time with anyone but him.”
“Fuck.” I put my arm around his shoulders and pulled him close. “I’m so sorry. That must have been so hard for you.”
He nodded mutely and turned his face into my shoulder. Michael looked over at us with a question in his eyes. I shook my head and kept a solid hold on Greg. It was official. If I ever met Greg’s ex, I was going to beat him to a pulp.
After a few minutes, Greg lifted his head. “Sorry about that.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” I said. “We’re friends, remember?”
“But I kind of had a meltdown on you.”
I snorted out a laugh. I gestured toward the team members. “I’ve lost count of the number of meltdowns these guys have had.”
“Hey!” Gabe objected.
I stared at him. “Do I have to remind you about the office coffee machine?”
“It wasonetime! I was undercaffeinated,” he grumbled. And then the six-foot-four former Navy SEAL pouted. He fuckingpouted.
Nico kissed the side of his head. “It’s okay, baby. We all know about your caffeine addiction.”
Beside me, Greg snickered and then covered his mouth to hold back his laughter. His whole body was shaking. He gasped, “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m laughing so hard.”
“It’s not every day you see a big bad Navy SEAL pout like a five-year-old,” Liam snarked.
“I thought you lived with Marco,” Gabe retorted.
