“You don’t talk about him like that. He’s not one of your disease-ridden whores to fuck and chuck.”
“Excuse me, gramps, but I don’t need to pay for it.”
“Ryder,” snapped Sebastian. “Find yourself something to do for a couple of hours. Deacon, go with him. Charlie, you and Hunter go and do something. Leave me to handle this.”
“Are you sure?”
“Charlie, just go.”
“Okay,” said Charlie. His voice cracking.
Sebastian pointed at Patrick and told him to stay, almost like he was giving an order to a dog. Patrick wanted to tellhim to get fucked, but he’d seen that look on Sebastian’s face before, and it was one you didn’t argue with.
Sebastian rushed over to Charlie and picked him up in his arms, pulling him into a hug. He whispered something in Charlie’s ear, which made him blush and giggle. Charlie gave Sebastian a kiss and left with Hunter, and Patrick’s heart ached. He wanted that again with someone; he wanted it with Jason.
“Max, make yourself scarce. I need to talk some sense into this one.”
“I’m literally standing right here,” said Patrick.
“Can we talk later?” asked Max.
“Is everything okay? Something wrong with you and Paolo?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s a good thing. It can wait until later. You be with Patrick. I’ll speak to you later.”
“Thanks.” He smiled before turning on Patrick. “You, in the den. No arguments.”
Patrick knew better than to argue, so he took the lead and walked into the den, which was basically Sebastian’s office and man cave all rolled into one. It was bigger than many people’s living rooms.
“Start talking,” said Sebastian, closing the door behind them.
Patrick took a seat, unsure of where to start. Sebastian went over to the corner and poured them both a glass of whisky. He always had the good stuff, so Patrick didn’t care how early it was. He knocked it back.
“If I tell you something, you can’t tell anyone else.”
“Of course.”
“Jason is married to Grant Kincaid.”
“I know.”
“What? How do you know . . . Charlie?”
“Yes. He swore me to secrecy. There’s some historybetween Grant and Langdon. It’s complicated and not my story to tell.”
“It’s fine. I only care about Jason.”
“You’re in love with him.”
“What? No . . . I’m . . . Yes, you’re right. What the fuck do I do? How can this be happening? George has only been gone for just over a year.”
“You can’t plan who you fall in love with. Look at me and Charlie. We couldn’t have been more different.”
“Bollocks. You two are made for each other.”
“I know that now, but when things started we lived thousands of miles apart and our lives were very different. Ironically, if it wasn’t for Jason, we wouldn’t have met.”
“What do you mean?”
