“What do you want to do? Other than go after him?”
“That’s all I want to do.”
“He’ll be okay,” said Sebastian, motioning with his head to the others.
Patrick looked over and saw Charlie and Paolo hugging Gregory before running out, obviously going after Jason.
“It should be me looking after him.”
“You know how close those guys are.”
“How do you feel when Charlie goes to one of them instead of you?”
“That’s what he needs at that moment. As long as he’s not on his own.”
“Yeah, I get that, but you’re not . . .”
“Not what? A daddy?”
“George always came to me.”
“George was different. He didn’t have any family. His only friends were the ones you shared, and he didn’t work.Jason might come across as all needy with you, but he’s fiercely independent.”
“I know that,” said Patrick. “I just don’t understand why he ran. I said I wouldn’t look at what Grant left.”
“You’re not even a bit curious?” asked Sebastian, picking up the envelope and smacking it against his palm.
Of course he was curious, he was a journalist. But he’d just made a promise to Jason. All he wanted to do was put Grant Kincaid behind bars so he’d never bother Jason again, although that man had a lot of reach, and even from prison he’d be able to affect Jason’s life. Patrick needed to get something on the man so he’d back off, give Jason his divorce, and ideally get out of the city. Why couldn’t he go back to Liverpool?
“Do you want to get out of here?” asked Sebastian.
“Wouldn’t that be rude?”
“It looks like the grooms have gone out the back to fuck again, so I doubt they’d even notice if we left, that’s if they even come back.”
“Can we get a drink somewhere else?”
“Of course.”
He gripped Patrick’s hand and smiled, before going to tell his friend Max he was leaving. From what Patrick knew, a year ago, all those brothers had been single. That all changed the night Charlie met Sebastian, and now each of them had found their guy over the last twelve months. Had Jason found the man he was meant to be with in Patrick? Or was Jason’s destiny to be with Grant? Patrick knew he had to let Jason have time to himself, with his brothers, but if he hadn’t heard from him by the morning, he would have to do something about it.
CHAPTER 13
JASON
Jason had been in his bedroom for less than two minutes before the door burst open. It was Charlie and Paolo.
“Ever heard of knocking?”
“When you do it, I’ll return the same courtesy,” said Charlie, throwing himself on the bed.
Paolo stood in the doorway, still wearing his suit from the wedding. The guy was a walking wet dream. Jason loved Patrick, but he wasn’t dead and could appreciate hotness when he saw it. Other gays must look at their group and hate them. He shook his head, wanting to remove the mention of “love” he’d used. It wasn’t something they’d said to each other, and Jason wouldn’t be the first one to say it. What if Patrick didn’t say it back? It would be worse than any heartbreak he’d ever had. He knew his mother hadn’t loved him from the moment she gave birth to him. His sisters had loved him, but they were gone from his life. His brothers loved him, and they said it often enough. Grant had loved him once, which was something he’d never doubted, but with Patrick it was different. This was a love Jason hadn’t felt before, and it terrified him.
Charlie poked him in the side, reminding Jason he had company. He squealed from the shock more than how hard Charlie had poked him.
“Why are you here?” asked Jason.
“Where else would we be?” replied Charlie.
