I stared at the brothers, uncertain of what to do next. “Would you two like tea?” If I hurried, I could stop all the water from boiling away.
“I brought breakfast.” Justin lifted a white bag I hadn’t noticed before.
“Great. I’ll be right back.” I needed something to occupy my hands and keep them away from Justin. I couldn’t let the only positive interactions we had be sex. I hurried to the kitchen to take the kettle off the heat. Focused on the boiling water, it took a few minutes to realize Justin had followed me into the kitchen.
“Are you angry with me?” he asked. He stood so close I could feel the heat of his body.
“No.”
“But you aren’t happy.”
I pulled my serving tray off the top shelf and placed four teacups on the surface along with my porcelain pot. “You didn’t leave a note,” I muttered, my voice more petulant than I had planned.
“I thought I’d return before you woke. You aren’t exactly a morning person.”
I hid my smile. “That’s true, but you still should’ve left me a note.”
“I left Oss. He stayed here so that I didn’t have to leave the door unlocked.”
“I appreciate that, but I would’ve liked it if you were there when I woke up. Looking for your son takes precedence right now, I understand. That won’t always be a good excuse.”
Justin’s sheepish smile wasn’t adorable. It wasn’t. “I’ll leave a note next time.”
I took Justin’s hands in mine. “We will find your son.”
“I hope so. The longer he is missing, the more I long for him. I didn’t think I would feel that way about a baby I only held for a few minutes.”
“You’ll make a fine father.”
Justin cupped my cheeks. “We will.”
“Justin.” I swallowed back my nerves for a conversation I never thought I’d need to have, considering my preference for men. “I wasn’t meant to be a parent.”
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “If I can be a father, so can you.”
“I don’t have a single paternal instinct. I’d forget him when I got involved in a project.”
“That’s what the nanny is for. I don’t want you to worry about this. You are a born nurturer. You even raised a flock of mechanical birds from inception.”
“But he’s not like my birds. I won’t scar them for life if I misalign a feather,” I argued.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’d never misalign anything.”
I tried not to let his flattery affect me. Sweet words weren’t often spoken to me, and I’d discovered an embarrassing susceptibility to them. “What if it wasn’t a matter of couldn’t, but didn’t want to. Justin, you made this decision on your own and as much as I have feelings for you, I’m not foolish enough to think everything will be fine if I suddenly agreed to co-parent with you.”
“I’m not saying there won’t be issues, but I was an idiot to think you shouldn’t be involved in every part of my life. I want you to be involved in all of it.”
“We’ll see.” I had a long list of reasons why I couldn’t be a parent and a short one of why I should try. It only had Justin’s name on the second list.
“I’m a patient man. I can wait for you.”
The longer I looked into his eyes, the weaker my resolve. My wistful heart could only handle so much. I set the leaves to steep, then loaded the tray with the pastries from Justin’s bag.
“I’ll take that.” Justin relieved me of the weight.
“Thank you.” If he needed to be helpful, who was I to deprive him? We settled in my parlor. For a loner, I’d had an unsettling number of visitors lately.
Without prompting, Justin placed the tray on the table beside the couch. Thorne jumped up from his seat, eager to get his share. “Those look delicious,” he said.
“Better than homemade. Or at least my homemade,” I qualified. My talents didn’t lean to baking. I preferred savory to sweet…and toast above all.
Justin took a seat beside me, looking as impeccable as always. I think he was born smooth talking and nicely pressed.
One day, I would get over my ridiculous infatuation: probably on my death bed.
