“Of course. It’s what mothers-in-law are for, dear.” That same devious smile as her son’s, along with her signature wink, has me thinking having her as my mother-in-law doesn’t sound all that bad.
“Shall we go find our guy? If he doesn’t hear from me soon, he’s going to send a search party for you.” Layla’s eyes soften every time she speaks of her son—he’s truly a lucky man.
“Yeah. There’s nothing left for me here.” And just as the words cross my lips, I remember what they once meant to me—but this time, I know I’m not alone.
“Are you guys listening to me?” Connor gripes when he notices Kaden and me texting instead of hanging on his every word.
“Was he talking?” Kaden looks at me and smirks.
“I didn’t even know he was in the room,” I add along to the teasing, because sometimes he just deserves it.
“Whatever, you guys would be lost without me. Wait until I fall in love and start ignoring y’all like you do me.”
“You’re not that far behind there, buddy.” Kaden jokingly hints at the latest gossip, but I pretend I didn’t hear it. Connor’s business is his own.
He gives Kaden a stern look before changing the topic to me. “Did you tell Gabe how much you love him yet?”
I sigh deeply. “Connor, I already told you. I’ll tell him when it feels right.”
“Just don’t do it right after you suck his cock. Everyone thinks they’re in love when they come.” He waves a hand at me like this is common sense. “Oh,” he says with as much seriousness as anyone could expect from him, “you should write it on his stomach with your cum! That way, if he doesn’t say it back, you can blame it on the sex and say you didn’t mean it.”
“Connor, you’re absurd.” Kaden shakes his head. “Stop scaring him. Of course, Gabe loves him.”
And as if on cue, Gabe’s face appears on my phone. I answer as I walk toward the kitchen and grab a water bottle.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hey. What are you guys up to?” He sounds frustrated.
“Nothing, just hanging out. Lazy Sunday afternoon.”
He sighs. “I wish I were there.”
Me too. “What’s going on, Blue?”
“Half the staff got sick, so we had to call in the servers who were off duty tonight and make some changes to cover all positions. Not a big deal. We got it done.”
“Anything I can do?”
“Just hearing your voice is enough to make my day a little better.” My cheeks flush every time he says things like that to me now. “I do have to get going though. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll be over when you get home.”
“Okay, talk to you soon. Have fun.”
“We will. Love you.”
What the fuck?
It only takes me a second to blurt out, “Bye,” and tap the end button, not giving him a chance to respond.
“Did you just do what I think you did?” Kaden sounds about as shocked as I fell.
“Fuck! Why did I do that?”
“Which part? Telling him ‘I love you’ accidentally, or hanging up on him right after you told him you love him for the first time?” Connor’s playful tone is unwelcome right now. “Because either way, you’re fucked—and not in a good way.”
I give him the finger and drop onto the empty couch beside him. “Now what do I do?”
