Chapter Eight
“Weren’t you wearing that suit yesterday?” Jaxson asked standing at Brenden’s office door.
“Shut the hell up,” Brenden said with a chuckle.
He’d been in a hurry to get to see Stephen, he didn’t think about going home to get a change of clothes. A smile crossed his lips as he thought about his lover. They were taking things slow this time around. After putting Nicholas to bed and spending the rest of the night making out and talking, he’d fallen asleep and woken up in the same position with Stephen in his arms. Stephen was getting bigger, and Brenden thought he looked adorable.
The man’s body was changing right before his eyes, and he still couldn’t believe his child was growing inside the man he loved. Yes, he loved Stephen and has for a while, but was not ready to say the words out loud. One thing Brenden couldn’t get used to was the cravings. Scrambled egg pizza with fake bacon and mashed potatoes with steak sauce did not sound appetizing, looking at it wasn’t any better. He did not want to think about some of the other concoctions that Stephen came up with just to satisfy his cravings.
Jaxson walked into his office closing the door. “I take it things between you and Stephen are working out?”
“I don’t kiss and tell, bro.” Brenden smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Good for you both,” Jaxson congratulated him. “So, do you guys know what he’s having?”
“Nope.” He and Stephen had told Jaxson and Christen that they were having another child on one of their double dates. The other couple was happy for them, but he could also tell they were worried. After a long and tedious conversation with his friend, Jaxson backed off.
“Was there some particular reason why you came in here?”
“I’m worried about Pop.” Jaxson ran his hands through his hair leaning back in his chair.
“What, is something wrong? You would have told me if he was sick, right?”
“Yeah, of course I would. You’re family.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Christen tells me I’m worried about nothing, but he’s been acting weird.”
“How weird?”
“Giddy,” was all Jaxson said.
“That’s nothing new, you do remember your father dresses up as a clown and entertains the children at the hospital. He plays the Easter Bunny and is Santa at Christmas.”
“I think he’s dating someone,” Jaxson told him.
“Isn’t that good news?” Brenden asked, not understanding the problem.
“Yeah, I guess it is. Maybe Christen is right, and I’m overreacting for nothing.”
“Have you tried talking to him?” Brenden asked.
“I did. But get this, I went over to the house to see him the other day and he wouldn’t let me in through the front door.”
Brenden chuckled—Jaxson and his dad were very close. “Just wait until he’s ready to tell you what’s going on. After all the times you and Rebecca tried to set him up, it’s no wonder he wants to keep the person he’s seeing a secret. Give him some time.”
“We weren’t that bad,” Jaxson grumbled slouching in his chair.
Brenden snorted and gave him the are you kidding expression before he cracked up. “You guys tried to introduce him to women you both thought he would be interested in without giving a second thought to his feelings.”
“Damn, we were pretty awful,” Jaxson said after some thought. “But we just want to see him happy, you know?”
“I know, and I think he appreciated everything you guys were trying to do. But he probably needed to figure out things for himself.” There was a knock before the door opened and Stephen poked his head in. He nodded to Jaxson before looking at Brenden.
“Do you mind getting Nicholas from school today?”
“Yeah, sure,” he told him. “Is everything all right?”
