Oz smiled to himself, glad that Seth seemed calmer and happier now than he had when Oz got home. He’d gotten held up with a client, and found Seth napping on the couch, worry lines etched deep in his forehead.
This was a huge improvement.
“I’m actually not trying to seduce you,” Oz said. “I’m trying to stop you feeling like the world’s ending.”
“I know the world isn’t ending,” Seth responded, sipping his beer. He didn’t sound as convincing as he probably thought he did.
Oz sat back, waiting for Seth to open up. He was bound to sooner or later, and he’d feel better once he did.
Seth plucked another chicken wing from the plate sitting between them, apparently not done eating yet. Oz got the impression that he was long past not being hungry, but if it made Seth less miserable, then he wasn’t about to judge.
“Of course you do,” Oz said, hoping to nudge Seth into talking again. “But it’s hard to fight with your family. Believe me, I know.”
Seth licked his lips. “I know you know. I just… I knew this was coming, but I didn’t think it was coming yet. I thought I had another few years.”
“He can’t force you to get involved with anyone you don’t want to,” Oz pointed out. He needed Seth to understand that.
Even if there was no hope in hell that Seth would pick him, Seth didn’t deserve to be stuck with someone he didn’t love—or even like—on his father’s say-so.
He’d talked to Mason since, concerned that his and Emma’s relationship had been under similar circumstances. It turned out that the speed they got married at had been because of her father, but that they’d been very much in love anyway. Emma had been quick to pounce on Mason to avoid what was happening to Seth now.
It was obvious to Oz that Mason worshipped the ground Emma walked on, and that was good enough for him. As long as they were both happy. Oz hadn’t believed in soulmates when Emma and Mason had gotten married, but getting to know Seth had started to change his mind. He believed now that Emma and Mason were good for each other.
It did seem like the whole thing had accelerated Mr. Caldwell’s desire to see his son married, though. Not that either Emma or Mason could have predicted that, and not that it should have stopped them from being happy even if they had known.
But it did put Seth in an awkward position, and Oz knew that. Walking away from family was hard.
Oz wasn’t sure it would be harder than a lifetime of regret, or a messy divorce down the line.
Did he really think Seth was his soulmate?
That didn’t seem like the kind of question he wanted an answer to right now. Not when he was on the verge of losing him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“You say that, but you know he doesn’t have to literally hold me at gunpoint to make me do things,” Seth said, his shoulders slumping again. Oz wanted him to understand, to really get through to him that it didn’t have to be like this, but he could see that he was undoing all his progress so far this evening.
Maybe the conversation could wait. Maybe itshouldwait.
“I know,” Oz agreed. “I know there’s no easy solution, but you need a break, and I’m gonna give it to you. You’re staying at least for the weekend.”
“If I’m not back by Monday morning, I’ll get home to find out that I live with him, now. This is me getting off the leash for a brief, shining moment of freedom. I’ll pay for it later.”
“If I have to call the cops on your dad, I’ll do it.”
“No, you won’t,” Seth said, suddenly serious. “I will never forgive you for that. I don’t need to drag my dirty laundry out into public for everyone to see, and I don’t need you forcing me, either. I didn’t come to you so you could take control of my life instead.”
Oz looked down at his lap, ashamed of himself. Seth was right. It was up to him to make decisions about what he was going to do next, and forcing him one way or another made Oz just as bad as his father.
“I’m sorry,” Oz said softly, looking up to meet Seth’s eyes. “I just…”
He stopped himself from sayingcare so much about you, but it was true. He cared about Seth.
He loved Seth. He’d spent the last few weeks falling for him, every time he smiled, every time he laughed. Every time he gasped or sighed or moaned, and even when he’d fallen asleep in the car on the way to the airport.
Being away from him hurt like nothing Oz had ever felt before. The thought of losing him was terrifying.
But Seth didn’t belong to him any more than he belonged to his father, and behaving as though he did wasn’t helpful.
“I know your heart is in the right place,” Seth said kindly. “But I don’t need any other men flying in to run my life for me. Not even you.”
