Bowie had worked it all out in his head once Hollis had confirmed the date and time. Using the laptop on the table sat in front of the couch would give a perfect view of the table if he used the flip mode that turned it into more like an iPad on a stand. It had taken an hour to play with different positions during a late meeting Kari had attended earlier in the week, which hadn’t required Bowie’s presence.
Bowie hadn’t considered Silas coming into the office and telling Kari about tonight. Not that Silas, thankfully, had gone into the details. They weren’t going out, but that had still given Bowie a moment of worry about how to explain without explaining. He couldn’t lie, so he’d used the only other thing that made sure he didn’t have to spoil what he planned. A surprise. It worked, but then they’d gotten delayed finishing up, meaning Bowie was rushing and now in fear of spilling the surprise because he wasn’t good at keeping anything from Kari.
Lounging in a seat, glass in hand, Kari arched his brows. “Is this okay?”
He didn’t answer right away. Taking the laptop out of the bag, which he shoved under the table, he kneeled in front of the table to set up the laptop the way he wanted it. He glanced over his shoulder. He would need to sit on the floor, that way his head didn’t obstruct the view of Kari.
“That’s great Daddy, now don’t move.”
“If we’re watching a movie on your laptop, I won’t see it from here if you sit like that.”
Bowie giggled to himself. “We aren’t watching a movie.”
Chimes from the laptop got his nerves dancing so badly his hand shook as he pressed the green circle on the screen to accept the call. For a second, there was silence, then four faces popped onto the screen, all talking at once.
“Isn’t this exciting,” Frey announced, holding his glass up.
“Hey, where’s Emmy?” Monty demanded, squinting at them from a cozy looking room.
“Are Kendrick and Rue there with you?” Lennon asked excitedly.
Isley swung his glass up to the screen. “Has everyone got a drink?”
Hollis, Ziggy and Wilder appeared next. The screen split as the new faces peered out at him. Bowie didn’t like looking at himself. He also caught Kari’s expression in the background and wasn’t sure what emotion he was displaying, so he pressed the button to hide their faces. And his friends had yet to notice there was someone else in the room with him.
Was this a bad idea?
Too late now.
“I’ve got mine,” Bowie said when there was a break in the chatter, holding up his glass for everyone to see, then taking a big sip to help with the jumping jacks his stomach was doing.
As if Frey had picked up his thought, he asked, “What… who is behind you?” Frey came so close to his screen, his face filled the small square.
“Behind who?” Wilder questioned, looking over his shoulder, then back at them frowning.
“Is Taylin home with you, Hollis?” Ziggy took a sip from a glass holding pink liquid.
Hollis shook his head. “He’s out with Silas and his other brothers. They’ve gone for beer and burgers at Ren’s.”
“Not all the brothers.” Frey jabbed at the screen. “Is that Kari I see sitting behind you, Bowie?” His voice was more of a screech, and it brought silence from the others.
“Hi,” Kari replied, before Bowie got a chance to answer. He sounded so causal, Bowie dared a look over his shoulder. Kari had his glass up as if toasting everyone, the gleam in his eye—one Bowie hoped the others couldn’t see—causing him to clench his thighs to stem the reaction.
“Bowie, are you and Kari dating?” Frey was the first to recover.
He looked at his friends, his chosen family, and let out a shuddery breath.
“Kari is my mate.” If he’d wanted to cause a stir, this was most definitely the way to do it.
“Oh my god!” Frey flipped out. “I knew something was going on.”
“Why, you sly dog,” laughed Ziggy.
Monty pointed at Bowie. “Now who’s stealing my thunder.”
He was grinning, so Bowie had no time to worry.
“This explains everything,” Hollis announced and drained the glass he held. “I think I need another cocktail.”
