“How do you feel about getting fancy clothes and meeting Uncle Justin at a party?”
Ben stared at him and chewed.
German swore he could hear Ben’s mind looking at the situation from every direction.
He swallowed. “Can I take my iPad?”
German chuckled. This was an adult party. Ben would likely be bored off his ass. “Sure.”
“Can I have shiny shoes?”
German fought for his life. He couldn’t stop smiling while trying to be serious. “If you want.”
Ben pulled another cookie from the pack. “Okay.”
He couldn’t take it. German crossed the room and swept Ben from the counter. “Okay, buddy. Let’s go shopping.”
Ben’s arm shot out. He tried snagging the cookies as German picked him up.
German grabbed the package and handed it to Ben. “We have a lot to do in a short time. You may as well take the whole bag.”
Ben shoved another cookie into his mouth. “Okay.” He spoke around his snack, making German laugh. German hadn’t known he could fall so deeply in love with a child. His throat swelled. Blaze would be home soon. He would have the family he hadn’t realized he wanted so desperately. They would be one flawless unit. That was a promise.
Lights flashed, blinding Blaze. He kept his expression bland, acting the bored star. As his gaze swept the crowd, he already knew he would stick to Valon tonight. There wasn’t a damn soul here he cared to see. The entire band and their dates stood close, letting the vultures have the pictures they wanted. The crowd parted on his right as security led someone their way. His attention was officially snagged. It couldn’t be.
When Blaze caught his first glimpse of German, his hand shot to his mouth. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Dressed to the nines, German carried an equally dressed to impress Ben. Bulky-looking headphones covered Ben’s ears, tiny dark sunglasses hid his eyes, and he squeezed his tablet against him, but he smiled brighter than Blaze had ever seen. German lookedsexy as fuck. Blaze couldn’t hide his excitement as he realized he wasn’t imagining them.
He jumped into the air and then bounced in place until German reached him. “You came! Holy shit. You actually came.”
German’s smile screamed he knew he had gotten the drop on Blaze. He kissed Blaze. “Hey, baby.”
“Hi.” The quiet greeting from Ben had Blaze’s gaze sliding his way.
“Hey. Look at you. You’re so cool and handsome.”
Ben giggled. The sound was sweet and childlike. Blaze’s heart warmed. Ben was getting better, and it was due to German.
“Blaze! Blaze! Who is this?”
“Can we get a picture of you three?”
The vultures were getting louder, vying for his attention.
Blaze turned their way, smiling. He wanted the world to know this about him. They needed to see the reason for his happiness. He moved even closer to German and wrapped his arm around German’s waist. They posed for pictures.
“Is that your son?”
“Is this your boyfriend?”
Oh, boy. There would definitely be some secret child headlines tomorrow. Blaze threw them a small bone. “Fiancé.”
A lot more blinding flashes hit them while other people’s phones were turned their way.
German spoke against his ear. “If I had known you’d plan to come with cheese boy, I would’ve stayed home.” Thankfully, he followed the statement with a laugh and didn’t sound serious.
Blaze tossed a quick glance Brie’s way before responding. “Nah. He’s with Goose.”
German chuckled. “Cheese and Goose. They’ll make a great couple.”
