“The only thing he told me about our big date tonight was to dress nice. Who tells someone to dress nice anyway? Like I wouldn’t have taken care with how I looked for a date anyway? I mean, seriously…”

Scott laughed in my ear. “Stop. You’re rambling again and getting yourself all worked up. You’re pregnant as hell and probably a hormonal mess. What you need to do is take a deep breath and relax.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” I huffed, putting my phone on speaker and setting it on the counter so I could adjust my tie. “I’m pretty sure that the suit Cecil scrounged up for me came from the big and tall section of his shop.”

“So what if it did? You have to admit, it’s kind of handy to have a friend who runs a secondhand shop when you need your wardrobe to be temporary. I promise you won’t be pregnant forever, it only feels that way right now.” Scott’s stupid voice was unreasonably reasonable. Didn’t he realize that this was a big fucking deal? “Todd, I can hear you hyperventilating from here. I thought we were supposed to be breathing.”

“We? What, do you have a mouse in your pocket? You try breathing easy when you’ve got a basketball shoving up against your lungs. Hold on, I’m trying to make this knot my bitch.” There. I finally managed to straighten it and gave it a good tug until I was about as satisfied as I was going to get with the way it laid against my shirt collar. “This is stupid, I should just call and cancel. The tie keeps flopping on either side of my gut and my jacket won’t fasten.”

“Chill, we can fix the floppy tie issue. Go look in your jewelry box, you should have one of Opa’s tie clips.” Shit. Maybe there was something to be said for being reasonable, after all. I grabbed my phone and went back into my bedroom and grabbed the old wooden jewelry box. Scott and I had been given identical ones for our sixteenth birthdays, handmade by our Opa. “It should be right there on top; if it’s not then lift the tray and check underneath.”

“Quit nagging, Scotty. Hold your horses and let me look,” I grumbled as I dug through the box. “Found it!” I pulled the engraved silver bar out of the box and hooked the tie to my shirt. I straightened my shoulders and took in my look. It wasn’t my best, but it would do.

The striped purple tie matched nicely against the pale lavender shirt. The black suit was okay, even if it didn’t do much to camouflage the big gut that made me look like I was smuggling a basketball around with me. “Hey, Scott. I can’t read the words on this tie pin; do you have any idea what it says?”

“Hell, no. I can barely understand a few words of spoken German, let alone read it,” Scotty laughed. “Are you going with any cologne or just letting your own personal scent do the talking tonight?”

“Shit. I hadn’t even considered that.” Before I could begin waffling, there was a knock on my door. “Crap, I think he’s here. I can’t do this. Save me, Scotty.”

Scott started laughing, the rat bastard. “Yes, you can. You’ve totally got this, Todd. Listen, I realize that you guys are doing this completely ass-backwards and that most people don’t go on their first real date a full six months after they conceive the baby, and on fucking Valentine’s Day to boot, but forget about all of that. Tonight it’s just you and a hot alpha that you’ve become really good friends with. You and Hugo have danced around this for too long. You like him, and more importantly, you like his kid. Remember that and forget about freaking out. You don’t need to put any pressure on yourself. The worst thing that could happen is what? You’d get knocked up? Spoiler alert, it’s too late for that.”

When Hugo knocked again, I told Scott to fuck off and got off the phone. The jerk was still cackling when the call ended. When I swung the door open, I almost lost my breath. Hugo was wearing a slim-fitting charcoal-gray suit with a light gray shirt that made his beautiful gray eyes look like liquid mercury. When he leaned forward to peer at my tie pin, I chuckled nervously. “I hope that doesn’t have any swear words on it. I should tell you in my defense that it was my Opa’s, and I don’t read German.”

“Übe Geduld simply means practice patience. No swear words at all, just very good advice, although the wording is a bit dated. Although that would make sense if it was your grandfather’s.” Hugo grinned when he saw the confusion on my face. “What? Did I never mention that I’m slightly familiar with German?”

“No, you didn’t,” I laughed. “And when I tell my brother later what the tie clip says, he’s going to laugh his ass off. Okay, let me just lock up and we can go.” Hugo waited just outside the door while I turned off the lights and pulled it closed behind me, taking a quick moment to turn the lock. I shrugged nervously as I pocketed my keys. “It’s probably weird that I’m locking it, right? After all, this is Hollydale, not the big city.”

He slid an arm around my waist as he led me down the stairs and out to the car. “There’s nothing weird about being safe, especially if you live alone.”

I was finally calming down as we made our way into town. When he pulled into the parking lot of the fancy new restaurant that had opened a few months ago, I couldn’t help but snicker.

Hugo shot me a grin. “I know, right? Kamasouptra is, shall we say, an interesting name choice for such a highbrow establishment. But you have to admit that it does get attention.”

When he came around and helped me out of the car, I was still laughing at the name. “I will say one thing, it does fit right in with the local establishments. I think it must be in the town bylaws to pick interesting names for businesses.”

Hugo grinned. “Interesting is the best way to put it, I suppose.” When we walked inside, I was impressed by the lovely decor and efficient staff. After she’d checked our reservation, the hostess led us right to our table without making us wait for some stupid amount of time. By the time we were taking our seats at the linen-covered table, the waiter was right there with two champagne flutes and a bottle of sparkling cider.

When he saw me glance at the label, the omega waiter grinned. “Mr. Keller opted for the nonalcoholic package when he made his reservation, and now that I see you are expecting, I understand the reasoning. Anyway, I’m Shane and I’ll be your server this evening. Is there anything I can get you gentlemen or shall I just assume that you’re getting the Valentine’s Day special and tell the kitchen to prepare your starters?”

After quick nod from me, Hugo handed the menus back to Shane. “Please go ahead and get those starters going. We don’t need the menus, we’re going to go with the special.” After Shane walked away, Hugo leaned forward to whisper, “Is it bad that I have no idea what’s even included in the special?”

Whatever tension I was still holding eased as I started to laugh. “Trusting, yes. But not bad. You have to figure that they’ll have something good on special for the big day, right?”

His gray eyes glowed in the candlelight as he laughed along with me. “That’s pretty much what I was hoping for, to be honest.” As he sobered up, he reached for my hand. “Is it weird that I was totally nervous about tonight? I mean, we are so far past the first date stage and yet here we are, on our first date.”

“It would only be weird if I hadn’t been feeling the same way. I had to call my brother long distance to talk me down enough to get dressed.” I shook my head with a rueful grin. “You should’ve seen me, I was a complete mess. Actually, scratch that—I’m glad you didn’t see me like that.”

“I’m back, gentlemen.” We looked up a few minutes later to see Shane. He carefully moved our centerpiece with the lit candles off to the side before setting a platter of scallops in the center of the table. “Now don’t worry, hon. I checked with management and then double-checked with Google to make sure that you could eat these. It’s okay to have scallops when you’re pregnant, as long as they’ve been cooked properly, and you can believe that I made sure the chef got them to the right temperature for you.”

While Shane fussed with setting small plates in front of us and topping off our sparkling cider, Hugo and I shared a knowing smile. It was really nice to be on this side of the restaurant experience for a change. I glanced up at Shane. “You know, if you ever get tired of working here or want something less uptight, you should come see me over at The Sausage Shack. I could use a waiter like you.”

“That’s where I know you guys from.” He grinned as he slapped a palm to his forehead. “I was in there during Oktoberfest. I’ve got to tell you; your liverwurst and that hard cider was a nice pairing.” He looked around and lowered his voice. “But as tempting as your offer is, I can’t jump ship. My brother owns this place. He would kill me with a capital K if I ever did that.”

“Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.” I grinned.

After a seven-course meal that included filet mignon and the most succulent chocolate torte that I’d ever slid between my lips, I was pretty sure that Hugo was going to have to roll me out of there. He must’ve had the same thought because he sat back and held a hand to his stomach. “We should probably think about going for a walk after that meal. If you’re up to it, that is?”

“Why, Mr. Keller. Are you asking me to go on a romantic moonlit walk?”

“Maybe.” He winked. “If nothing else, I can pretend I’m smart by showing you some of the constellations I know.”

“Is this a good or bad time to tell you that I was in astronomy club in high school?” I asked in a stage whisper.

Hugo winced. “Okay, change of plans. How about I pretend I’m stupid and let you show me all of the constellations that you know instead?”

I shrugged. “Or, we could point out the stars that we both know to each other and go from there?”

“Now that sounds like a plan.” He signed his name to the credit card receipt with a flourish, then slid it in the case the bill had come in. After pocketing his credit card, Hugo stood and held a hand out for me.

I gratefully let him help me to my feet and took his arm as we headed out of the restaurant. A few tables away from the door, Milo and Rafe Smythe caught my eye. I was going to slip on past and let them enjoy their romantic evening, but Milo waved us over.

“Hugo, have you met Milo and Rafe?” I turned to my friends. “Or maybe I should ask if you guys have met Hugo?”

“Yes, I remember you guys. You’re Artie and Crystal’s parents, right?” Hugo shook their hands while Milo chuckled.

“Once upon a time we were known by our own names. Now we are just known as our kids’ parents; funny how that happens.” He gave a pointed glance to my belly. “But I imagine that you will find out about that soon enough, Todd. Naturally, Tom told me your news a few months ago, but I haven’t seen you. Congratulations, though. Do you guys know what you’re having?”

I shook my head. “No, the baby refused to cooperate during the first ultrasound, so we couldn’t tell. After we thought about it, we decided that we would rather wait and be surprised.”

Rafe chuckled. “So you have a modest little one on the way, huh? I don’t know, I think maybe there’s something to be said for being surprised.”

We chatted for a few more minutes and then made our way out. I knew they were both probably dying to ask about Hugo’s and my relationship, but thankfully they weren’t like some of my nosier friends that I adored.

The rest of our evening went by so well that when Hugo walked me to the door, we’d already made plans for our next date. I was wondering if it was too soon to ask him in. After all, I hadn’t had any action since the night we met and I was feeling pretty horny these days. But Hugo just gave me a sweet kiss good night and left me at the door.

I answered my phone on the first ring. “I hope you’re not calling to cancel, because I’ve been really looking forward to today.”

Hugo sounded sad as he sighed in my ear. “My babysitter didn’t show so I don’t think I have another option but to reschedule.”

“Sure you do,” I quickly responded. “Bring Simon along. Give me twenty minutes to pack a picnic. Does Simon have a fishing pole?”

“A what?” Hugo sounded confused.

“I’m going to take that as a big fat no, city boy. That’s okay, I have one around here somewhere from when Scott and I were younger. When I moved in here after Scott moved to Canada, all of our combined junk ended up with me.”

While I talked, I was already digging through my guest room closet where I had our old sporting equipment stored. “Found it! Oh, cool. I even found our old tackle box, so he won’t have to deal with any worms.”

“Oh, fishing pole. Sorry, I was still stuck on you wanting to include Simon and wasn’t following your train of thought.” Hugo sounded amused but pleasantly surprised by how I’d reacted to the no babysitter news.

“Listen,” I said gently, “I know that you and Simon come as a package deal. That’s not a problem for me, or I wouldn’t be here. I love that kid, you know that. Now get him ready and get over here and pick me up, I’ll be down in the kitchen.”

Simon wasn’t at all sure about this whole fishing thing, but the minute he got the first tug on his line, he was hooked—no pun intended. The three of us sat on the bank beside the creek, eating our picnic and lazily fishing. Simon was all too happy to let me throw the fish back for him after we took a picture of it—as long as he didn’t have to touch it.

When he started getting a little too comfortable around the slippery rocks, I got nervous because the now fast-moving water was a little higher this time of year and could easily pull him under. “Simon, I want you to know that while I want you to be comfortable here, you aren’t ever allowed to come out here by the creek without adult supervision.” I glanced over at Hugo with a wince. “Sorry, I realize that he’s your kid and I promise I didn’t mean to overstep. I just got worried for a minute there.”

Hugo shook his head. “No, I appreciate you saying that. It carries a little more severity when coming from another adult who isn’t your own parent.”

Simon looked back and forth between the two of us. “But what if my dad says it’s okay for me to come down here and fish because you guys are busy?”

“First of all, I will never say that it’s okay for you to come out here without one of us along, and second of all, this property belongs to Mr. Todd. He makes the rules and we respect them. Got it?” Hugo spoke in his standard, casual tone, yet there was a firm underlying note that let Simon know he wasn’t joking around.

I smiled at Simon. “And for the record, as long as we aren’t working, I will never be too busy to hang out with you and let you go fishing if it’s okay with your dad.”

Hugo flashed me an easy wink. “That depends, is his daddy invited to come along? I might get lonely and jealous if you guys leave me out.”

When Simon started to get bored, Hugo suggested we go back to their place and play games for a few hours. I was definitely on board with that one, so we cleaned up our picnic and dropped the basket and pole off at my apartment before heading back to their place. After an easy day of playing games and connecting with the two of them, they made me relax and put my feet up while they cooked me dinner.

Simon watched expectantly as Hugo set a plate in front of me with a grilled chicken breast, sautéed asparagus, and fingerling potatoes. When I took my first bite and moaned around my fork, Simon looked pleased while his dad looked tense. It was my turn to wink at him, since I knew damn well why he had that pinched look on his face.

Ha! Leave me at the door last week like a gentleman? Now it’s your turn to be horny, Hugo…

“After dinner, do you want to play checkers again?” Simon asked eagerly when his plate was nearly empty.

“I don’t know.” I spoke hesitantly, not wanting to wear out my welcome. “Your dad might want to relax. I’ve been here a little too long, don’t you think?”

Hugo smiled gently. “You could never be here too long, Todd. In fact, don’t you still owe Simon a bedtime visit? I believe there was mention of you listening to my bedtime story a while back?”

Simon’s eyes widened with delight. “That’s right, Mr. Todd! We forgot that you were supposed to do that, remember? You remember.”

I glanced at Hugo. “Are you sure? You’ll let me know if you want me to go, right?”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, let me get right on that. I’m having such an awful time laughing and joking with you.”

While he cleaned up from dinner, Simon and I played a few games of checkers. Before I knew it, it was Simon’s bedtime and I was sitting on the foot of his bed, absently running a hand along his back while Hugo read Where the Wild Things Are. After Simon was asleep, Hugo removed his glasses and set them on the nightstand before turning on a nightlight and leading me out of the room.

I waited until we got back out to the living room to speak. “Thank you for such a lovely day, Hugo. I liked being part of your family evening, so thank you for that too.”

Hugo pulled me into his arms and gave me a sweet kiss before answering. “I like having you here. You fit, you know?”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just nodded and smiled like an idiot. Hugo stepped back and held up a finger. “Hold on, I have just the thing.” I watched while he dimmed the lights and put on some soft jazz music. When he held out a hand, I took it and let him spin me into a dance.

When I started to giggle, Hugo shot me a questioning look. “Do I dance that badly?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s just that I realized that we are both barefoot.” We’d taken our shoes off hours ago after we’d come back from our picnic. “And I’m not sure if this is totally cute or completely weird that I find it so romantic for us to be dancing barefoot in your living room while Simon peacefully sleeps in the next room. Don’t laugh, but this is my dream date right here.”

Hugo dipped me over his arm and kissed me again. As he licked along the line of my throat, he murmured against my skin, “You’re my dream date, Todd.”

After a few songs, I needed a break, so Hugo pulled me over to the couch and tugged me down onto his lap. I rested my head on his shoulder, cuddling against him as the music washed over us. When we began to kiss again, all I wanted to do was turn and straddle his lap so I could grind my erection against his—but I was worried about Simon waking up and finding us like that.

I broke away regretfully, ending our kiss with a hand to his chest. “I think it’s time for me to go. As horny as I am, I’m also tired and it’s past my bedtime.”

“Or you could stay the night?” Hugo asked hopefully. “I’d hate to have you walk home alone in the dark, and I can’t exactly leave to escort you.”

“Good excuse to have me stay.” I winked playfully before shaking my head firmly. “No, not just yet. I’m not going to spend the night with you with Simon in the house unless we are together, and we aren’t quite there yet. And yes, I realize how strange that sounds considering the fact that I am a million months pregnant, but you and Simon both mean too much for me to rush things.”

Hugo looked like he was about to say something, but I silenced him with a kiss. When I pulled away again, I cupped his cheek in the palm of my hand. “One step at a time, Hugo. We both know where we’re heading, let’s enjoy the journey getting there.”