I knew this would happen. It was what I’d been trying to avoid in the first place. But I’d felt pressured to take River back to my place last night because I hadn’t want my brothers and friends to think I was an asshole. And I’d felt pressured to bring him into my bedroom so that he wouldn’t be cold on my couch.

I knew that if he was in my bed, I’d be tempted to do something with him. But after I’d come, I’d realized I had once again made another mistake. I’d made River suck my cock, and I’d thought that paying him would hint that I wasn’t interested in anything more than a transactional relationship. But we were now lying in my bed as I tried to process how I was feeling.

“I think you should go,” I said. “I have quite a few things to do today.”

I knew how rude I sounded. But I knew that if I wanted River to get the message, I had to be direct with him.

“Okay,” River said quietly. “I should probably go back to the restaurant and see if my phone is there.”

His hazel eyes looked green, reflecting the light coming in through the windows. I hated how I couldn’t stop looking into them.

River pulled the covers off him and buttoned his pants back up. I got out of bed as well and put on my robe, which was hanging in the bathroom.

“I really hope my brother and Carter aren’t up already,” I said.

“Why’s that?” River asked.

I hesitated to answer him. “Just...don’t want it to be awkward.”

“Awkward?” River said. “Don’t they already know you brought me home last night?”

I nodded. “They do. But they don’t know you stayed in my bed.”

“So what if they know?” River said.

I didn’t know he had it in him to be so fiery. I could finally see a bit of the law student in him.

“I don’t care if they know. I’d just rather they don’t,” I said, trying to remain as calm as I could.

River seemed visibly upset at me. “You do care,” he said. “You care a lot about what other people think about you.”

I laughed. “What? You think you have me figured out now?”

Who was this young man who thought he had any clue who I was?

“I don’t think you even know your own damn self,” River said.

I couldn’t lie. It was a bit of a turn-on to see him so angry at me. I could see his potential to be a good lawyer.

Maybe River wanted me to spank him again. And at that moment, I wanted to pull his pants down and drape him over my knee and do it.

But before I could say another word, River stormed out of my room and headed out into the hallway. I watched him walk in the opposite direction of the staircase. My house was big, and he has never been upstairs before.

“Stairs are that way,” I said.

“Shut up,” River said. “I know.”

He walked right past me again and down the stairs. I leaned against the glass railing and watched him leave my house. I still couldn’t get over how beautiful his ass looked in those jeans.

I took a deep breath and sat down on the hardwood floors, combing my hair back with my fingers. Why did I feel bad for what I’d just done? It wasn’t in me to care about other people unless it was to my benefit. But River made me feel things I hadn’t in a long time.

I could hear a noise in the kitchen, and I walked downstairs to see Carter and Harry in there. Pollock was in Harry’s arms.

They stared at me as I descended the stairs.

“Well, that was awkward,” Harry said.

I felt embarrassed. “Were you guys there this whole time?”

They both nodded.

“Coffee?” Carter offered me one of the Starbucks cups.

“Thanks,” I said.

I went up to Pollock and stroked his hair, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Pollock smiled back at me and moved his arms in the air.

“I thought River slept on the couch last night,” Harry said. “Did you guys...”

I wasn’t going to let him finish his sentence. “He was supposed to. But he ended up coming into my room, and I found him in my bed in the morning,” I lied.

I didn’t like lying. But I wasn’t going to tell the truth. My brother and his boyfriend couldn’t know that I willingly brought my escort to my room and paid him to suck me off.

Both Harry and Carter sipped on their coffees quietly. Harry knew me better than anyone, and if someone could tell if I was lying, it’d be him.

“So...what are you guys planning to do today?” I asked, trying to change the subject.

“Just going to unpack,” Harry said. “And get Pollock’s room ready.”

Carter nodded. “I took the day off to help Harry.”

I was happy to have them live in my guesthouse, even though what happened this morning was more awkward than I would’ve liked it to be.

“Are you ever going to get furniture in this place?” Harry asked.

I shrugged. “Do I need any?”

“Well, it won’t hurt to at least get a television or something,” Harry said. “And maybe when you do have guests over, they’ll have a place to sleep.”

I wondered if Harry was referring to River when he said that.

After we finished our coffees, Harry and Carter went back into the guesthouse.

“Hey, since you guys will be busy, would you mind if I babysat Pollock for the day so that you guys can get more done?” I said.

“Really? Don’t you have things to do yourself?” Harry said.

I nodded. “I’m meeting Hunter today to look at some real estate for my office. But bringing a baby with me will probably make things a bit more interesting.”

“Sure,” Carter said. “It’ll give Pollock some real-world work experience.”

Harry raised his brows. “He’s a baby. He doesn’t need any real-world work experience yet.”

Carter shrugged and smiled. “You can never start too early.”

Harry handed Pollock over to me. It was surprising Harry would be the first of my brothers to have a baby. But after seeing him around Pollock, I realized he was naturally a really good dad.

I held Pollock in front of me and looked into his dark brown eyes. “Ready to go real estate shopping?” I asked.

Pollock talked some gibberish, which I took as a yes. I brought him back into the main house and put him on my bed so that I could get showered and changed. I went into the closet to pick out a dress shirt and slacks, and I brought out a couple options to show Pollock.

“What do you think, black or blue today?” I asked the baby.

Pollock smiled and reached for the blue shirt, which he tried to put in his mouth. “Okay, blue it is. You can’t eat it, though,” I said.

I picked him up off the bed and realized we were wearing the same shade of blue. I got a call from Hunter saying he was going to be there soon. I took the car seat from Harry’s truck so that I could put it in Hunter’s car. When Hunter arrived, he was surprised to see I was holding Pollock.

“Is it bring-a-kid-to-work day?” he asked.

I laughed. “Just trying to fulfill my duty as an uncle.”

“I don’t know what my real estate agent is going to say, but I guess it’s okay since I’m going to be Pollock’s future uncle-in-law.” Hunter got out of his matte black Lamborghini SUV and helped me get the car seat strapped properly in the back seat.

“Is this new?” I said, pointing to his Lambo.

“Sort of. Got it a few months ago. Blue hates it. He says I drive way too fast, and he thinks I’m showing off, but he just doesn’t understand nice cars.”

I smiled. “What’s the point of making money if you’re not going to spend it?”

“Exactly,” Hunter said.

We finally got Pollock strapped in the back seat.

I climbed into the passenger side, and we drove off. It was nice being around Hunter. He had a similar drive to be successful and as independent as I had. I liked to be around like-minded people once in a while to keep me on track.

“Did you have a good night last night?” I asked Hunter.

“Great night. Hell, Blue couldn’t stop smiling in the office today. He was really grateful that you and Harry were there with him. You guys are really important to him.”

“Good,” I said. “I had a great night too.”

We drove down to Lakeshore to meet Hunter’s real estate agent, who was going to show me some office spaces by the lake. Being around water has always made me more productive, and it reminded me of my office in Hong Kong, which overlooked the ocean.

“My real estate agent has a few properties to show you,” Hunter said. “I think you’ll be excited about them.”

“I’m surprised you’re able to do this for me on such short notice,” I said. “We only talked about it last night.”

“You know me,” Hunter said. “I like to get shit done, and we’re going to be family now, so it’ll be a good way for us to get to know each other.”

“Okay,” I said. “You don’t have to be all sappy and everything. I think you’ve been around Blue too much.”

Hunter laughed. “That’s for sure. But we’re going to be brothers-in-law very soon.”

I smiled. “Well, I’m glad I get to call you my bro.”

We parked at the first location. It was a midcentury heritage building that’d been converted into an office space. I took Pollock out of the car seat, and we went to the main door. A tall gentleman wearing a suit was standing outside and waiting for us.

“Look who it is,” the real estate agent said to Hunter.

Hunter smiled and introduced me. “This is my future brother-in-law, Gray.”

“Pleasure. I’m Gregory, but people usually just call me Greg,” he said.

I shook his hand.

“And this is my assistant today, Pollock,” I said.

Gregory shook Pollock’s hand too. “I’m guessing I’ll go to this little guy to handle all the paperwork.”

“I think he specializes in being really cute too,” I said.

Gregory laughed and led us into the building. The place was empty, and it looked recently renovated with brick and wood accents that matched its exterior.

We walked around the main floor that housed a reception area and a meeting room. Then we went up to the second floor, where there was an open-concept workspace.

“What do you think so far?” Hunter asked.

I looked out the window. “The view is nice. I also like how it’s fairly spacious so I can expand if I ever need to.”

We walked up to the third floor, where my office would be. I tried to picture myself working in there.

“What do you think, Mr. Everett?” Gregory asked.

“I’d like to make an offer today. I’ll take it,” I said.

“Just like that?” Hunter said. “You’re not going to see the other ones?”

I shook my head. It was how I ran things. Quick and efficient. So far, that philosophy had made me really successful.