“I cannot believe we are having fucking roll call right now.” Knot picked at the hot dinner roll in front of him. “I thought you guys were joking. I thought I was joking. How did this even become a thing?”

“Around the same time Operation: Glitterbomb became a thing,” Vincent replied. He sat sandwiched between Knot and Harley, his second drink of the night partially drained on the coaster in front of him. It had been custom-mixed for the reception—something called a lavender dream. The champagne had gone down smoothly and its glass had long ago been cleared from the bar. “Did you really expect anything less from us Single Dads?”

The banquet hall had quieted down—most of the guests had already left. The fresh roll delivery he’d arranged to coincide with the reception had been late, but luckily, it had shown up before the banquet hall kicked them out. Behind them, Kingsmen Club staff were taking decorations down. The bartender had been giving them the side-eye for the last fifteen minutes.

“I, for one, am grateful that roll call is a thing, even though it was a joke made at my expense.” TD used a small plastic knife to try to wedge a rectangle of butter into his roll. “Do you guys know how badly I’ve been craving bread?”

“I’m going to guess a lot,” Harley suggested.

“A ton. I’m so happy right now. So happy. Like, I was happy when we were all served that really nice Kiev dinner with the fancy vegetables, but I think I’m even happier for this bread.” TD poked the butter in as far as it would go, then shrugged and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. Vincent parted his lips to ask why TD had spent so long carefully inserting the butter into the bun when he was going to eat it whole, but he decided against it. Being pregnant was no joke, and he was not willing to ruin a good night by going fist to fist with TD’s hormones.

“Get the kid a bakery,” Knot said with playful sarcasm.

TD rolled his eyes, but didn’t speak. The bun prevented him from speaking.

Someone else filled the silence. “I can’t believe you guys did roll call without me.”

Vincent looked over his shoulder. A very ruffled, slightly tipsy Gwynning made his way to the bar and leaned on the counter. His glasses were askew, his dark hair was pushed up at strange angles on one side, and he’d missed a button on his shirt, causing it to bunch in strange ways. Half an hour ago, he’d disappeared—seeing him like this, Vincent was pretty sure he knew why.

“Gwynn!” Knot grinned. “Do you mean to tell us that a romp in the limo wasn’t enough? You had to step out on your own reception, too?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” Gwynn declared airily as he sat at the bar. The grin on his face said otherwise. “No clue at all.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

Vincent retrieved the last bun from the delivery bag and slid it Gwynn’s way. “Your roll, Gwynn.”

“Thanks.” The smile on Gwynn’s face was carefree—the kind of smile only the drunk and newly married could pull off. “And thank you for being here… all of you. I can’t believe you came all this way for my wedding.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Gwynn,” Harley announced. He lifted his mug—his sixth beer of the night. Vincent had never seen a man with a higher tolerance for alcohol. Despite how heavily he’d been drinking, Harley didn’t seem affected in the least. “It’s good to be here, and I can’t wait to come back for TD’s wedding so we can do it all over again.”

“Mmph!” TD agreed.

Knot chuckled. “xV and Harley are the real heroes, flying in from the west coast to make it. I’m only in New York—if I’d wanted to, I could have driven. It’s about twelve hours. But I’ll take the compliment.”

“I vote TD has a destination wedding,” Harley volunteered. “Tahiti? Fiji? Costa Rica?”

TD buzzed in disagreement.

“Oh, right, I forgot about the baby.” Harley laughed. “Drat. Well, maybe if you’re just in attendance, and not the one getting married, it won’t be so bad. Who else can we get hitched? Knot is too much of an asshole—”

“Guilty as charged,” Knot said with a grin.

“—and I’m not good husband material—”

“Harley!” TD objected, his mouth finally empty. “Don’t say that! You’re wonderful husband material.”

“—so I guess that leaves you, xV.” Harley waggled an eyebrow. “You’ll get married so all of us will have an excuse to head to Fiji, right?”

Vincent raised an eyebrow. Harley snickered.

“I mean, it could be somewhere other than Fiji,” Harley conceded. “I’m sure all of us will compromise on our preferred vacation destination if it means we get to globe trot.”

“It’s not happening,” Vincent said flatly. “I’m not even in a relationship right now.”

“And neither was I two years ago, and here I am, married.” Gwynn rested his elbow on the table. “A lot can change in a really short time. I wouldn’t discount it. You’re moving to Aurora, aren’t you, xV?”

“Yes.” Vincent tightened his lips. Was Gwynn trying to set him up? Vincent didn’t know how to politely turn him down. Apart from Mal, who he’d taken a chance with to fantastic results, he didn’t date. It was too easy to be hurt. Vincent’s heart already knew the game, and it chose not to entangle itself anymore.

But for dark curls? A small, indulgent smile?

One exception wouldn’t be so bad.

“One change leads to a cascade of other changes,” Gwynn promised. Whether it was drunken wisdom or a genuine belief, Vincent couldn’t tell. “Your life may have been quiet before, but it’s going to pick up when you move to the city. You’ll meet new people, and while most of those new connections will lead to workplace friendships, there’s a chance for more…”

“I don’t know,” Knot said skeptically. “I think that Harley’s our next contender for marriage. Do we have a Single Dad Betting Pool? We should make one. Now that there’s only three of us still single, the odds are better than ever, and since I’m too much of an asshole to ever find love, then there’s a fifty-fifty shot of being right. Invest now!”

TD narrowed his eyes. “How about we not start up any other Single Dad groups. The insurance one didn’t end that well.”

“I know.” There was gravity in Knot’s voice that Vincent hadn’t been expecting. “But if you’re going to let one bad experience ruin the rest of your life, then you’re not going to have much fun, are you?”

TD’s shoulders tensed. He looked away. The conversation had been derailed and gone in undesirable directions, and as the unofficial leader of the Single Dads, Vincent believed it was up to him to set it straight. He clapped his hands together, ending the moment and effectively drawing everyone’s attention his way. After a moment of silence, Vincent spoke. “I’ve been meaning to ask all night, what do you guys have planned for after the reception?”

Gwynn pushed his glasses up his nose, a mischievous look on his face. “Well—”

“Gwynn, we all know what you’re going to do once the reception is over,” Knot said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. “I think all of us would be better off spared of the details. TD is already slated to burn his eyes out thanks to your little limo romp—if you value his mind, you’ll keep us in suspense.”

“Oh my god.” TD sank onto the bar counter, burying his head in his arms. “Knot!”

“Just saying it like it is.” One corner of Knot’s lips twitched up into a smirk.

Gwynn chuckled. With a shake of his head, he climbed off the tall bar chair and plucked at his shirt a few times, like doing so might fix his mismatched buttons. “Speaking of, I think I should get going. The banquet hall only has us booked for another ten minutes.”

“You’re not going to close down the bar with us?” Knot asked.

“Nope.” It wasn’t Laurence who replied, but Alex. He’d wrapped his arms around Laurence from behind and perched his chin on Laurence’s shoulder. “Those ten minutes are mine. He’s coming home with me, and we’re going to close down the bedroo—”

“Aaand that’s enough for tonight.” TD hopped down from the bar and pushed Alex and Laurence away while the newlyweds laughed. While TD escorted them to the front doors of the banquet hall, he looked over his shoulder, back at Vincent. “To answer your question, Aaron’s going to come pick me up, and we’re going to go to bed. He went to drop Bo off with his family. They’re going to look after him tonight. Knowing my luck, he’s probably already waiting outside, so I’ll show Alex and Gwynn out. It was super nice meeting you guys! Next time, let’s plan it so that we have a few days together where we can hang out.”

“Take some vacation time when TD gets married next year,” Laurence urged. He was caught between Alex, who was holding onto him from behind, and TD, who was pushing both of them along, but Laurence did his best to turn at the waist and look back at the bar. “When he gets married, we can all spend a few days together, even if it’s not in Fiji.”

“The wedding’s not going to be in Fiji,” TD said with a plaintive laugh. “Goodnight, everyone. I love you guys!”

“Night, TD!” Harley called. “Night, Gwynn! Congratulations! It was incredible to get to meet you. And you too, TD. And you, Alex.”

“Night, guys,” Knot called. “Try to behave.”

Now that the conversation was dying down, Vincent saw his chance to step in. He leaned back in his chair and lifted a hand in parting. “Goodnight, Gwynn and Alex. Goodnight, TD. It was nice meeting all of you.”

“Night!”

Gwynn, Alex, and TD exited the banquet hall through the front doors. When they were gone, Vincent planted the feet of his chair on the floor and stretched his arms over his head. The day had come to an end, and what a day it had been. His only regret was that Mal hadn’t been there to close the bar down with him. He didn’t date, and he didn’t get involved with men, but Mal had already sneaked his way behind Vincent’s barriers. One exception wouldn’t have hurt.

“Looks like it’s down to the three of us out-of-towners.” Knot stretched his arms over his head as well, then craned his neck from side to side. “We should probably get out before they come out with brooms and chase us away. Are you guys heading back to your hotels, or do you want to come out and find a bar with me somewhere? I’m not flying home until Monday morning, so I’ve got some wiggle room.”

“I’d love to go out with you.” Harley planted his hands on the bar and stood. “I’ve just got to make sure I call to check in with my daughter before we go have fun.”

“Yeah, no problem at all. I’m assuming it won’t take long.” Knot turned his gaze on Vincent. “What about you, oh fearless leader? Are you up for a Single Dad after-party?”

Vincent opened his mouth to politely decline, but the words never made it to his lips. A flurry of movement across the empty dance floor stole his attention, and, startled, he turned his head to look. Mal hurried across the reception hall, his shoulders pinched to his neck and his face worried.

What was going on?

The answer Vincent had been about to give blinked out of his mind, displaced by what he’d seen. Rationally, he knew that whatever Mal was doing was his own business, and that if Mal wanted his help, he would have reached out. But the frantic urgency with which Mal walked, and the stiff way he held himself, screamed trouble.

Had something happened?

Vincent knew what it was like to be alone and helpless. The fear that radiated from Mal was fear he recognized, even if he didn’t know its source.

Alone, optionless, terrified…

Vincent couldn’t let him go. Not now.

He had to make things right.

“xV?” Knot asked cautiously. Vincent was already crossing the floor at a jog, his pulse throbbing in his throat. “What’s going on? You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll just… I’ll be right back.”

The man he couldn’t stop thinking about had walked into his life one last time, and he needed help. Vincent wouldn’t let him walk away again.