Graham
Carter and Felicity couldn’t take their eyes off each other as we started our lunch. But I didn’t care if they just gazed at each other and ignored me for the rest of the meal. I was thankful to have been able to share in their moment.
After finishing most of his fries, Carter finally turned to face me. “Thank you for meeting us. I wish we’d gotten more time together yesterday.”
“Yesterday was about you. I’m just here to support you.”
“You’ve been fantastic,” Felicity said. “We really appreciate it.”
I really hadn’t done much other than make a few calls and gift them their honeymoon, which was easy for me. There was no point in having the money I did if I wasn’t going to use it to make other people happy.
Carter seemed to lose himself in Felicity’s eyes again. “If I had any doubt you two were a perfect match, this weekend would have ended it.”
Felicity laughed. “Could you tell Avery that? I think he’s still a bit skeptical.”
I made a strangled sound and tried to cover it with a cough. “Avery? Um… Why would he listen to me? I don’t even know him.” Oh, shit. That sounded way too forced.
Carter gave me an odd look.
“Of course, if I see him, I’ll tell him.” That wasn’t any more natural. I needed to just shut up. They were both looking at me like they were trying to figure out if I was drunk.
“You seem a bit… distracted,” Carter said. “Are you sleeping okay? I thought the beds here were amazing.” He must have realized immediately how that sounded. His face turned red and his mouth dropped open. “I didn’t mean… just that they’re good for sleeping.”
I laughed. “I understand, and you’re right. They are very nice beds.”
“Of course, having a comfy bed doesn’t necessarily mean a person will get a lot of sleep,” Felicity said.
Carter turned even redder.
“She’s right,” I said. “Sometimes there simply isn’t much time for sleep.”
“Dad!” Carter said, and the people at the next table turned to look at him.
Felicity narrowed her eyes, studying me. “Wait a minute.”
“What?” I had a premonition things were about to get tense.
“That reaction a minute ago,” she said.
“What reaction?” I could stay cool, keep my face blank. At work I negotiated sales, rents, financing deals without giving away my angle to clients. So why did it seem like my new daughter-in-law could read my thoughts?
“Your reaction when I mentioned Avery.”
I shrugged. “I was just surprised.”
“Mmmhmm. It just so happens Avery texted me that he was spending the night, or part of it anyway, with a man, a hot older man.”
Carter looked back and forth from me to her. “Wait. Are you calling my dad hot?”
She huffed. “Seriously, Carter. Look at him.”
Now I was sure my face was as red as Carter’s.
“Felicity.”
“He’s gay, dear.” She patted his hand. “So he’s not a threat, and I think someone we know is already keeping him busy.”
“You and Avery?” Carter said. The look of shock on his face would’ve been funny if he wasn’t my son.
“Um…” Damn. I wasn’t going to lie. I’d sworn I would never lie to Carter again.
Felicity laughed. “That sly bastard.”
“Me or Avery?”
She just laughed.
“Were you going to say something or…” Carter was pale now instead of red.
“Are you okay?” Felicity asked him.
“I… Yeah.” He grabbed his beer and drained the rest of it.
“If we decided to see each other again, I was going to tell you after the honeymoon, but Avery was afraid you’d be angry.”
“Angry? No… But it’s weird. I mean, you could be his dad.”
“Or Avery could be your stepdad,” Felicity said, smiling like a satisfied fox.
Carter sputtered, nearly choking on a fry. Then he simply dropped his head into his hands. I signaled our server and asked for another round of drinks.
“If Avery is worried about me, he shouldn’t be,” Felicity said. “I just want to see him happy.”
Carter was potentially hyperventilating, and Felicity seemed to think Avery and I were going to keep seeing each other. But at least neither of them had run screaming or told me off.
“We’re not sure this is going anywhere. He hasn’t…” Shit, what did I say? I wasn’t supposed to be talking to them about this at all.
“You want to see him again?” Felicity asked.
Carter groaned. “Are we really having this conversation? You do realize this is my dad, right?”
Felicity just waved him off.
“I would like to see him again, yes. I asked him to stay the weekend with me.”
“Oh, wow,” Carter squeaked. He still looked pale.
“I didn’t seek this out.”
He nodded, but Felicity raised her brows, clearly unconvinced.
“Honestly, he came to me.”
“He’s going to be in so much trouble when I get back,” Felicity said.
“Please, don’t give him too hard of a time. He’s really nervous about how you’ll react.”
“Well, yeah,” Carter said. “You’re my dad and he’s… Avery.”
“I knew something was up when he was all coy about who he was with last night. He’s usually not shy talking about his hookups. He scares poor Carter a bit.” Felicity patted his hand as she picked up the last of her burger.
“He’s not going to talk about…” Carter gestured toward me with his beer glass.
I agreed. “No, that would be… Just no.”
Felicity laughed. “You two are adorable. This almost makes up for our flight being cancelled.”
“What? That’s terrible. Did you get on another flight?”
Carter nodded. “We did, but it doesn’t leave until tomorrow morning.”
“So you’ll be here another night?”
“Yeah. We couldn’t keep the same room, but at least they had something open.”
“I’m so sorry.” And really hoping Avery and I didn’t run into them.
Felicity shrugged. “It’s okay. I love it here, and all that really matters is we’re married.”
Carter looked at her, his expression so lovestruck I was about to cry in the middle of a restaurant. I was also, very sadly, jealous.
I’d been playing around ever since my divorce. Sowing all the oats I didn’t when I was younger. I’d told myself I didn’t want anything serious, that I didn’t need that. I thought I deserved to sleep with as many men as I could, and maybe that was true for a while. Maybe I did need that freedom, but for the last year or so, I’d known I was lying when I said I didn’t need a relationship. I was ready to beg Avery to give me a chance. I wanted this to be more than a weekend, because while I’d played Daddy with some other boys, even kept them around for a few weeks or played regularly with them at Leo’s club, I’d never felt a connection like this. I hadn’t even realized how deep my feelings could go until Avery.
“Are you going to tell Avery you know about us?” I asked, looking at Felicity. I doubted Carter would say anything. He’d be too embarrassed.
She studied me for a few moments. “Not until I’m back, but I don’t like him keeping this from me. We usually tell each other everything.”
“I told him we should just confess, even if it didn’t go any further.”
Felicity huffed. “He’s stubborn as fuck.”
I supposed he was most of the time, but with me he was pliant, willing to surrender, even when he was unsure. “I’ll try to convince him to call you.”
Carter cleared his throat, and I looked his way. “Dad, I think you should tell Avery we guessed you were together, or Felicity did. I… Wow. I wouldn’t have guessed. Do you usually go out with guys my age?”
Heat rushed to my face again. Damn, I hadn’t blushed this much in years. “Sometimes. Not always.” I’d gone out with several men my own age, but I was known at Leo’s club for liking the Daddy/Dom vibe, so I usually had twinks chasing after me.
“Okay. I’m…” He paused for a breath. “It’s going to take me a while to adjust, but I’m really glad you told me.”
“You are?”
“Yes, because…” He paused to take a sip of his drink. “If you’d just talked to me before you left. If you’d explained…”
“You wished I’d come out to you, told you what I was going through.”
He nodded. “You just left.”
“Your mom…” She’d told me not to call him, but he was seventeen, almost an adult. I should have tried harder. “I’m sorry. I wish I had. I let your mom make decisions when I should have fought harder.”
“It’s okay now. But I do think you need to tell Avery everything. He deserves complete honesty.”
I glanced at Felicity, but she held up her hand. “You have to decide that for yourself.”
Carter was probably right, but Avery might feel betrayed. He might walk away when I needed more time to show him how good things could be between us.
Hasn’t he seen that already? Doesn’t he deserve to know?
“You’re thinking awfully hard,” Carter said.
I nodded. “I don’t want to fuck this up.”
“You really like him.”
“From the moment I saw him.” I’d even been intrigued by Carter’s description.
“I can’t believe you hadn’t met before when you’ve been in Asheville,” Carter said.
“That’s my fault.” Felicity had a sheepish look on her face.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’re completely his type, total catnip for him, and until I knew you a little better, I was worried about that. Now I’m not.”
It took me a few seconds to process that. “You knew we’d be into each other.”
“I thought you’d hook up. As to anything more… I wasn’t sure. Avery doesn’t usually…”
Carter gave her a pointed look.
“Sorry. I talk too much. Ignore me.”
I didn’t push, even though I wanted to. What was she going to say? Avery doesn’t usually what, see a man more than once? Have real relationships? Obviously hooking up with older men was something he’d done before. How hard was I going to have to fight for him?
I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t expect Felicity to spill her best friend’s secrets.
I looked back at Carter. “Are you all right with this? Truly?” I wanted Avery desperately, but I wasn’t going to risk ruining my relationship with my son.
His nose wrinkled like he was thinking hard, then he nodded. “Yeah. It’s strange. Really strange. So I’m not going to think too hard about it, but if this becomes something more, then yeah, I’m okay with it.”
“And Mandy and Wren, how do you think they’ll feel?”
“I think they’ll be fine,” Carter said.
“Mandy will absolutely love it.”
We both looked at Felicity.
“What? She’ll think it’s hilarious.”
“Do I want to know why?” I asked.
Felicity grinned. “Avery’s impossible. And she’ll love what he’ll put you through. She’s also not as much of a prude as Carter.”
“What? I’m not.”
She stared at him.
“All right, fine. She’s more comfortable than me with… sex things.”
“Sex things?” Felicity mouthed to me.
I decided it was time to get out of there. I pushed back from the table and laid a hand on Carter’s shoulder. “You think you’ll recover?”
“Maybe, though I have a feeling this is basically what I’ve signed up for.”
“That’s sadly true.” Felicity grinned, not seeming the least bit sorry.
“What time do you leave tomorrow?”
“We’ll head to the airport around nine tomorrow morning,” Carter said. “I’ll send you the flight details.”
“Thanks. Have a wonderful time. Call me when you’re back and send some pictures of the beach.”
“We will,” Felicity assured me.
I hugged them both and then headed toward my suite, trying to make myself walk at a normal pace.