Chapter 18 #2
He chuckled because Lila was a total hoot and completely incapable of actually doing any real harm to anyone. “What everyone is not giving me enough credit for is that I finished the shoot before I went to the hospital.”
Dawson patted his hand. “You did cowboy up there.”
Mom chuckled. “You are my beloved son who always gets the shoot done first.”
Seamus rolled his eyes then nodded to Robin. “Hey, man, how you doing?”
Her long-time head of security who had been talking to Christopher smiled over at him. “Exceptional. Thanks for asking.”
Seamus quietly thought that Mom and Robin were in a relationship, but she never suggested it, and he didn’t want to ask and make it weird.
So he neither asked nor made it weird. He let Mom have her own life and tried really hard not to think about anybody having sex like that.
“Did you enjoy the ?”
“Oh yes, it was my favorite place to be.” The big man glared at him, held out one arm, and he could see hundreds of welts on the pale skin. “Obviously they liked me too. I was eaten alive—”
“And he was so brave. We just kept him in a little shroud of Off and mosquito netting. He looked like a little cloud wandering around the set.” Mom’s expression was mild as cheese, and Seamus didn’t even crack a smile, not even a bit.
Dawson, on the other hand, was not doing near as well. His lips kept twitching, and Robin glared at him.
“I watch bullriding. I know what kind of hit you can take, buddy. Don’t tempt me.”
“Shit.” Dawson lost it, whooping with laughter. “I’ll just gnaw on your arm.”
Stephanie and Mom watched Dawson, and then Mom turned to Seamus with a grin. “I like his laugh, son.”
“I like him,” he admitted.
The whole car stopped, went silent. He wasn’t going to shy away from it, though. It was the truth.
Dawson was special.
Dawson rubbed their shoulders together, expression warm and fond, maybe a little hot. “Ditto cabbage head.”
“Oh, I like that one. Haven’t heard that one before.”
Dawes winked at him. “My dad used to say it to me a lot.”
“Where are your parents, dear? Do you get to see them often in your travels?” Mom asked.
“Subtle, Mum. Super subtle.”
“Right? I’m stunning.”
Dawson snorted softly. “My father passed from a heart attack a couple of years ago, and my mom lives with my sister and her family over on the Western Slope in Colorado. Mom stays at home and makes a lot of quilts and does a lot of work for different charities. I see them quite a bit, when I’m home at my ranch. ”
“What does she think about Seamus?”
“Mum.” She was going from curious to pushy now.
“She can’t wait to meet him. She’s coming to a couple of events with Belinda, and they’re excited.”
Okay, well that was news he didn’t even know about.
They were meeting each other’s families.
That was amazing—terrifying and new, but…amazing.
Their relationship had really moved into the territory of more permanence, and that was perfect, as far as Seamus was concerned. He heard Topher snort softly and looked over to see his friend shaking his head slightly, not wanting to insert himself in the conversation, he didn’t think.
“Sounds perfect. Then all you’ll have to do is introduce him to your father.”
“Right. Like I said, I’ll do that as soon as he’s off this show that he’s filming.”
Dawson hooked a finger into his, pinky-to-pinky, and he sat there grinning like an idiot and holding on.
They pulled up in front of the restaurant, and Seamus took a deep breath. “Okay, are you ready for this, Dawes? It shouldn’t be too awful bad, but who knows? If somebody got wind of us coming, there could be lots of cameras.”
His bright hazel eyes met his, as serious as a heart attack. He nodded. “Bring it on. I’m with you. That’s it. I’m not here for anything else.”
He squeezed that pinky finger. “Thanks, darl. Then let’s do it. You want to go first?”
“I go first, then Kat, Stephanie, you two,” Robin growled. “Christopher brings up the rear.”
Robin muscled out of the car, his big form almost blocking the light for a minute. Then he opened Mom’s door and held a hand in for her.
Mom stepped out and there were a few flashbulbs going off, but he had a feeling that was more the paparazzi that always hung around these kinds of restaurants hoping to see a celebrity they could take a picture of.
The fact there was a bodyguard pulling somebody out of a car meant they were worth taking a picture of.
Topher came out next to help lever Seamus onto the sidewalk.
Dawson joined him on the pavement, straightening out his shirt a little bit, and putting on his hat.
More flashbulbs went off, but Seamus had a feeling it was because of Dawson, not him.
Everybody must think Dawson was some sort of famous cowboy.
They fell in behind Mom and Robin, and Topher brought up the rear, the driver taking the car off to be parked.
“This is kind of unnerving,” Dawson told him, grinning sideways at him.
“You think it is for you? I can’t make a run for it if something happens.” He winked at Dawes as he crutched inside the restaurant, and the flashbulbs stopped going off. No one would come in and try to take pictures inside. They would just get themselves kicked out.
Dawson chuckled. “I think probably Robin could carry you out.”
“Shit, he could carry all of us out.”
“No cursing in public, Seamus,” Stephanie muttered. “Class, please.”
“Don’t malign, Robin, dear.” Mum waved an airy hand. “He is perfect.”
That got another bass rumble from the big guy, but Seamus would swear in the low light of the restaurant his cheeks went pink.
They all got seated, Topher and Robin taking off in opposite directions. Seamus knew that meant they would be planting one of them near each of the entrances. Robin by the main door, Topher by the kitchen.
Dawson looked around, then took his hat off and put it upside down on the chair next to him, which was empty.
Seamus had asked why cowboys did that and had gotten the answer that it didn’t hurt the brim that way, and the crown was less easy to crush.
The only time it went brim-down was when it was sitting on the dashboard of a truck.
“Would you like me to hang that for you, sir?” A server came to ask. Dawson, seriously, face very, very solemn.
Oh, here it went. Seamus had seen what happened when somebody tried to touch Dawson’s hat.
Dawson scowled at the kid. “No, thank you. I got it. It’ll be just fine where it is.”
“Yes, sir.” The kid bowed his head, looking contrite. “Would anyone like to try the wine of the day? It’s a Chardonnay tonight, dry, with an aftertaste of crisp apples.”
“I’ll try it,” Mom said, giving the boy a smile.
“I’d like a gin and tonic.” Stephanie smiled. “Light on the tonic.”
“Just water for me right now while I figure out what I want to drink.” Dawson said, nodding. His scowl was gone as soon as the kid stopped threatening to touch the hat.
“Same for me.” Seamus thought he’d have a beer with Dawson so it was less weird for the cowboy. He’d seen Dawson drink wine, but he knew the man was pretty much indifferent to it.
As soon as the server left, Mom shook her head. “Never threaten to touch a cowboy’s hat. We all know this.”
Dawson gave her a bright grin. “Yes, ma’am. You know your way around a cowboy.”
“When you do as many movies as I’ve done in my life, you have to know your way around a great many cultures.” She waggled her eyebrows. “And also, when you’re as big a slut as I used to be.”
“Katherine!” Stephanie’s eyes went wide.
“Mum!” Seamus burst out laughing. “What a thing to say.”
She patted her hair. “Well, yes, I’m way more sedate now than I used to be.”
The sommelier came with a bottle of wine that had a pouring spout in it and smiled at his mother.
“You wanted to try the Chardonnay, I believe.” He rattled off the date, the label, and all the different notes of the wine while he poured her a tasting sample.
“Please let me know if you’d like to order anything off the wine list.”
“Thank you, darling. I’ll just look it over while I test this.”
They opened their menus while Mom perused the wine list, Stephanie worked on her cocktail, and he saw Dawson’s eyes widen a little bit with maybe panic.
There were all sorts of things like blistered shishito peppers and crispy Brussels sprouts.
Lots of fish and pasta dishes he knew Dawson would never touch with a ten-foot pole, but this was California cuisine.
There was also a burger, a steak, and a roasted chicken dish.
While the ladies were very busy discussing their options, he pointed those things out quietly to Dawson, who nodded his thanks. “What are you going to get?”
Seamus shrugged. “I’m thinking the roasted chicken with the parsnips. I don’t get parsnips very often around here.”
And Nick wouldn’t fuss, which was nice.
“What’s a parsnip taste like?”
He thought about that a second. “A mixture between mashed potato and carrot, with a little bit of turnip and celery mixed in.”
Dawes shrugged. “That doesn’t sound terrible.”
“No, it’s nice, a little less carby than a potato, I think, but nice.”
“All right, I think I’m going to try the chicken too. It sounds good, and I do love a roasted bird.”
“It’s probably the most food you’re going to get.” He winked at his lover. “Now, like I said, if you’re desperate after, we’ll stop and get a lettuce wrap at the In-N-Out.”
Dawson chuckled softly. “Fair enough.”
“You want a beer?”
After thinking about it for a second, Dawson nodded. “Yeah, I can work on one over the meal. This is definitely not a situation where I want to get stupid in any way.”
Seamus shook his head. “No, I’ve made an entire career out of not getting stupid in situations like this. Trust me, that’s what you want.”
Stephanie chuckled softly. “Smart boys.”