Epilogue
Five Months Later
Riley sidestepped around a running, squealing child, lifting the tray of uncooked meat above their heads so it didn’t end up on the floor. A random child that Riley couldn’t remember the name of almost ploughed into him right after that, their small hand squeezing his thigh as they zipped around him.
Hudson did run into him next, his birthday-boy hat askew on his little head. He clung to Riley and beamed at him. He yelled “Sorry!” and then disappeared with the rest of the kids.
Eventually Riley made it—safely—to where Gideon and Ned were standing in the backyard, near the barbecue.
“Please tell me they didn’t leave you two in charge.” Riley eyed them suspiciously. When he’d left, Angela and Quinn had been standing with them. They required intense supervision.
Gideon snapped his tongs. “I will have you know I am an excellent meat turner.”
Ned lifted his beer. “And if there’s a fire, I can put it out.”
Neither of those things made him feel better about leaving them alone and in charge of cooking the meat. While Riley was glad that they’d sorted out their differences and had struck up a strange friendship, bonding over their mutual love for Lucia, Riley didn’t like that it could result in all of them getting food poisoning. Someone could have put them inside to put platters together or something. Anything that didn’t involve flames or—Riley eyed Ned—beer.
He slid the tray down on the side of the barbecue and decided to let fate decide. “I’ll put the nearest pizza place on speed dial, just in case.”
“I am deeply offended by that,” Gideon said. Ned nodded in agreement.
Riley wondered if he needed to separate them, like naughty teenagers in a classroom.
He pulled Gideon closer and kissed him softly. “I’ll make it up to you later. Try not to poison us.”
“No promises.”
Riley left them to it and went in search of Dawson. Not an easy feat, considering the sheer amount of not only adults but children everywhere as well, like gremlins that had been fed after midnight and had water poured over them. The house that Gideon had lived in with Lucia wasn’t small by any means, but it certainly felt like it with this crowd. How did they know this many people?
He finally found Dawson in the living room, sitting with Sadie.
“How did you find a quiet place?” Riley asked. He hadn’t thought it possible.
“Everyone else is in the playroom,” Dawson said. “The TVs and the PlayStation are getting a workout.”
Riley glanced at the TV. “Why are you watching Peppa Pig , then?”
“Practice,” Sadie said from where she sat on the couch with Dawson.
The last five months had been a series of uncomfortable visits, filled with learning and a few misunderstandings. It had taken her time to accept that he wanted nothing to do with her parents and had no intention of meeting them. Perhaps in the future, but right now his willingness to let her in and establish a relationship extended to her only. It had to be enough; he wouldn’t give more.
“How’s the horde?” Dawson asked, grinning as he looked over Riley’s face.
“They left Gideon and Ned in charge of cooking.”
“Ooh, ouch,” Sadie said. She rubbed her large round stomach and gave him an amused smile. “Should we call for pizza?”
“I have them on speed dial.” It had been a surprise how often their thoughts aligned, and how similar they thought. She was more impulsive than him and hadn’t learned to control her emotions, but she was smart, quick, and too curious for her own good. After a bit more growing up, she’d be a formidable force.
Theresa had fallen in love the moment they’d met, the feeling unfortunately mutual. She couldn’t wait to have her first grandchild and spent a lot of time at Sadie and Dawson’s place. They were turning Dawson’s room into the nursery, and Dawson had started moving his things into Gideon’s new house.
Sadie had been delighted to have another set of grandparents for her child since the father, Richard, and his family had wiped their hands of both Sadie and the child. He’d had the misfortune of meeting the father just once. He’d been harassing Sadie at her work when Riley had gone to have lunch with her—a weekly ritual she insisted on and he tried to honour when he could. Needless to say, after that encounter he doubted Richard would be coming around again any time soon.
Dawson nudged Riley. “I’m sure it will be fine. Besides, there’s plenty of salad. We could just eat that and then get a nice juicy burger on the way back home.”
Home. Riley hadn’t made any commitment to call Gideon’s house that, though he knew it would only be a matter of time. He spent more nights there than he did at his own apartment.
Sebastian burst into the room and grinned at them. “I think it’s illegal that you all get to hide out here while the rest of us have to survive out in the wilderness.”
“You have a twig in your hair,” Dawson told him helpfully.
Sebastian groaned and tugged it out before tossing it on the carpet. He dropped into an armchair. “Kids are horrible. I don’t ever want one. They never run out of energy. And they keep multiplying. How many kids were invited? I think they’re being cloned here somewhere.”
Sadie laughed. “Are you alright?”
“No. If I have to play one more game of pin the tail on the donkey, I will scream and throw myself off the roof.”
“So dramatic,” Riley said with a roll of his eyes.
“I don’t appreciate your tone.”
“A personal problem, I’m sure.”
“What are you all doing in here?” Gideon asked, coming up behind Riley and resting his chin on the top of Riley’s head. “Party’s out there.”
“Yes, that’s why we’re in here,” Sebastian said.
“Where are your men?” Riley asked. All five of them had been invited, and they had shown up together. Had they left him here on his own? Riley wouldn’t blame them; he’d do the same thing.
“We divided and conquered, and now I can’t find them.”
“Not a successful conqueror.”
“Fuck off.”
Riley frowned, a thought occurring to him. “Did you leave Ned alone at the barbecue?” That was even worse than having them together. At least Gideon could cook . The one time that Ned had attempted to cook them all dinner had been a nightmare that Riley needed therapy to get past.
“No, Ange took over.”
“I think I need something sweet,” Sadie declared, pushing herself off the couch, making it look as awkward as possible. Dawson placed a hand on the small of her back, helping her straighten without falling back down. She couldn’t be far away from popping. Riley hoped she waited until after the party, at least. “And no, I won’t bring you anything.”
Gideon vaulted over the couch and landed heavily in her spot. “Maybe no one will notice if I’m gone for a few minutes.”
Riley pulled Dawson into his arm, spreading the other out over the back of the couch so he could absently stroke Gideon’s neck at the same time. He’d barely seen them since they’d arrived. They’d helped set up and then been separated when guests had arrived.
“Are you still looking for a job?” Sebastian asked abruptly, straightening with a calculating look that Riley didn’t at all like the look of. He knew that face. Sebastian had a scheme brewing.
“Me?” Gideon asked.
“I think those two are still employed, right?”
“Last time I checked,” Dawson said, tangling his fingers with Riley’s. “But your brother is unpredictable, so who knows?”
“Why are you asking?” Riley asked suspiciously, not sure he liked the current trajectory of the conversation. No, he knew he didn’t like it. What the fuck was Sebastian up to?
“Riley told me you have a degree in criminology.” What was Sebastian up to? “Do you have plans on getting your master’s?”
“I do,” Gideon said, still sounding confused. “Do you need legal advice? That seems a weird thing for a lawyer to need.”
“I’d like to offer you a job.”
Riley put a hand over Gideon’s mouth so that he couldn’t respond. “Doing what?” he asked dangerously.
“I’ve been looking for a jury consultant, and my assistant and main paralegal are being… let’s go with picky and not one of the other adjectives I want to use. At least not in their vicinity, where they can hear me. But I remember going up against you in court, and you’re fantastic. Also, Riley is a good judge of character. Most of the time.”
“ Most of the time?” Riley drawled.
“You’re not part of this conversation. Please be silent until you’re called to the stand,” Sebastian told him. “The point is, I want you. So what do you say?”
“I sincerely hope that ‘I want you’ is in a purely platonic context,” Dawson said.
“I think four men is my limit,” Sebastian said with a smirk.
“If they’re being picky, what makes you think I’ll get through the line of fire?” Gideon asked.
“I have a good feeling about it.”
“What does a jury consultant do?” Dawson asked curiously.
“A lot of different things, depending on what I need them for. They provide insight on jurors, work with my paralegals to prepare for trial, they help prepare witnesses for the stand, and a bunch of other stuff. It’s hard to sum it up in one paragraph. It’ll give me an edge that I don’t have right now.”
“You don’t need an edge.” Sebastian didn’t need help to show the police their asses in court. Gideon certainly didn’t need to help him do it.
“I don’t need anything.” Sebastian checked his watch. “I’m gonna go see if I can find one of my wayward men. Let me know, alright? Position’s yours if you want it.”
He left before any of them could answer.
“Are you going to take it?” Dawson asked curiously, lifting his arm so Gideon could curl into his side.
Gideon looked to Riley.
He wanted to say no, for a myriad of reasons. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his decision to make. “I’ll support whatever you decide,” he landed on. If that meant working with his accident-prone, trouble magnet of a best friend, then so be it. There were worse jobs in the world to take. And the position would suit him.
“Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!” A second later, Hudson vaulted into their laps, skinny bones digging into uncomfortable places. Riley winced in empathy as a knee grazed certain parts of Gideon’s anatomy.
“Hey, buddy,” Gideon said, rearranging Hudson to sit more comfortably, a pro at these situations. “Having a good birthday?”
Hudson nodded enthusiastically. “Can we open my presents now?”
Gideon checked the time on the clock hanging above the mantle. “I don’t see why not? Did you ask your mum?”
“She said to ask you. Then can we kick the footy around the backyard?”
“I don’t think there’s enough room for that,” Gideon said. “Why don’t we do that when we get home later?”
“Will you kick it with us?” Hudson asked Dawson.
“Absolutely.”
“Okay!” Hudson jumped off, a knee between Gideon’s legs this time.
Gideon grimaced in pain and curled in on himself a little. “It’s a good thing neither of you are trying to get pregnant,” he wheezed. “My potency might be coming into question.”
“Want me to massage it for you?” Dawson whispered in his ear.
“I don’t think I want to trade one problem for another one.” He stood and stretched himself out. “C’mon, lunch should be ready soon.” He held out a hand.
Riley stared at it for a long moment and then took it.
***