23. Declan Foster
23
DECLAN FOSTER
One week later…
“Well, this can’t be good if you’re here.”
Rome’s words couldn’t be more accurate. It was rare that I went to his downtown penthouse, and he was usually my very last choice for advice. But I was desperate and strangely enough, Rome felt like my best option.
“I need your help,” I announced. “I fucked up.”
Rome’s quizzical expression turned into a wry smile. “And you came to see me. I just love how your first thought was to talk to me.” He stepped away from the door and waved me inside.
The penthouse was in the old Shilito building, which had been one of the first department stores in the country more than a century ago. The building had been completely gutted and remodeled into luxury apartments. When the owner of the building was searching for investors, Rome jumped on it and bought the entire top floor. His place was remodeled in the art deco style that was so prevalent in the old buildings around Cincinnati. Everywhere the eye traveled, there was brushed nickel in smooth, clean lines and geometric shapes, gleaming black marble and dark wood. Even the artwork embraced the art deco and modernist tones.
“Out of our friends, I feel you’ve spent a lot of time apologizing to people you’re dating,” I said to Rome’s back as I followed him along the foyer to the living room filled with elegant, pale-gray furniture.
Rome threw himself into a chair and narrowed his eyes at me. “You know, you’re not really doing much to ingratiate yourself to me. Kind of something you want to do if I’m going to help you.”
I gave my slacks a little tug at the thighs, I sat opposite him, and placed my left ankle on my right knee. “And I thought we were friends. Aren’t friends supposed to help each other?” I arched an eyebrow at him, and Rome met me glare for glare. But I relented first. He was right. I needed his help. “Please. I need your advice.”
His narrow face split into an affable grin immediately, and his eyes twinkled with laughter. Sebastian and I had met Rome while we were in college. I’d actually ended up getting along better with Rome’s best friends, Pierce and Sawyer, than him, while we’d temporarily lost Sebastian to that asshole boyfriend of his, Thomas Cross.
Yet while I tended to not say much to Rome, I did like the guy. He was silly and ridiculous, but he was also relentlessly fearless. The man dove into everything he did without a moment of hesitation. When something new interested him, he embraced it like he wanted to become the world’s foremost expert on that topic. He usually didn’t because something else shiny would catch his attention. I admired his endless enthusiasm for life and his ability to let go of mistakes. Two things I was not very good at.
Rome bounced to the edge of his seat and rubbed his hands together as though he were about to dive straight into my life and fix it with a monkey wrench and elbow grease. “Okay. What’s the problem? That Parker leave you? ”
“Yes.”
Rome flinched, pulling his hands up to his face like he thought I was going to hit him. “Shit. Fuck. Sorry! How? Really…just how? At Sebastian’s, he seemed like he was totally into you. I thought the man was going to fucking throw down over some teasing.”
I couldn’t argue with him. While I knew Parker had been more stressed and distracted since Joy’s bout with the virus, I hadn’t thought we were having troubles. But I’d been wrong.
“Okay. Okay.” Rome waved his hands at me as he leaned forward. His expression grew serious, like he was ready to give me his full attention. “Talk to me. What happened?”
So I told him about the nanny suggestion, but also about Parker’s growing insecurity about himself regarding his reticence to leave my home. I’d thought he hadn’t wanted to leave simply because I’d created a comfortable and welcoming environment in which to stay. If he was happy in my home, why would he want to leave? That made little sense to me.
Part of me wanted to blame Parker’s mother. If she hadn’t sprinkled these doubts in Parker’s mind, Parker and Joy would still be in my home, and we’d be happy together. Why did she have to go meddling in things?
I already knew the answer to that question—because she only wanted what was best for her son. She was worried about Parker’s long-term happiness. I wished Parker could pursue his long-term happiness while living with me.
After I spilled my guts, I looked expectantly at Rome. “How do I fix this? Where did I go wrong? I apologized for trying to find a nanny for Joy, but I don’t feel like that was enough.”
Rome’s face wrinkled up as if he were cringing. “You aren’t going to like what I have to say.”
“If you’re going to tell me I’m better off without Parker, you can save your breath.”
“What?” Rome gasped. “No! Fuck, no!” He launched to his feet and waved for me to follow him. “Parker is one of the best things that has ever happened to you. Did you know you talk more now?”
We cut down another long hallway filled with more vintage art deco paintings until we reached the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of glasses from the cabinet and filled them with ice and water.
“I bet you haven’t even noticed. Usually, when someone tells a story that you were involved in, you stand there and listen. You don’t even nod in agreement or add to the story. But Parker talking about pretty much anything—especially his kid?—”
“Joy,” I supplied.
Rome grinned as if I’d proved his point. He set one of the glasses in front of me. “Exactly. You add tidbits. Chime in. With Sebastian, you were his shadow. But with Parker, it’s like he’s breathed life into you. There’s no way in hell I’m going to tell you not to go after that.”
“Then what are you going to say that I won’t like?”
My college friend took a sip of water and sighed. “There’s nothing you can do to fix this.”
Pain slashed through my chest and panic welled up to squeeze my throat. “Why?” I choked out.
“Because you didn’t break anything.”
“But…but…there has to be something.” My hand tightened on the glass, the cold seeping into my skin, helping to keep me grounded. If I couldn’t fix this, how in the world was I ever going to win Parker back? My last shred of hope was crumbling before my eyes. I didn’t know what to do.
Rome leaned on his forearms on the kitchen island that separated us and smiled at me. “Look, shit isn’t hopeless. I know it probably feels that way. I am sure you did everything you could to make sure Parker and Joy were comfortable. Beautiful house, clothes, food, a feeling of security. All of it, right? ”
“Yes.”
“But Parker is one of those independent types. I’ve known plenty of those artsy-fartsy people. Independent, free thinkers who make their own way in the world.”
My eyebrows jumped at that description. What would Parker say to being called “artsy-fartsy”? I kept my thoughts to myself. I was sure Rome was getting to his point.
“Parker was fine with you giving him a hand, but he needs to feel like he’s living with you because it was his choice for his life and not because he was scared or desperate. You making sure he’s all warm and cozy in your house only got him mad at himself, see? I bet if he’d gotten stuck living with his parents, he would have found a new apartment real fast.” Rome cackled, but I was confused.
“So…I wasn’t supposed to make him happy?”
“Nah. That’s not it. You made him happy, and that made him want to stay. But I bet he’s worried that he’s lazy or hiding from life. Moving out tells his ego that he’s still independent.” Rome picked up his glass and tipped it toward me. “And I bet now that he’s living on his own, he’s miserable because he’s missing you.”
Hope sparked in my chest and the panic strangling me released my throat. “Should I call him? Ask if he wants to move back in?”
Rome had been taking a drink and choked on his water. “No, don’t,” he croaked between coughs.
“What should I do?”
“First, he needs time,” Rome rasped. He cleared his throat. “How long has it been since he moved out?”
“A week.”
Rome rocked his head back and forth as if turning over the information. “Not a long time, but possibly enough time to get into a routine. Definitely enough time to miss you and all that hot sex you were having.” Rome leaned in and grinned at me. “The sex was super hot, right? I’ve always heard the quiet ones are freaks in the sheets.”
I rolled my eyes and picked up my glass. There was no way in hell I was going to discuss my sex life with this lunatic.
Thankfully, Rome chuckled and moved on without needing me to say a word.
“The first part is the hardest. You have to give him time to figure shit out on his own. Reassure himself that he wants to be with you because of how he feels about you and not because of what you can give him financially.”
That was the shitty part, because there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I didn’t doubt Parker. He’d never once asked me for money or any kind of support. I was the one who was constantly doing things for him, whether or not he wanted it. Parker relying on me too much and hiding from the world had never once crossed my mind. I had been more concerned with my overwhelming need to buy him and Joy everything under the sun.
Sebastian had once asked me if I’d ever wanted to spoil someone. At the time, my answer had been a quick and easy no.
Parker and Joy had changed that. Now I felt like all the wealth I’d accumulated over the years had one purpose—to make them as happy and comfortable as possible. Whatever they wanted or needed, I wanted to buy.
“That being said…” Rome drawled out, hooking my wandering attention. “There are things you can do to nudge him in the right direction.”
And this was why I’d gone to see Rome. I knew the devious bastard had to have some tricks up his sleeve.
“You need to send him little reminders that your door is always open for him. Entice him back to your side.”
“How? I think he’s still got a key to the house, but Franks would always let him straight in if he—” I cut off my words when Rome began waving his hands at me .
“Not what I mean. Smaller. Subtle.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, as if he were telling a secret. “You’ve got to be sneaky.”
I frowned. “Sneaky is not my strong suit.”
“Yeah. I know,” Rome huffed. “I’m gonna guess you’ve never sent flirty texts to Parker.”
“No, I haven’t.”
Rome nodded and took another drink of his water. “Yeah, you flirting suddenly would probably cause him to have a heart attack or run for the hills. Too suspicious.”
“No texting. Got it. Email?”
Rome was quick to shake his head. “No, texting is still best for you. I’m afraid if you email him, they’ll sound like business proposals.” He suddenly narrowed his eyes at me. “Have you texted him since he moved out?”
“No. I wanted to give him the space he needed to figure things out and not feel pressured by me.”
Seven days and not a single word from Parker. It had been pure hell, and I wanted it to end now. There was still the commission, but it was put on pause as Parker got resettled. I was sure we’d talk about it eventually, but I didn’t want to pressure him about work and potentially push him even further away from me.
“Okay, good!”
“This is not good.”
“It is. Because you can now send him a very simple ‘How’s it going?’ text. You’re just checking on him and Joy. Very low-key conversation starter. Don’t get into a long conversation unless he instigates it.”
“Why would I do this?”
“To remind him you still exist and that you care about him and Joy. Very simple. Get him thinking happy thoughts about you.”
Okay. That made sense. “Next?” I prodded.
“Share something from your day. Small things. You tried something new for breakfast. Saw a pretty bird out your window. Little things. Just that you saw something nice, and you wanted to share it with him. Or! Ask him for help with something. Tiny, simple questions. Like ask for some advice or an opinion on something. This shows you need him and value his opinion. Everyone wants to feel needed.”
“That way, he knows I depend on him .”
“Exactly. The important thing is that you need to keep these brief interactions. Plus, you do this only once or twice a day at most. You don’t want to overwhelm him.”
“And eventually, after enough time, he’ll want to move back in?”
Rome’s nose wrinkled up as he cringed. “That’s the long-term goal. Short-term goal: a date. You want him to ask you out on a date. Or maybe after a few weeks of casual texting, you can ask him out to dinner with Joy. If you include the baby, you show him you want the kid in your life and you’re not expecting it to get too sexy. He might feel more secure with the baby there.”
That made sense. Not to mention, I missed Joy as well. A dinner with Little Miss and Parker sounded like heaven to me.
“Okay. I can do this. I will win Parker.” His advice was surprisingly simple and smart. Maybe he spent a lot of time trying to win over his exes. Or Rome had gotten better at handling people because he so often put his foot in his mouth. Either way, I felt like I finally had a plan.
“There is one thing,” Rome said softly.
I looked at him, expecting to see that cheeky grin of his, but he was serious. “What?”
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I opened my mouth to argue, but Rome held up a hand, stopping my words in my throat. “Parker is great—don’t get me wrong. I like the guy. But he’s a package deal with that kid. You never struck me as the type to want a family. You go down this road with Parker, and that means your goal is to be husband and daddy . Are you sure you want that? Because right now, Parker has handed you the perfect opportunity to take a step away and reassess your own desires.” Rome shrugged, seeming unsure. “Not trying to be a dick or anything. Just worried about you.”
His concern for me was touching but completely unnecessary. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket as I stepped around to his side of the island. Standing next to him, I opened the photo app and let him see as I scrolled through nearly two hundred photos of Joy until I finally located the video Parker shot of her first attempt at crawling.
It was a side view of Joy’s army crawl across the blanket, but it also got a good view of me as I watched in awe of that baby girl’s single-minded focus as she worked her way to her favorite toy. My voice filled the kitchen where we stood as I called and coaxed her to keep going. Rome said I never smiled, but there was no missing it as I watched her.
“There are at least two dozen short videos of Joy on my phone,” I started, my voice low and rough. “Some with Parker. Some without. But this one, I have watched at least once every day since Parker and Joy moved out. I didn’t want kids before meeting her. Now, I know it would be a blessing and an honor to be considered her daddy.”
Rome clapped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. His grin was crooked as he looked at me, and maybe his blue eyes were teary. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get your family home again.”