CHAPTER 6. Connor #2
“Nonsense,” Daniel says, waving a hand. “My birthday’s tomorrow, and there’s no spotlight to steal. What’s the news?”
Cassidy is practically vibrating with excitement, her eyes bright as she looks between Rick and his father.
Rick hesitates, his eyes darting briefly to Noah before settling back on his father. “Well, alright,” he says reluctantly. He takes a deep breath. “Cassidy and I are engaged.”
The table erupts in surprise and congratulations. Maria clasps her hands in delight while Brad beams with pride. Caroline immediately jumps up to hug Cassidy, who holds out her hand to show off a diamond ring that probably costs more than I spent on med school.
“It happened about a month ago,” Cassidy explains, smiling as Caroline examines the ring. “We were at the beach house on the Cape. It was sunset, and he had champagne waiting on the deck…”
I’m barely listening to her story because all my attention is on Noah. His face has gone slightly pale, though his smile remains fixed in place. Under the table, his leg has tightened beneath my hand, and I can see him trembling slightly as he reaches for his wine.
Without thinking, I slide my arm around his shoulders and pull him into a brief side hug while everyone else is focused on Cassidy’s engagement story.
“You okay?” I whisper against his ear, and he nods quickly, but I can still feel how tense he is. I drop my arm and turn back to the table just in time to hear Caroline ask, “When’s the wedding?”
“We’re thinking September,” Cassidy says. “Nothing too large—just three hundred of our closest friends and family.”
I nearly choke on my wine at the words “nothing too large” followed by “three hundred.”
“Of course you’re all invited,” Cassidy adds, smiling.
That gets a warm round of thank-yous and pleased murmurs from the table.
Once the fuss eases, Caroline looks between Rick and Cassidy, her eyes a little misty. “Well,” she says, “I hope someday we’ll be celebrating Noah’s engagement too.” She turns to me and Noah with a hopeful smile. “He always wanted to get married when he was little. Always wanted a big family.”
I feel Noah freeze beside me, clearly mortified by his mother’s comment. Before he can say anything that might come out defensive or strained, I slide my hand over his on the table.
“I think we’re on the same page about that,” I tell Caroline, then turn to Noah with the softest smile I can manage. “No rush, though. I don’t think Noah’s ready for kids just yet, and I’m still enjoying having him all to myself.”
Noah lets out a choked sound beside me, somewhere between a laugh and a protest, his face bright red. My stomach flips at the sight.
“Aww,” Caroline says, pressing a hand to her chest. “Look at that. That’s what you get from a grown man who isn’t scared of commitment. Noah, you’d better put a ring on it before he changes his mind.”
Beside me, Noah lets out another helpless “Mom.”
“Don’t worry, baby,” I say, squeezing his hand. “I’m not going to change my mind.”
I smile at him, and Noah turns to me, still bright red.
For a second he just stares, lips pressed together, eyes wide with that flustered, silent what are you doing?
look that only makes me want to push a little further.
Then his mouth twitches at the corner, like he’s trying very hard not to smile.
“Connor,” Daniel says with a laugh, “you’re making Noah blush. He’s never been great at hearing that kind of thing out loud.”
“I’m still here, Dad,” Noah mutters, going dark red.
Maya shoots me a conspiratorial look. “Careful, Connor. Mention wanting kids once, and Mom and Dad will latch onto it forever. I said I wanted them when I was fifteen, then changed my mind later, but that still didn’t stop them from bugging me about it for the next decade.”
“Excuse me,” Caroline says, giving her daughter a look. “Are we not allowed to want grandchildren?”
Maya snorts and flicks me another look. “And this is what happens when you call them out on it. They get defensive.”
“We’ve accepted that you’re committed to being what you once called, and I quote, a childfree icon,” Daniel adds dryly. “That still doesn’t change the fact that your mother and I would like grandchildren in our lives.”
“Exactly.” Caroline nods, then turns back to me with a warm smile. “So yes, that does leave Noah as our only hope.”
Noah groans. “Jesus Christ.”
“Relax,” Caroline says. “I’m not about to start pressuring anyone.” She looks at me again. “These two little smurfs are just afraid of responsibility. Don’t let them scare you, Connor.”
I laugh. “It’s okay. I’m not scared that easily, Mrs. Caldwell.”
She beams at me. “You’re a sweetheart, Connor. But please don’t call me Mrs. Caldwell.”
“Caroline,” I say, correcting myself, and that earns me another pleased smile.
“Mom,” Noah cuts in, giving her a look, “Connor and I are not having kids. We just started dating.”
“Obviously,” Caroline says in the patient tone mothers use when they are very much not being patient. “No one’s telling you to run out and have a baby tomorrow.”
Daniel snorts into his drink.
“I’m just saying,” she goes on, “couples talk about the future when they’re in love. That’s perfectly normal.”
Noah drags a hand down his face. “Yeah, privately. Not like this.”
Before Caroline can answer, Rick leans back in his chair and says, “Mrs. Caldwell, isn’t it a little early for Noah and Connor to be talking about kids? Cass and I are getting married, and even we haven’t had that conversation yet.”
The casual tone does something ugly to my chest. He sounds like a mildly concerned friend, but I know better.
His face gives nothing away, but I know exactly what this is.
He’s pissed that the Caldwells are even entertaining the idea that Noah could be happy with someone else.
He doesn’t get to have Noah anymore, but apparently he still can’t stand the thought of Noah having a life without him.
Even now, he’s trying to stick his hands back into places where he doesn’t belong.
Noah looks at him, expression blank. “Thanks, Rick.”
“What is there to talk about?” Brad says, turning to his son with a faint frown. “You and Cassie are getting married to start a family, aren’t you? Why else do people get married?”
Rick’s face tightens for a second. Then he glances at Cassidy.
She shifts in her seat, visibly uncomfortable, like this is not the first time they’ve hit this wall and definitely not the first time they’ve chosen not to have the argument in public.
“I’m just saying,” Rick says with a shrug, trying to smooth it over before his father can make it worse, “Noah and Connor barely know each other. No offense, guys.” He looks at Noah. “But seriously. Two months is nothing. Why would they be talking about something that far ahead already?”
Noah goes rigid beside me.
If you didn’t know their history, maybe you’d miss it. Maybe you’d think Rick was backing him up. But there’s something off underneath it, something false and defensive that makes my skin crawl. He dumped Noah, and somehow he still acts like he gets a say.
For a second, I think about staying out of it.
Then something hot surges up my throat, and before I can stop myself, I’m speaking.
“Sometimes people know pretty fast when they’re with the right person,” I say, meeting Rick’s eyes. My voice comes out calmer than I feel. “I don’t need years to know when I’m serious about someone. I’d rather talk about this stuff now than let either of us build up the wrong expectations.”
Noah goes still beside me.
Rick’s face tightens, then smooths right back out.
Too fast for anyone else to catch, but not for me.
Not for Noah either. They both know what I’m really saying—that this isn’t really about how long it takes to talk about the future.
It’s about whether you ever meant to offer one in the first place.
Brad nods, giving me an approving look. “Exactly. That’s called taking it seriously.”
Maria nods too, smiling at me over the rim of her wine glass. “That’s a very sensible way of looking at it, Connor.”
Caroline and Daniel seem just as pleased, and for a second I feel a flicker of guilt, like I’ve somehow won them over by making Rick look like a shallow idiot. Which, to be fair, he is. But that’s beside the point. Then I remember what he did to Noah, and the guilt vanishes.
After that, the conversation drifts into stories about proposals and weddings, about how long different relatives dated before getting married. Everyone seems happy to move on. Everyone except Rick. He falls silent, staring into his wine glass as a flush slowly creeps up his neck.
When the others get distracted enough to stop paying attention to us, Noah suddenly turns beside me and presses a quick, warm kiss to my cheek. It’s soft and brief, but the gratitude in it is unmistakable. My heart stumbles, the feel of his lips lingering on my skin.
I tell myself it’s just for show—that he’s grateful I stood up for him after Rick’s jab. But the way my pulse jumps doesn’t feel like an act.
Maybe I’ve been single too long. Maybe this whole charade is making me sentimental.
It’s ridiculous—we’ve barely scratched the surface of getting to know each other, and yet something about the way Noah looks at me, the quiet vulnerability under his careful composure, makes me want to protect him in a way that goes beyond our arrangement.
I decide not to think about it too hard. We have the whole weekend ahead of us, and right now Noah needs an ally more than I need to understand whatever this strange feeling in my chest is.
***
“Did you see Maria’s face when Maya started telling her she took me to a gay club when I was fourteen?” Noah asks, his voice shaking with laughter. “I thought she was actually going to pass out.”