Chapter Twelve
Laken
After dropping the bombshell about Rue’s mating in the group chat and finishing their call, Laken had showered and wasted more than an hour trying to pull himself together to go downstairs.
He could hear Bessie, their housekeeper, somewhere along the corridor cleaning, and humming to herself.
He’d strained to hear if Dad and Popi were in, before finally giving in to the need to put something in his stomach, having decided to avoid work as it was already past lunch time.
He did eventually man up and went down to the kitchen.
Had he crept like the coward he was? Why, any sane person would, when they still had no clue what they’d done or said the night before.
Begrudgingly, he acknowledged that Isley was more than capable of handling the office for a day or two.
And there was no way in hell he was going in, looking and feeling as he did.
Hell no. It would give the game away, and he wasn’t ready for that while feeling more delicate than a flower petal crushed in the palm of a hand.
He’d breathed easier for about sixty seconds at finding the kitchen empty. He was in the process of making a sandwich when Dad strolled in looking much younger than his years in casual jeans and a loose fitting cream button-down, rolled up to his elbows, revealing tattooed forearms.
Eyes twinkling with amusement, he eyed Laken up and down before walking past to pour a coffee from the pot on the marble counter.
He turned and rested his backside against it, bringing the mug up and drinking it black.
He watched Laken as the tension grew inside him.
Painful seconds ticked by before he finally asked, “How are you feeling… this afternoon?”
Swallowing back the groan of embarrassment, which was ridiculous when he was a man of thirty-six years old, Laken kept his attention fixed on the bread he was buttering repeatedly, to delay the inevitable conversation.
“Was it you who put me to bed?” he mustered in a breathless gush of words, sounding more like he was pulling off a dressing stuck to hair than asking a simple question.
The chuckle was more a collection of snorts, like Dad was trying to hold back his amusement—he failed.
Laken took a chance and glanced in Dad’s direction. Their gazes clashed, and Laken got a sinking feeling at the knowing look. “What did I say to Popi?”
Dad’s lips twitched as he shook his head, walking towards him to clamp a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “It wasn’t Popi…”
Cryptic was not usually Dad’s style, and Laken scowled. “Can’t you give me more than that? I mean, was I waffling crap, or giving chapter and verse of a sonnet to whoever put me to bed?” He hoped it was neither, God help him.
The door to the kitchen burst open and Popi sailed in as if riding on a cloud, his expression one of pure joy.
He glowed like the bright yellow ball in the sky.
He beamed radiantly at Laken, making him sweat under its heat when those laser eyes landed on him.
Guilt greased his gut at keeping secrets from his parents.
“There’s my sweet boy. How are you feeling?
Still a little delicate if you haven’t gone into work, I’m betting.
Or is it for some other reason?” He arched one sculpted brow, a devilish glint in his eyes.
Speculation and something more which disappeared a second later as the grin grew impossibly wide.
Striding to Dad, Popi slid an arm around his waist, resting his head on the broad shoulder. “Although I’m not sure I should be mad at you right now, dropping in the group alpha chat about Rue when I should have been the first to know he was mated.”
Laken groaned aloud, barely resisting rolling his eyes, “Dad did you have to mention it?”
He knew full well that Dad had to have told Popi, as he wasn’t privy to the alpha group chat. The same as the alphas weren’t privy to the one the PA’s had, which Popi was part of.
“Hey, don’t blame me, Rue told him you’d shared the information when Popi blubbered.”
Laken sucked in a breath and released it slowly, building the sandwich he no longer had any appetite for.
Laken hated upsetting Popi. Yet, with how his eyes twinkled, Laken couldn’t say if it was merriment or tears.
He’d spent all his adult life working to avoid causing upset to this big-hearted man who had loved him unconditionally from the first moment they’d met.
Why, Laken still couldn’t figure, but he knew that it had taken a year for him to accept that Popi was genuine in his affection and wanted nothing in return except his trust. It was why he’d not had the courage to tell them about the photos.
He was fast running out of time if the asshat upped the ante with the threats.
“Hey,” Popi smacked lightly at Dad’s chest, giving him a mock glare.
“I don’t blubber. I was teary and with good reason.
One of my babies has mated, and to not one lovely man but two.
” He glanced at Laken, eyes brimming with tears, making him grimace.
“All my boys are finding love, what more could a parent want?”
Alarm ran through him like a river bursting its banks, his ears ringing with how fast his pulse pounded. Fuck. Fuck, abort! Abort!
He held up his hands in defence, wielding a knife at Popi’s approach. Popi blinked his tears away quickly, and what followed was a look of satisfaction.
“Don’t go pinning your hopes on me and…” Laken’s tongue couldn’t get around Isley’s name as Popi slipped under his arms and came in for the hug, nestling his head on Laken’s chest. He had to feel how fast his heart was beating. Shit!
Dad held his gaze, giving him a warning look, and shook his head as if he’d read Laken’s mind about lying to Popi.
“Now you don’t need to say anything after…
” He trailed off, deliberately leaving Laken guessing.
The arms around his waist clung a little tighter, and the soft, familiar scent of lavender surrounded him as he inhaled gustily.
“You are loveable and nothing you have done in your past makes you unworthy of love.”
Popi looked up and captured Laken’s gaze, which he was sure registered his surprise. Astute was Popi’s middle name, goddamnit!
A fierce light of determination filled Popi’s eyes as he spoke. “Nothing, you hear me?”
Laken nodded. What else could he do? He wasn’t going to argue that he knew differently and upset one of the most important people in his life. No, he’d keep his thoughts to himself and his hands off the liquor bottle in the future, despite not knowing exactly what he’d confessed to.
“Good, now let's get you something proper to eat. Judging by that empty whiskey bottle I found, you’ll need more than a sandwich.”
Laken had no choice but to stay, and mostly he enjoyed listening to Popi talk excitedly about Rue, Monty, and Kendrick.
The throuple dynamic was a little beyond Laken.
One man at a time was hard enough for him to deal with.
Not that he’d had a man long term. He had never felt inclined to have a serious, long-term boyfriend.
In fact, he spent the majority of his energy becoming a success and working on living up to the generous gift Dad and Popi had given him.
Working hard made him feel equal—or almost—to his brothers, so that was something.
Before he knew it, he had spent his afternoon baking with Popi—it wasn’t usually something they did together—and then he had been shoved out the door with a tub of cookies for Isley, when Popi insisted he go and drop them off with an apology for skipping out on the tiny sugar glider.
Unfortunately, Laken had been caught red-handed when Popi had asked what time he’d let Isley know he wasn’t going into work.
One look at his face and Popi had sussed him out, promptly insisting Laken make it right for leaving Isley to fend for himself at work alone when they were all busy.
Just adding to the layer of misery that had Laken feeling like crap. Something he hated.
So here he was, his good deed going punished when he had come face to face with the extremely attractive alpha who appeared to want to stop Laken from getting anywhere near Isley.
The fact he looked way too comfortable in Isley’s apartment made Laken’s temples throb and his hands tighten around the plastic box in an attempt to prevent himself from punching the smug fucker in the mouth for no other reason than he was where Laken wanted to be.
Who the fuck is he? Why is he in Isley’s apartment? Does Isley live with this arrogant ass?
There was no mention of Isley dating anyone, not that he’d heard.
And okay, he might have asked around, but more because of working long hours.
He didn’t want his PA skipping out for dates when they had deadlines to achieve.
It was often a struggle to fit everything into the working day, which meant extra hours were a must. Especially since Paris.
Laken didn’t need some irate alpha complaining.
Although he wouldn’t mind showing this asshole the door.
“Who’s that?” he demanded crisply, when it seemed the imperative thing to ask, giving the man an accusing stare.
His fingers cramped while trying to bust through the plastic tub with how hard he was holding on.
He didn’t take his gaze off the other man as Isley allowed him to step inside and shut the door behind him.
Laken’s nose twitched at how overpowering the alpha's scent was in the confines of the apartment. One sweeping look around the open plan space, which was bright and colorful, and he could see several items that didn’t seem in keeping with what he knew about Isley and surmised they belonged to the other man.