Page 52 of Make Believe

Grinning from ear to ear, I swish my way toward the entrance hall, spinning around the corner like a Hollywood starlet who’s ready for her close-up.

“Ohh, Daddy,” I coo as I turn. “I’ve been waiting for you, and I’m so very desperate for your big, fat co?—”

The words die in my throat as my eyes widen and panic grips my chest.

It’s not Rafferty who’s standing there, staring at me in horror with a dropped jaw.

It’s his son.

CHAPTER 20

Rafferty

I smirkto myself as Kadence’s voice floats through from somewhere near the front of the house into the kitchen, where I’d been sipping coffee. I hadn’t wanted to disturb him this morning, wanting him to come to me. He’s been waiting for his Daddy, has he? That suits me just fine.

Except someone else replies to him. There’s someone else in the house.

Someone I’ve known his whole life.

“What the ever-lovingfuckare you doing in my home, Hughes?” Logan shrieks.

I’m not even sure if when I slam my coffee down on the counter that it stays upright. I’m too busy sprinting toward the sound of their voices. I skid to a halt in the entrance hall. It could have been comical if either of them had been looking my way instead of fixating on each other. However, Logan looks like he’s going to punch the nearest wall, and Kadence is possibly going to pass out.

Which is a shame because he looks like an actualdreamright now. A shimmering cloud of lilac and jewels but with just enough radiant skin showing it makes me want to throw him down to the floor and ravage him there and then.

“I-I—” Kadence stammers.

Logan notices me first, his surprise becoming fury. “What the hell is this little fag doing here, Dad? And why is he…why would he…” I see the moment the penny drops. Logan staggers back a couple of steps, clenching his fists. “Who’s ‘Daddy’?” he croaks.

I take a breath, collecting my thoughts and looking at Kadence. His expression is wretched, and it takes everything I have not to run to him and gather him tightly in my arms. But I absolutely have to do some damage control first.

This timing couldn’t be worse. The very morning that my boy and I need to have a thorough heart-to-heart about where our relationship stands, Logan shows up out of nowhere and throws himself right in the middle of everything.

Fuck.

“I wasn’t expecting you, son,” I say calmly, stepping closer and slipping my hands into my pockets. Kadence looks like a rabbit who’s been caught in someone’s high beams, and instead of running, he’s frozen solid, just waiting to be crushed into the asphalt.

“No shit, Sherlock!” Logan exclaims, thrusting his hands out. His frantic gaze flicks between Kadence and me. “Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on right the fuck now. What is this little shit doing in my house? And why does he look likeStripper Barbie?”

“I think he looks beautiful,” I say, throwing Kadence my warmest smile. It takes a second, but his eyes finally tear away from Logan to look at me. Like it’s taken an extra ten seconds for him to process my words, he sags in relief, offering me a small smile.

I nod subtly his way. He does the same back.

When I turn my attention back to my son, I’m genuinely concerned that he might be having an aneurysm.

“I—you—him—what—FUCK!”

I raise my hands and inch closer, like I’m trying to soothe a wild animal that’s so frightened it’s becoming violent. I don’t doubt that something truly appalling is going to make its way out of my son’s mouth any minute now. I don’t care if it’s directed at me, only if he’s going to try and hurt Kadence.

But then…my own penny drops.

Logan knows Kadence by his full name.

“Have you two met before?” I ask cautiously.

Logan’s scoff tells me everything. “Yeah, we went to college together. That’s not the million-dollar question here,Dad.Why is this cross-dressing little freak calling you ‘Daddy’?Why is he in our home?”

I shrug. “It’s my home, son. You have your own place. We weren’t expecting you.”

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