Page 59 of Convenient Rivals

Gregory flushed.

“I knew it! Give us all the details. What’s his cock like?”

“Thank fuck for that,” said Langdon. “I thought for a second we’d lost Jason, when he was being all gooey about his relationship withDaddy.”

“Patrick is not my daddy, and we’re not in a relationship. We’re just seeing how things go.”

“Are you fucking anyone else?”

“No.”

“Sounds like a relationship to me.”

“Why are you picking on me?” Jason pouted. “We were talking about Gregory.”

“Do you feel uncomfortable?” asked Langdon.

“No... I love talking about sex. It’s just...”

“Yes?”

“You’ve made your point,” said Jason, folding his arms in a huff.

This caused them all to laugh. Even Jason couldn’t help but smile.

“To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on with me and Oscar. I haven’t seen him since Monday. He’s busy with a work thing, like a serious work thing, so I haven’t been able to speak to him properly.”

“But how do you feel, Gregory?” asked Charlie.

“I don’t know. I just know I haven’t felt this way about anyone before.”

“You need to talk to him,” said Charlie. “Sebastian and I didn’t talk to each other at the start, and I wished we had. Now we’re always honest with each other.”

“What if he doesn’t feel the same way?” Gregory didn’t like how lacking in confidence his voice was.

“Then at least you’ll know,” said Langdon.

All his brothers looked at him, compassion in their eyes. They could all joke and rile each other up, but when it came down to it, they were always there for each other.

“Such a waste. A guy like that being a bottom, though.”

“Jason!” snapped Langdon.

“What? I was just trying to lighten things up again. Gregory doesn’t mind, do you?”

“No, and trust me, nothing about that man is a waste.”

Jason’s jaw dropped in shock. The others were stunned for a second, but then cracked up when they saw Jason’s face, Gregory alongside them. He knew no matter what happened with any of them, or where life took them, he’d always have this time every week with his brothers, and he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Dinner with his parents would be a far less entertaining experience than brunch had been, but his mother had summoned him, so it was easier to comply. She said there was a surprise guest for dinner, and Gregory foolishly thought it might be Oscar. Why would he be joining them for dinner? He hoped it wasn’t some potential suitor. It was much easier for his parents to just tolerate his sexuality in order for them to utilise his money. The last thing he wanted was for his mother to copy Victoria Montgomery and try to set him up with a toff.

Arriving at his parents’, a rare hug from Barty greeted him – so this was the surprise. He’d have preferred a date with a toff over his brother’s fake gratitude, but his parents were beaming at the show of affection, so Gregory went along with it and hugged his brother back. Anything for a quiet life.

There wasn’t a single mention of the vast amount of money Gregory had just given to Barty. There was no chance of him ever getting any of it back, and to ask would be seen as rude, but Gregory also knew it wouldn’t be the last time he was expected to put his hands in his pocket. He was still waiting for Grant Kincaid to call the debt in at some point and name his price, and he had a feeling it wouldn’t be something as simple as cash interest. From what he’d heard from Langdon, that man didn’t do favours for anyone. He seemed to have a soft spot for Langdon, though, so perhaps he was reading too much into it. It wouldn’t surprise him if Langdon had had a quiet word with Grant, even though Gregory had asked him not to get involved.

His family were in for a shock if Barty needed money in the future. There was no way he’d get himself mixed up with a mobster again to help his brother, who hadn’t even said thank you. Perhaps it was implied by the hug, but just uttering those two words would have cost him nothing and meant everything to Gregory. Why couldn’t he do that?

“We’ve got a full roast today, to celebrate Barty’s return home,” said his mother, clapping her hands together.

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