Page 58 of Watch Over Me

Inability. Unwillingness.

Potayto. Potahto.

It had truly been the saving grace of this week, though, not to mention the best thing that had happened to Eddie in years. Finally having James there, not solely as a friend but also as a boyfriend, was the best kind of overwhelming, and Eddie's heart was bursting at the seams.

If not for everything else that had happened in the last few days, he would have been shouting about it from the rooftops and literally jumping for joy whenever possible.

As it was, he couldn't muster enough energy, but since a completely free weekend rarely happened in their work, Eddie wanted to make the most of it.

And what better way to do so than to spend it with Jamesand no one else.

Before he could fill his boyfriend—his boyfriend!—in on the plan, however, his mother called.

Of course she did.

Eddie considered not picking up, but given the whole kidnapping thing, everyone around him was a little overprotective, including his mother, who usually didn't call him for weeks at a time and was now calling for the third time since Monday.

At least he was currently alone in the comm center, so he didn't need to step outside to talk to her.

"Hello, Mother." He pushed his phone between his ear and his shoulder as he continued to scroll through a floor plan of the venue KRK would be securing next week for the economic summit.

"Hi, Eddie. Listen, I want to have dinner for the family tomorrow night, six o'clock. You do have a free weekend, don't you?"

And this was why he should always be very, very careful while talking with his mother. Even the most innocent things could be used against him.

"I'm not working, but that doesn't mean I don't have any plans, you know."

"Oh." She paused. "But do you have any plans for tomorrow night? Because I've already talked with Robert and Rebecca, and—"

Of course she had.

"I have no desire to come to a party," he said with a sigh. "It's never a family dinner with you, but a few dozen people you currently need for one thing or another. Just call it a party, like most people do. But count me out of this one, I'm really not up for it this week."

That came out more blunt than he'd been in quite awhile, but he couldn't be bothered, not today. The mere idea of schmoozing his way through an evening made him want to retch. He'd much rather spend that time with James.

Which he would pick over most things right now, anyway.

"It's not a party," his mother said, voice hesitant. Eddie would even call it apologetic if it was anyone else. "It truly is simply a family dinner. I thought… I thought it would be a good idea. We haven't had one in a while."

No, they hadn't. Eddie couldn't even remember the last one, really.

"So, will you come?" she pressed after he didn't respond right away.

Staring at his desk, Eddie bit his lip. Did he want to give up an evening with James to go play nice with his family? Definitely not. But the more mature part of him recognized the effort his mother was making.

"Yeah, okay," he finally said and sagged into his chair, resigned.

Here goes your quiet weekend.

"Great! See you at six thirty, then."

After they ended the call, Eddie tossed the phone onto his desk and ran a hand over his hair, already second-guessing his decision.

Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad, though. His familywasable to have a normal conversation when everyone made an effort.

The problem was that they rarely all wanted to make an effort at the same time.

But before he could go further down that road, the door behind him opened, and he turned, expecting Jasmine or Todd, only to see James instead, with a greasy paper bag in his hand.

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