Page 26 of Anything for You
So often, men could be a little squirmy or anxious around babies. I’d seen it plenty of times in the medical setting, even with dads who’d had kids a while. If their family dynamic meant the mother did most things for thelittle ones, dads could find themselves easily overwhelmed. I hated to see it, but I had. And I’d grown up in a circle where that was exactly how things went. There, men had little to do with children before about five when they could help with small tasks. Even then, any actual parenting was the on the mother unless it came to discipline.
But here, men were only men if they were good to each other, to women, and to children. And being good meant being involved, understanding them, helping them, raising them, loving them no matter what.
Dorian had those qualities in spades. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d come to visit and dropped off some food since that seemed to be his mode of caring for others, and left without touching the babe. But here he was, lovingly cradling baby Will.
“Uncle Stone has a nice ring to it,” Jude said, patting his friend’s shoulder.
Dorian looked up, and his eyes locked with Jude’s. Something weighty passed between them, and Dorian’s face, completely somber and so full of significance, struck me so I looked away. It was a private moment, almost like they were reliving something in the exchange.
I wanted desperately to ask about it, and yet I held my tongue.Maybe later, I promised myself, and then eased into a seat on the couch.
“Your turn?” Dorian asked.
“Not unless you’re ready.” No part of me wanted to take baby snuggles from the man.
We sat and chatted quietly for another few minutes until a low rumble sounded and Jude beamed. “Pipes are working like a charm, and now my next mission begins.”
Dorian gently handed Jude his son, then stood when Jude did and followed him out.
Jess looked starry-eyed after her husband and baby, then turned to me and sighed. “I am so tired, I can hardly think.”
I patted her knee. “I can only imagine.”
We talked for a few more minutes, and Jude returned with the baby, who miraculously still slept after a diaper change.
“Did Stone leave?” Jess asked, settling back into her chair with Will, then tilting up her face just in time for Jude to press a kiss to her forehead, then mouth.
“He did,” he said, eyes glued to Jess’s for another minute before he shifted to look at me. “Want to stay for dinner?”
My brain had caught on the fact that Dorian had left without so much as a chin nod in my direction. It felt surprisingly bad, and yet… should it? We weren’t exactly best friends or anything. He was my landlord. We’d picked blackberries and exchanged a few pleasantries.
And you opened up your heart and soul to him.
Why did it bother me he hadn’t said goodbye? I was probably too tender about everything these days. And maybe reading into our interactions in a way that was bound to catch up with me.
Shaking off those thoughts, I answered Jude. “No, you don’t need me mooching off of you. I’ll get out of your hair, but promise you’ll call me if you need anything?”
“Bruce and Nikki are coming tomorrow morning with breakfast, so we won’t be left solo for long,” Jess said, running a hand over the downy-soft hair on Will’s still-sleeping head.
“Perfect.” I blew Jess and Will a kiss, then waved at Jude where he stood in the kitchen, gathering ingredients for dinner. He dipped his chin, and I slipped out the way I’d come in.
Restless, I thought about ways to approach Dorian when I got home. Should I knock on his door? Should I…
The idea clicked, and I began composing the letter in my head. Sadly, before I had the chance to deliver it, I got called into work, the group chat kept on exploding with all of us taking turns to check on our new nesting family, and thus began another gauntlet of days that quickly blurred together until I caught my first glimpse of Dorian again more than week later.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Dorian
Iheard Kenny’s voice again right as he opened my front door on his way out.
“Oh, hello there, Dove Jensen.”
My insides dropped, and I hustled to the door. Who knew what else Kenny would say to the woman, and since I hadn’t seen her in days, I wanted to set eyes on her.
Some part of me needed it, strangely.
“Hello to you, Kenny Carmichael and Luc… what should we call you?” Since Luc had readopted his last name once his identity came out, the question made sense. Luc murmured his response and Dove’s tired eyes blinked at Luc standing next to Kenny, then shifted to meet mine. “Hi, Dorian.”
