Jakey nodded shyly against my shoulder.
“Well, I have coloring books and crayons, and a puzzle with a pirate ship we can do, and I bought Finding Nemo because I heard you like it a lot. Oh, and this picture book that has all different sea creatures with pictures and facts.”
Jakey relaxed against my side, unsuccessfully suppressing a grin.
“Hey, you’re here,” an excited voice said behind us.
Creed walked over and slung his arm around the shoulders of the man who was obviously his brother—two matching pairs of blue eyes stared at us. “Logan and Jakey, meet my brother, Conrad,” he said.
Jakey snorted, drawing our attention. I had no idea what he was thinking, but he giggled as his eyeballs bounced between the brothers. Then he fixed his gaze back on Shane.
Shane shimmied where he stood. “I’m so going to be his favorite.”
“Challenge accepted,” was Conrad’s cocky reply.
By the time lunch ended, I felt more comfortable than I ever had around new people. It was hard not to after spending a whole meal laughing at the way Creed and Conrad picked on each other. Plus, the sweet way the three men doted on each other put me at ease. They had to be decent men to be that considerate and attentive to not only each other, but to us as well—especially Jakey. They made sure he had enough to eat and drink and used the same methods of communication that I did at home. It drove in the fact that Conrad’s teasing Creed about every message he sent them being about us was true. They couldn’t have known how to meet all of Jakey’s needs so perfectly if he hadn’t spent plenty of time telling them about the boy. How sexy was that?
Jakey voluntarily sat next to Shane after lunch when the man set a pile of coloring books and a huge box full of crayons down on the table. With careful consideration, Jakey took his time thumbing through each book before finally settling on one. Then he went through the same process as he turned every page until he found the picture he wanted to color. He smiled at Shane happily. Then his gaze moved to me to check in. I nodded, and he picked up a crayon and got to work.
Conrad threw his arm around Shane’s shoulders. “You did good, but I’ll have to top you. My brother’s man’s kid, therefore he’ll be my nephew.”
I choked, coughing out an apology as Creed chuckled and smacked my back twice, hard. “Conrad, don’t run him off.”
His brother smirked. “Hey, just calling it like I see it. You two are destined to be together.”
Davis added dryly, “And he’ll be a nephew to all of us, my love, unless you plan on leaving us.” Conrad’s sappy smile guaranteed that wasn’t happening.
I glanced at Creed nervously, worried that his brother’s words would scare him off, but he’d already gone back to watching Jakey fondly as he colored, while still rubbing my back absently.
“No more teasing,” Davis said to his boyfriend. Then he locked his hazel eyes on me. “So, Logan. What made you decide to be a bartender?”
Okay, apparently, the question and answer portion of our day had begun. Before I answered, Creed said, “Well, he went to college for a general business degree because he didn’t really know what he wanted to do. He’s pretty shy, but bartending seemed like a decent way to make good money while he figured it out. He worked in a couple of bars and wasn’t totally comfortable in that environment, and they were eating at the place he’s at now one night, and he overheard they needed a new bartender. His cousin convinced him to at least submit an application, and Vonda, that’s the manager who hired him, adored him on the spot.” Creed turned his head toward me. “Right, babe?”
Bemused that he repeated my story so accurately, I said, “Pretty much.” His grin widened, and he leaned in and pecked my lips.
“Okay,” Davis said with a shake of his head. “How long have you been there?”
I opened my mouth, and Creed said, “Six years. Like I said, his manager adores him, and it’s a good gig, so he has no intention of leaving. Plus, they really worked with him when he needed it.”
My heart swelled. This man didn’t stop surprising me.
Conrad reached over and punched his brother’s arm. “I’m pretty sure he can talk, Creed. Chill.”
Creed rubbed his arm, glaring at his brother. “No hitting in front of Jakey. It’s a bad example.”
“Yeah,” Shane said, giving his boyfriend the evil eye as well.
Davis chuckled as Conrad threw his arms up in the air in defeat, but then he said, “I really love all of your tattoos, Logan. Who did them?”
Then Conrad added hastily, “And this question is for Logan. Only Logan is allowed to answer.”
Jakey giggled down at his coloring book, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the adult conversation going on around him or that he loved how his picture was turning out, but the last of my reservations about whether we could fit in with this little circle of men washed away.
Feeling more confident, I said, “Actually, my cousin designed them. I had a few different guys from the same shop tattoo them for me, though.”
Davis said, “We were sorry to hear about your loss.”
His men nodded sympathetically, and Creed rested his hand on my knee. The counselor had encouraged me from our first session to talk about J.J. and Haley and keep their memory alive for Jakey. Since my first meltdown with Creed, I’d sprinkled in stories as we went through our nights, but it had still been more of a purge of my feeling of loss.
Here, with this easy acceptance, sitting with my new man while my nephew colored peacefully, I found myself sharing stories of growing up with J.J., adventures that we’d gotten up to with Haley, and even more about Jakey’s early years. They took turns peppering me with questions and rotating who sat next to Jakey, and when he got sleepy—since we definitely didn’t leave by nap time—I swallowed back tears of joy as he scrambled down from his chair and lifted his arms for Creed to hold him. He nestled into the man’s lap and promptly fell asleep. Not even his brother teased him when he got misty-eyed. In fact, I think we all blinked back moisture.
As the day wore on, they convinced us to stay for dinner. Through the afternoon Conrad told me embarrassing stories from Creed’s childhood, Shane countered it with how lucky he’d been to have him for a best friend and told me about their school days, and then Davis stared adoringly at the other two as he shared the story of how the three of them ended up together. They were clearly besotted and absolutely perfect for each other.
Davis eventually went into the kitchen to begin prepping dinner, and Shane and Conrad took Jakey outside to show him the backyard. Creed held my hand between his, and asked, “Are you having a good time, baby?”
I rested my forehead against his and answered honestly. “I was so nervous. I thought today would be the day that you figured out that being with me wasn’t going to work for you. Maybe they’d decide to do something this afternoon, and because we have a toddler with us, you wouldn’t be able to go, or maybe your brothers weren’t going to approve of you getting a family in one shot, but…”
Creed laughed, his lemony breath washing over me. “If your mom didn’t scare me off when I first met her, then there isn’t anything that could chase me away.”