“How are you, son?” his father asked. His thick dark hair had flecks of gray around the temples. He embraced Gavin, holding him a beat longer than his mother had, and said, “I’ve missed you.”
Damn, now he was choked up even more.
“I’ve missed you, too, Dad. How long can you stay?”
“Just for the weekend,” his father said. “You’ll be sick of us by the time we leave Sunday night.”
“Hardly,” Gavin said.
“Good to see your ugly mug.” Beckett tugged him into a manly embrace. “I’ve got to say, I was pretty disappointed to find out the hot blonde messaging me on Instagram was your girlfriend.”
Gavin scoffed. “I bet you were.” He glanced at Harper, gathering balloons with his parents and taking them out of the bedroom. The brightness in his parents’ eyes brought a rush of unpleasant memories of when they’d met Corinne. What a beautiful difference this was.
As he and Beckett grabbed handfuls of balloons and carried them into the living room, Gavin thought about last summer, when he’d reached out to his family to try to mend the distance that his brief, once-a-year visits had created. They had welcomed him with open arms, and they hadn’t made him feel guilty or held it against him in any way.
He’d never make that mistake again.
He looked at Harper, helping his father hang a birthday banner over the fireplace, and he knew she’d never put him in a position where he felt like he had to.
Chapter Twenty-Two
OVER THE COURSE of the afternoon, with the help of his mother, Harper cooked all Gavin’s favorite dishes and treats, while the guys pestered them for tastes—and Gavin stole kisses from his beautiful, thoughtful girlfriend. The friendship between his family and Harper was so real, he knew it was seeping into the very walls of their home. When Serena, Chloe, and Jana showed up, they helped Harper and his mother transform the inside of their home into a celebration of colors and lights, while Gavin, Beckett, and their father decorated the patio and the path to the dock. They hung paper lanterns from tree limbs, strung streamers with bright nylon tassels over the patio, lined the path to the dock with mason jars, and decorated the dock with strings of blue lights. They set up long tables for the food, and the girls decorated them with candles and flowers.
Hours later, their yard was bustling with the din of good friends and family. Gavin sipped his beer, chuckling to himself as Rick made silly faces at Hadley, trying to coax a smile from Daphne’s little girl. Hadley’s stoic expression remained firmly in place even as Andre and Drake dropped to their knees and joined the effort.
Hadley pushed to her feet in her pretty pink dress and toddled toward Jock, who was chatting with Tegan, Harper, and Jana. Hadley wrapped her little arms around Jock’s leg, and his jaw went tight. He looked uncomfortably at Tegan, who reached for the little girl. But Hadley clung tighter to Jock’s leg, her cheeks puffed out in anger as she leaned away from Tegan’s touch. When Tegan stepped back, Hadley looked up at Jock, and a wide, toothy grin appeared on her sweet face.
There was a collective “Aww.”
“I can’t believe it,” Daphne said, glancing shyly at Jock. “You must be a pretty special man to win my little girl over.”
Jock glanced at Daphne and said, “Her radar’s off.”
“Come on, dude. What’s your secret?” Rick asked. “We’ve been trying to get her to smile forever.”
Jock shrugged, looking a little bewildered as the guys joked about Hadley being into the strong, silent type.
Harper must have noticed Jock’s discomfort because she crouched beside Hadley. She’d changed into a sexy floral wraparound dress, tied at the waist. It was shorter in front than in the back, and in her crouched position, it showed off her thighs. She said something to Hadley and held her arms out. Hadley toddled into them, and Harper shifted her on her hip as she stood up. Gavin’s heart did a double take, imagining Harper with their baby as she spoke to the little cherub-cheeked girl, earning the cutest smile of the night.
Gavin’s father sidled up to him with Justin and Beckett and said, “That look on your face tells a story, son.”
“Yeah? What story is that?”
His father slung an arm over his shoulder and said, “The one that ends in happily ever after and grandbabies for me and your mother.”
“No pressure or anything,” Beckett teased.
They both laughed.
“No pressure necessary,” their father said. “Gavin will know when it’s right. You have quite a tight-knit group of friends here, Gavin. It’s nice to meet them and to know you’ve found your way back.”
Gavin met his father’s gaze, knowing exactly what he meant. Not back to these same friends, but back to being Gavin Wheeler, the man who not only let people into his life but into the very heart of who he was. It’d been a long time. “I’m sorry I ever let anyone or anything come between us. I got lost for a while, Dad, but I am back, and I’m here to stay.”
“That’s water under the bridge, son,” his father said. “Don’t give it another thought. We sure don’t.”
“Besides, we have more important things to worry about, like is Steph dating Dwayne, or is she fair game?” Beckett motioned toward Steph, who was talking with Violet, Dwayne, and Zander. Dwayne had one arm around Violet and the other around Steph. Zander’s eyes were trained on Tegan.
“We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon,” their father reminded him. “Do you really want to start something you can’t finish?”
A cocky grin slid across Beckett’s face. “Oh, I’ll finish, all right, Dad. Several times, in fact.”
“That’s my cue to go find your mother.”
As their father walked away, Beckett said, “No wonder you haven’t invited me out here to hang with you. You were afraid of the competition.”
Gavin scoffed. “Hardly, bro. The only woman I’ve been interested in for the past year is the gorgeous blonde in that sexy dress over there.”
“Good, then tell me about Steph. I love those streaks in her hair.”
“Really? You’re usually Mr. Conservative.”
“Shows how well you really know me. I wear ties for a reason, dude, and it has nothing to do with appearances.”
Then we have that in common.
“Steph and Dwayne grew up together—they’re not a couple. But don’t leave me with a mess—or a broken heart—to clean up.”
“Shit, bro. When have I ever done that?” Beckett took a swig of his beer and headed in Steph’s direction.
“And so it starts,” Gavin said to Justin.
Justin didn’t respond, and Gavin realized Justin was chewing on nails, glowering at Chloe and the tall, dark, and a little-too-nerdy date she’d brought with her. According to Serena, Chloe had met him on a dating site and this was their third date. He nudged Justin.
“Hm?”
“If you like her, you should ask her out before she finds someone worthwhile on Match or Tinder.”
“She better not be on fucking Tinder.” Justin shifted his eyes away from Chloe. “I just want to make sure she’s safe.”