Ethan (Alluring Indulgence #5)(114)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Shaking off the thoughts, Beau closed his eyes and slid his hand along the length of Ethan’s back. Touching him had become one of his favorite things to do. Ethan completed him in ways he had never even dreamed of. And Beau had to believe that Ethan felt the same.

Beau knew he could believe one thing… what they had was real. What they had was worth fighting for. Unfortunately, Beau knew it was time to prepare for that fight because the long road ahead wasn’t going to be an easy one.

Chapter Thirty Six

“Hey, little man. Looks like it’s just you and me tonight,” Ethan said to Mason when Zoey and Kaleb finally headed out for the evening.

He had just spent the last half hour listening to Mason’s overprotective parents give him a rundown of every possible thing that could go wrong and exactly what he needed to do to handle it. That was after Ethan convinced them that he wasn’t incapable of handling a baby.

Apparently asking someone to babysit and letting them are two entirely different things.

“So, what’s on the agenda? Wanna watch TV?” Ethan carried Mason into the living room and lowered himself into the recliner, doing his best not to jar the precious weight in his arms. “No TV? How about we play poker?”

Staring down at the beautiful baby boy, Ethan ran a hand gently over his downy hair, noticing the way the black silk wasn’t nearly as thick as when he’d been born. He peered into blue-gray eyes that looked just like Kaleb’s.

“No to poker too, huh? Well, boy, I’m wonderin’ just how much Walker you got in you if you’d rather just hang out and do nothin’. That’s kinda rare with us, you know.”

Although, Ethan was just as satisfied as Mason to sit there in that chair, his feet propped up, the tiny bundle in his arms curled up close to his chest. He could almost imagine this for himself.

Never before had he considered the possibility of children of his own and it had nothing to do with the fact that he wasn’t going to find a wife. Adoption was a wonderful option as far as Ethan was concerned.

No, he’d never let himself get carried away with the idea because he didn’t think he’d ever find someone he wanted to settle down with. Until Beau.

Ethan could totally picture Beau as a father. He’d be amazing. The mental image brought a smile to Ethan’s face.

Mason cooed softly, and Ethan ran the back of his knuckle over his chubby little cheek and smiled like a fool. “Yeah? That’s kinda the way I feel when I think about Beau, too,” he told Mason.

That and more.

He’d spent two days alone with Beau in Houston, and he found that wasn’t nearly enough. Especially after last night. Falling asleep in his arms, waking up beside him. It defied his most outrageous dreams; it was so much better. But, even though he still felt like he was walking on a cloud after their admissions last night, the pessimist in him always wondered how long it would actually last.

Not long enough to consider having a family he was sure. That didn’t stop him from thinking about it though.

A knock at the door had Ethan glancing up to the enormous picture window at the front of the house. The sun had already dipped below the horizon, but the porch light was on and he could see the outline of a person. A very tall person at that.

“Should we answer that?” he asked Mason as he pushed up out of the chair and headed for the door.

Opening it slowly, he fully expected to see Beau. That’s not who was gracing the front porch though.

Shit.

“Did Kaleb send you over here? Does he not think I’m capable of handling this on my own?”

Travis stepped into the house and shut the door behind him, laughing in a way Ethan was getting used to. It was nice to see Travis so laidback these days.

“They aren’t here?” Travis asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Ethan turned to look at Travis. “Seriously?”

Travis glanced around the room as though trying to reinforce his answer by looking for Kaleb but not finding him.

“How is the little man?” Travis asked, moving over to look down at Mason who’d just dozed off.

“Perfect,” Ethan murmured, suddenly embarrassed that he’d said it out loud.

Turning away, he carried Mason to the small bassinette set up in the living room. With as much care as he could manage, he put Mason down onto his back, ensuring he was propped exactly the way Zoey had shown him before turning back to Travis.

Ethan was surprised to find him sitting on the couch, settled in like he was staying for a while. A sudden irresistible urge to hammer Travis with questions overcame him and Ethan headed back to the chair, hoping he’d come up with a better idea before he started rattling off questions that would only embarrass him in the end.