“I’ll do that.”
“All right, then. I’ll see you later.”
“I’ll be here.”
He kisses my forehead, the tip of my nose and then my lips. “I’m counting on that.”
“You sound an awful lot like a man in a relationship.”
“You’re such a brat,” he says with a grunt of laughter.
I flash him my sauciest smile. “Moi?”
Shaking his head and trying to hide his amusement, he grabs his phone off the table and gives me a wave as he heads for the door.
“Ah, Iris?”
“Yes?”
“Rob is here.”
What the hell? He never comes without texting me first, but I’ve barely glanced at my phone in the rush to get the kids off to school.
Gage opens the door to let Rob in.
The two men give each other the once-over, like dogs circling each other.
“Hey, Rob. Come in. Gage, I’ll see you later.”
The look he gives me is unreadable, but all hints of amusement are long gone as he walks out the door.
“Did you text?” I ask Rob. “I’ve hardly looked at my phone this morning.”
“No, I didn’t. I got in the car to go to work and ended up here.”
“Coffee?”
“Yeah, sure.” He follows me to the kitchen. “So that guy, Gage… Are you guys like… involved?”
As I pour the coffee, I debate what I should say. I could tell him Gage came over to help me fix something, but he probably wouldn’t believe that. I bring coffee for both of us to the table and put his in front of him. “We are.”
“Oh. Since when?”
“Not that long, but we’ve been friends for almost two years.”
“I didn’t know you were, like, you know, ready for that.”
“Neither did I. Until I was.”
He looks down at his coffee. “I sort of hoped that we might…”
“Rob. Please. Don’t say anything that can’t be unsaid.”
When he glances up at me, his expression is one of utter devastation. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
“Then don’t. You’re a treasured friend to me and beloved uncle to my kids. I need you to remain both those things. I’m counting on you, Rob, to help me raise my kids into adults Mike would be proud of.”
“I’ll always be here for you and them.” He wipes away a tear. “This news about Mike being responsible for the crash has crushed me.”