Iknewthis should feel weird. Deep down, I knew I should break the contact and move away. But I couldn’t force myself to do it. He was right; I needed this. My body craved it. It was so fucking nice, just to be in the shelter of the arms of someone bigger and stronger than me.
He sighed against my hair. “This is nice. I think maybe I needed this, too.”
We sat like that a little longer, both of us watching Huey as he waved his arms around on the playmat, trying to reach the brightly colored bugs next to him.
Eventually, I sighed. “Devan was right today. It’s hard to overcome my pride and accept things from you guys. It’s like you’re trying to trap me withthings, whenI’ll never be able to pay you back. I haven’t done any work in two weeks, my savings are dwindling, and it’s just so easy to let you guys take care of everything.”
His hand stroked up and down my back. “What’s wrong with that?”
“I feel like I’m being bought, and I hate it.” I huffed, thinking I should definitely move away to make my point, but honestly, his warmth felt like it was filling up an empty well inside me.
“Nova, you have to understand. These guys have nothing else to give yet. They don’t know how to be parents, because they have no good examples. They don’t see themselves how I see them, but they will. They’re the kind of friends who are there for you whenever you need it. Theycare, and no one has told them that's all there is to being a parent. You need to care so damn much, just show up and show love. That’s it. The rest we can all learn on the fly, though I’m fairly sure Dev’s read every baby manual on the planet and has each one memorized.”
He huffed a laugh. “What I’m trying to say is that they don’t know how to show Huey, and show you, that they care outside of grand financial gestures. But they’ll get there—just give them time. Emotionally stunted fuckers,” he grumbled, and the vibration in his chest tickled my cheek. “But don’t be scared to call them on their bullshit. They need Huey, and I know it's a lot, but I think they need you too.”
He squeezed me one more time and then moved away. “I better go and put the grill on. We bought Huey swim trunks—they’re in the third drawer, along with some swim diapers. Put on your swimwear too, because what's the point of having a damn pool if you don’t use it?” He stood with a groan. “It was leg day, and I feel like I’m paralyzed from the quads down.” He gave a little stretch, showing me the V of his obliques, making my mouth water.
I climbed to my feet too. “Rigby, can I ask you a serious question?”
He tilted his head, giving me true golden retriever energy. “Sure.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
His grin was wide and instant. “Nah, sweetheart. No one has been able to handle all this, but one day. I hold out hope.” He gave me a burning look, or maybe that was wishful thinking. He held my eyes a little longer, then swaggered out of the nursery, leaving me breathless and bewildered in equal measures.
ChapterEleven
DEVAN
I was goingto pass out from lack of blood to the brain, because when Nova emerged from the house in a robe, her shapely legs on display, half the blood in my body went straight to my dick. The rest followed after as she slipped out of her robe and stood there in nothing but a bikini. It wasn’t skimpy or anything—more of a 1950’s style, with the waistband sitting just below her navel—but Jesus, it hugged every single curve. The pale gold of her skin made me want to strip her down and lick every inch of her body.
I stood in front of the grill, hiding my dick from everyone and pretending to watch the steaks. Rigby had bounded up to her, holding his arms out for Huey, and she’d given him over easily with a laugh.
River came to stand beside me, his face shut down. “They look like a family, almost. The kind you see in holiday commercials.”
I snorted a mirthless laugh. “They do.”
“He likes her, you know.”
I didn’t take my eyes off them. “I know.”
“We should let him go for it. He’d make a good father for Huey. A good partner for Nova.”
This time, I turned to look at my oldest friend. He’d held me together for as long as I could remember; hell, we held each other together. I loved him more than anyone on the planet, even Alana. “They aren’t possessions for us to give away.”
He gave me a pissy look. “You know what I mean. Not stand in their way.” Yeah, I did know what he meant, but I also knew River better than any other person he’d ever known. He wanted Huey more than anything. Wanted to be the parent we never had. Wanted to give him everything that little River had never gotten, and not just material things. Love. Security.
“You’ll make a good father too, Riv. Don’t count yourself out just yet.” I cleared my throat. “As for the partner bit, that’s not really up to us. She might seem small and delicate, but I don’t think Nova’s going to care about anyone's opinion but her own.”
She did seem more comfortable with him, but that was the Rigby effect. He was just one of those people who lit up a room and made everyone feel like they mattered. How he’d ended up friends with us was still a mystery.
“Rigby said if it isn’t one of us, it’s going to be some random guy raising Huey.”
And fucking Nova. Yeah, he didn’t say that bit out loud, but it was there, written all over his face.
“So what, Rigby is the sacrificial lamb? Or is that going to be you?” I didn’t even suggest myself, because no matter how badly my body wanted Nova, I was not good husband material. I wasn’t goodanythingmaterial. I’d come from a bad batch, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was genetic.
“It’s that, or we set her up in her own place, ‘where we can have a degree of separation.’ His words, not mine.”