No Sacrifice Read online

  Patrick nodded. “Yup. You guys?”

  “Oh yeah. Any chance to be away from Jack,” Sebastian said, laughing.

  Patrick grinned. “No doubt.” He turned back to Nate. “Nate, this is Angelo Martinez and Sebastian Beck. Bathasar and—”

  “Teman. Wow.”

  Angelo threw Patrick a look, earning himself a smirk, and Sebastian grinned.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Nate,” Sebastian said, offering his hand. Nate shook it in a bit of a daze, then also shook Angelo’s.

  “Uh, nice to meet you both. Would… could… would you mind, uh….”

  “Nate, you’re drooling. Close your mouth, man,” Chance chided.

  Nate’s mouth snapped shut, and his cheeks turned red. Angelo, chuckling, picked up the pen Patrick had used and signed the napkin before handing it to Sebastian. He put it on Patrick’s back and added his own signature to it, then gave it back to Nate. Nate stared at it a moment before tucking it very carefully back into his apron. “Thank you! Uh, drinks? On me….”

  “Hey, mine wasn’t on you,” Chance said, scowling.

  “Uh, yeah. It is. For introducing me.”

  Chance laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

  Once the drink orders were put in, Angelo turned back to Patrick and Chance. “So, uh, you guys on a date?”

  “Yeah,” Patrick said. “If I can keep the other guys off of him.”

  Chance knew he was blushing. He cleared his throat.

  “I don’t blame them,” Angelo said, winking at Chance, whose color got worse.

  Sebastian smacked Angelo on the shoulder. “Stop it. You are the world’s worst flirt,” Sebastian scolded, though it was obviously without heat.

  “You wouldn’t have me any other way,” Angelo said and kissed Sebastian’s temple.

  “Unfortunately,” Sebastian grumbled, making them laugh. “So… you guys play pool?”

  It wasn’t exactly how Chance had planned their date, but it turned out great anyway. It felt good to have friends around, to be in public, and to be able to touch and feel comfortable doing it. The couples played each other at pool, and when they weren’t taking their turn, Patrick spent the whole evening touching Chance in some way. They were either holding hands or he had an arm around Chance or even just kept Chance firmly against him if his hands were busy with beer or something. It felt really good. Of course, by the time things were winding down, Chance was seriously considering dragging Patrick into the bathroom stall.

  They finally parted company with Angelo and Sebastian with plans to get together more often. Chance liked that they wanted to be friends. Even with sharing lunch most days, this felt like more, and Chance found himself happy with it.

  Chance was really starting to think about making a life like this with Patrick. He had no idea how he could approach Patrick with it and knew his boyfriend was still raw from the divorce. But he found himself wanting things, things he’d never really thought he’d have. His clothes having a permanent place next to Patrick’s in the closet. Rings. A son.

  He just hoped he could have the patience to wait for it.

  Chapter 19

  Avery was bouncing as much as possible in his car seat. He’d been very difficult to calm down long enough to get him ready to go. He’d been chanting “Birthday! Birthday!” all through dressing and shoe-tying. Chance had had to hold him still long enough for Patrick to comb his hair, which turned out to be a waste of energy, because as soon as they were done, Avery managed to mess it up right away.

  They’d mistakenly let it slip there would be mini golf after dinner. It was only the promise of cake, thus far, that kept him even remotely in his seat while they headed to the restaurant. They’d considered taking him to Pablo’s, but they really wanted to do a little more since Emily and Sara were there. So Chance had found a themed place with lots of dogs, and when Avery spotted it over Chance’s shoulder on the computer and shouted about the doggies, it was decided.

  Four-year-olds, apparently, weren’t any calmer than three-year-olds.

  Thankfully, the restaurant wasn’t too far away, and before long they were hunting for a parking space. Once they were parked, Chance didn’t even give Avery the opportunity to take off. Despite the attempts to wiggle out of his arms, Chance kept a firm hold on the four-year-old bundle of energy until they got in the door.

  Rustic furnishings and decor filled the interior of the restaurant. Large bone-shaped pillows and paw-print fabric covered the booths. The fire hydrant beer tap held a place of honor in the middle of the bar, and the doors to the bathrooms looked like doghouses. Avery loved it.

  Chance set the boy down when they approached the hostess station, which turned out to be a mistake. Avery immediately bolted for the giant wooden dog on the other side of the lobby. Chance chased after him, leaving Patrick to worry about their table, and scooped Avery up into his arms again. “Hey, Squirt, you gotta calm down a little bit.”

  “I like the doggy!” Avery announced and reached out.

  Chance moved close enough so Avery could pat it on the nose. “There, now let’s go sit down and eat,” Chance said, but as soon as they turned around, Avery started wiggling again.

  “Tom! Marcy!” he shouted, and Chance let him down to run over and see them.

  Finally they managed to get a table and settle Avery down for a bit. He was still overexcited, but when Chance sat Avery beside Emily and then sat on his other side, he was willing to look at the menu and consider food.

  Patrick made introductions, and Chance let the small talk flow around him as he worked out what Avery wanted to eat. While they waited for their food, they watched Avery open his gifts. He cheered over the little educational game system he got from Chance and Patrick, complete with extra games, and wanted to play with it immediately. They had to convince him to open the other gifts first. There were more games for his system, a new frog from Marcy—which he refused to let go of—a remote-controlled version of Lightning McQueen that talked, and a few other toys. It took some work to get him to let them put the toys and things back in the bags—except for Mr. Toad, who now sat in the chair with Avery—and focus on food.

  But it didn’t last. Chance wondered if they’d just let him get too wound up or what, but he started to refuse to eat. Emily tried, Patrick tried, but Avery wanted nothing to do with the fries or burger, instead kept insisting on playing the games. They told him no more than once, then put Mr. Toad away, but that didn’t seem to help either. Even Sara, Tom, and Marcy tried to bribe him to eat, but he was having none of it.

  Finally, Chance tried—again—to give him a few fries, even trying to feed them to him in an attempt to get something down. But Avery refused, and at this point, really fought. Patrick told Avery if he didn’t eat, they weren’t going mini golfing, which Emily backed him up on, but this just seemed to be the tipping point. Avery started crying, threw the fries across the table—two of which landed in Marcy’s coffee—and when Emily tried to calm him down again, he let out a full-blown scream.

  Chance glanced around the table. Tom and Marcy looked sympathetic, Sara looked pained, and Emily and Patrick looked embarrassed. Emily was trying to talk to Avery, though he, of course, wasn’t listening.

  Patrick started to get up, face red, but Chance shook his head. “I’ve got this,” he said, then turned to Avery. “Avery Shaughn Tearney!” Chance growled. “That’s enough!”

  Avery stopped dead, staring at Chance. He blinked his little blue eyes, tears still dripping down his red, splotchy face. He sniffled, and his lip quivered as if he was going to cry again, but Chance just shook his head once.

  “No. No more.”

  “Well, it’s about time someone shut that brat up.”

  The voice came from behind him, and Chance turned around to stare. “Excuse me?”

  The man wore a gray business suit that looked expensive, had dark hair in a bad comb-over, and a ridiculous gold-and-diamond watch on. Chance had no idea what he was
doing in the restaurant they were in if he was that worried about kids. “I said, it’s about time someone shut your brat up. It’s parents like you that shouldn’t be allowed to take their kids out.”

  Chance raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t about to correct the man’s impressions. “Oh really? Parents like us?”

  “Spoiled brats, screaming. You and your wife should be ashamed of yourselves.”

  The word threw Chance off. “Wife?” he asked without thinking.

  The man pointed at Emily. “You need to put her in her place. She ought to be taking better care of that boy.”

  Chance could feel his blood pressure rising. As he stood, he noted Patrick’s face was red, and Chance suspected the Irish was doing battle to tell this man off. “Not that it’s any of your business,” Chance said, fighting for calm, “but she’s not my wife. That’s her wife next to her. But how we raise our child is our business, and I will thank you to mind your own.”

  “Oh, that explains it,” the man sneered. “You’re some of those people.”

  Chance knew he should just turn around and sit down, but he couldn’t stop the question. “Those people?”

  The man’s narrowed, beady dark eyes darted around the table. “Whole table full of ’em. Gays. You shouldn’t be allowed to breed. Ruin the gene pool.”

  Chance had to count to ten. He saw Patrick’s face pale, Tom’s turn red, and Marcy fidgeted like she wanted to leap out of her chair. Sara looked faintly ill, and Emily’s fists were balled on the table. “And I suppose that a closed-minded, bigoted, self-centered, misogynistic loudmouth is a better candidate for contributing to the gene pool instead?”

  “Who…?” The man scowled. “At least I know what’s right. Not right teaching that child such perverted ways.”

  Chance laid his hand on Patrick’s shoulder because Patrick looked ready to swing at any second. He opened his mouth to speak, but then he realized the entire section of the restaurant had gone silent. “That goes to show what you know about loving relationships. I feel sorry for you. And any children you might have. And especially for any poor woman that gets stuck with you.” He turned around and sat back down, giving his attention once more to Avery. “You gonna eat now, Squirt?”

  Avery nodded and tentatively held his arms out toward Chance. Chance pulled the boy into his lap. “I’m sorry, Chance. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble,” he murmured, burying his still-wet face in Chance’s neck.

  “Aw, Squirt, you didn’t. It’s okay. You gotta listen to us, though, okay?”

  Avery nodded, still against Chance’s neck. “He’s a mean man.”

  “Yeah, well, there are people like that.” Chance hugged Avery, rubbing his back. “Love you, Squirt.”

  “I love you, Chance. I’ll eat now.”

  Chance settled him back into his chair, then turned to look at the rest of the table.

  “Wow. You know, I think you let him off too lightly, though,” Tom said, shaking his head.

  Chance chuckled and tossed his head toward Avery, who was now chowing down on the cheeseburger. “Little ears.”

  Tom sighed. “True. Guess I’m glad I never had any. Oh, well, it would have been so much fun.” And with that, he lifted his fruity mixed drink and held it up in a toast, then drank it down.

  “Only one comment from me,” Sara said, and Chance looked over at her. “We’re not married yet.”

  “Semantics,” Chance said and laughed when the rest of them did.

  “Thank you,” Patrick said, leaning into Chance’s ear. “I should have handled him.”

  Chance shrugged. “I don’t mind. Unless you don’t want me to—”

  “No! I mean, yes, I do,” Patrick hurried to say. “You did great. Amazing. I just… feel bad.”

  Chance leaned in and glanced back at the asshole behind them before kissing Patrick on the cheek. “Don’t. I’m glad I got through. And I got the best hug out of it when it was over.”

  Patrick chuckled. “Yeah, that’s true. Thanks.”

  Chance let the conversation flow around him once more. Emily looked relieved and grateful, as did Sara. He hoped he’d done the right thing.

  Apparently he had. The waitress brought the little chocolate cake and candle, Avery nearly inhaled the birthday brownie, and they moved on to the mini golf place. While Tom and Sara were discussing the best way to approach the first hole, Emily pulled Chance aside.

  “I wanted to thank you for back at the restaurant. He can be a handful when he gets wound up like that.”

  “I told Patrick I didn’t mind. I love him—” He cut himself off. He didn’t think telling Emily he thought of Avery as his own son would sit well. At least not yet.

  But he was surprised when she smiled and said, “He’s a lucky kid to have you two for dads.”

  Chance opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t seem to form a coherent reply before she walked away with a grin to join Sara.

  The last two days passed in something of a whirlwind as they got ready for the wedding. They managed to find a little black suit for Avery, complete with tiny bow tie. Patrick had nearly been floored by Chance when he’d stepped into the apartment after having gone to his own to get ready. He smiled, dipping his head a little and blushing, hands stuffed in his pockets as Patrick looked him over.

  Chance’s blue-patterned tie accompanied a charcoal suit and pale gray shirt. He’d attempted to tame his blond hair, though the curls were already springing back up around his face. He wore a small diamond stud in his ear. He’d taken to wearing them much more often since Patrick told him he looked good with them. Chance was clean-shaven, though Patrick knew that wouldn’t last and didn’t mind, because he loved the feel of Chance’s rough jaw against his skin.

  “My God, you’re gorgeous,” Patrick blurted, staring at his boyfriend.

  He couldn’t regret the comment, however, when Chance’s lips spread into a wide smile. “Not too shabby yourself, baby,” Chance replied, stepping close. He reached up and brushed a thumb over Patrick’s cheek. “Your long hair looks good with the suit.” Patrick’s was black, and he’d left his hair down since he knew Chance liked it that way.

  He looked up, grinning. “Yeah, I’ll pass?” He glanced down to see the pattern of Chance’s tie had little musical notes mixed in with other musical bits. Patrick hated ties and tried to get out of wearing them whenever possible, so his own was a pretty basic green textured deal.

  Chance laughed. “I think so.”

  “I like the tie,” Patrick said, reaching up to straighten it a tiny bit.

  “Mama’s idea. I’m not really, uh, fond of them. But I figured I could strangle myself once for Em.”

  Patrick laughed. “Yeah, I don’t like them either. We’ll just… uh, yeah, so…. Avery needs to be dressed….” He turned away, but not before he saw Chance’s eyebrows up. He’d almost said they’d have to wear something else for their wedding. He didn’t know when he’d started thinking it was a given they would get married, but he found himself liking the idea more and more every time he thought of it.

  They wrestled Avery into his suit, which turned out to be a real challenge. He kept trying to get away and go do something else. Then he complained about the button-down shirt or the tiny belt. Patrick was grateful for the clip-on for the bow tie because Avery could not sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. They didn’t bother trying to do more than comb through his hair once, both knowing it’d end up a mess in seconds, anyway.

  They met Emily and Sara at the courthouse for the simple ceremony. Avery ran full-tilt for Emily as soon as he saw her and tugged on the long off-white skirt of her dress. Patrick felt a pang for Avery that she’d be going back to Canada so soon and knew he’d have an unhappy child on his hands for a while. He’d have to talk to her about another visit, one direction or the other, as soon as they could work it out.

  Emily and Sara cooed over his suit, and he beamed at the compliments, preening. Sara handed him a small jewelry box that he immedi
ately opened and looked into. Apparently finding the contents boring, he handed it to Patrick as they walked into the judge’s offices. The gold bands set into the velvet had narrow twisting engravings but otherwise were very simple, and it gave Patrick a moment’s pause. Emily hadn’t wanted wedding rings with him, and he briefly wondered why she would now, then pushed it away. He and Emily hadn’t loved each other, not like that, and that was only one reason for them not staying together.

  Sara approached the secretary to check in, and Emily came over to Patrick and Chance. “Can I borrow your boyfriend for a minute?” she asked Chance, who raised his eyebrows but nodded. “Thanks.”

  With a glance and shrug at Chance, Patrick moved over to a set of benches against the wall and sat next to his ex-wife. “What’s up?” he asked, considering her. She looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled back and up with a white rose set into it. She wore pearl earrings he recognized as belonging to her mother and high heels that made his feet ache just looking at them. But she also looked drawn and worried.

  She took a deep breath, shot a glance toward where Chance and Sara stood, trying to keep a hold of Avery, then looked back at Patrick. “I….” She shook her head, picking at a nonexistent spot on her skirt. “I’m… aw, fuck, Patrick, what if I fuck up with her?”

  Patrick covered one of her hands with his. “Em, look at me.” When she looked up, he smiled. “What did you tell me? You and I… we just didn’t love each other that way. Okay? You’re not at fault. You did not cause our breakup.” He brushed a thumb over her hand and worked to suppress the next line of thought. No, I did. I should have—he managed to quell that and smile at her. “You and Sara, you’re different than we were. You love her in ways you didn’t love me.”

  “I’m sorry for that,” Emily said, voice barely above a whisper.

  Patrick shook his head. “Hey, if you had, I might never have met Chance.”

  She chuckled and smiled. “That’s true. Thanks. You’re… you’re okay?”

  Patrick nodded. “Yes. I am. Don’t worry so. You’ll be good with Sara—I’m sure of it.”