“We could have had an ass-kicking road-trip together.”
Douglas laughed, followed by another kiss, this time with a lick along Connor’s flesh. “She always hoped to meet you.”
“Why?”
Douglas looked up. “Because she knew how much I still loved you. I was always honest with her about that. I might not have told her everything, but I never lied to her.”
“Was she as good as me in bed?” Connor had meant for it to come out in a light, teasing tone.
Until he realized he needed to hear the answer.
Didn’t matter if it made him a shitty person or not. He still needed to hear it.
“I was with you longer, Sir.” Connor’s hand stilled on the other man’s head. “I knew her longer, but the truth is, you knew me better like that. It wasn’t that she was bad in bed—she would have been generous if she’d said I was okay—but she wasn’t you.”
“I think you’re great in bed.”
“You also have a penis. Not hard to find that to suck on.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to suck on a clit the way you suck a cock.” He grinned. “I’ve never been with a woman so I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’ve heard.”
“Well, obviously I know that now.” But Douglas snickered to soften the sarcasm. “Like I said, she was patient with me. Very patient.”
“How’d she like being married to a priest?”
“Well, she was an atheist, sooo…” He shrugged. “She dealt with it and put up with me. And I wasn’t a priest anymore.” He sighed, holding up his left hand, his gaze on the wedding band there. “I think you would have liked her, Sir.”
Douglas kissed the wedding band, then started to work it off his finger, but Connor stopped him.
“You can wear it if you want to. For now.” Connor cupped his cheek again. “Until you marry me. From that point on, you’re mine, and you’ll wear what I put on you to show you’re mine.”
Douglas blinked back renewed tears. “Thank you, Sir,” he whispered.
Connor held him tightly against him. “I don’t even mind if you want to wear it on your right hand after we’re married. That’s your decision, boy.”
A sad sigh. “She would want me to move forward with you. She’s probably yelling at me right now to take it off since we’re back together.”
“Your choice, baby. I mean it.”
Douglas left it on, for now. “Can I ask a favor, please, Sir?”
Connor wanted to lighten the mood and went for playful, teasing. “Maaaaybe.”
Douglas sat up and held Connor’s hand. “Can I please have a hard limit on not using my rosary as a gag? At least, not my amethyst one. She gave it to me in college, before I left for seminary. It’s kind of…emotionally charged.”
Connor brought Douglas’ hand to his lips and kissed it. “I promise no inappropriate off-label usage of a rosary. I will not, however, promise to not find a sacrilegious dildo at some future point and fuck the hell out of you with it.”
Douglas smiled. “Deal. I think I can handle that.”
“Oh, you say that now.”
Douglas’ gaze held his. “I’ll say that forever, Sir.”
Chapter Twenty
The men ate leftovers while sitting at Connor’s kitchen counter.
Douglas thought maybe it was the best meal he’d ever eaten in his life.
He’d caught himself making the sign of the cross in preparation for saying blessing and glanced over at Connor.
The man wore the most delightfully evil smile Douglas had ever laid eyes on.
Connor leaned in and kissed him. “It’s okay, babe. I don’t mind if you do that. I never did.”
“We never talked about that, but why didn’t you mind me doing that?”
“I liked watching you do that. I liked hearing you say it.” He nuzzled his face against Douglas’. “It was one thing he never did around me. Never ate a meal with the sonofabitch, never heard him say the blessing before a meal. You were the only good thing I had to associate with the Church, besides memories of Dad. I liked hearing you say grace.” He nuzzled Douglas’ neck before nipping him there, hard.
“Oh, god!” Douglas gasped, a shiver rippling through him as his cock hardened in his shorts.
Connor let out a filthily evil chuckle as he kissed the spot. “I loved making you say that, too. Damn, I’ve missed that.”
“I missed it, too, Sir.”
It was after seven when the men put Kayleigh’s carseat in Douglas’ SUV and headed for Niall’s house to get the girls.
“How do you want to handle this with Kayleigh?” Douglas tried to relax, tried not to feel nervous—because wasn’t this his dream come true?
“The truth. Well, the G-rated truth.” He stroked Douglas’ thigh, his hand coming to rest there. “That I love you very much and I’m marrying you this weekend.”
“She’s probably going to want to know more about why you said I couldn’t stay or come back.”
“And I’ll tell her the absolute truth—that I was wrong. I’m a Dom, not an asshole. At least, I try not to be an asshole. If I’m wrong, I admit it. Especially to my daughter. I want her to learn now that adults are not perfect, and it’s okay to challenge them when they’re wrong or screw up. She knows she can trust me. I never want to do anything to harm that trust she has in me.”
His expression darkened. “And I always want her to know she has the power to tell an adult no to keep herself safe.”
“She helped me make Zee’s bottle and told me you said she’s a ‘self-rescuing princess.’ At least, I think that’s what she said. I’m still getting used to her accent. I haven’t had to decipher toddler-speak in over a year.”
Connor laughed. “She is my Princess, and yes, Daddy’s little Princess is going to grow up to be a self-rescuing princess.”
When they arrived at Niall’s, the man himself stepped outside before they even made it up the driveway, gently closing the front door behind him and walking down to meet them. With his arms crossed over his chest and the stern look on his face, Douglas felt nothing but Dom from him in that moment.
“Well?”
Connor draped his arm around Douglas’ shoulders. “I’m going to call Loren and ask if she’s available Saturday.”
Douglas didn’t know who Loren was, but apparently Niall did. One eyebrow arched skyward. “For real?”
“Yeah.” Connor kissed Douglas’ cheek. “We have the marriage license. And we moved all his stuff from the storage unit and hotel to my place.”
The smile exploded across Niall’s face. “Bloody brilliant!” He engulfed both of them in a hug. “About feckin’ time, ye damned arsehole. Ye’ll have it here—no arguments from either of ye—and we’ll keep the wee ones overnight for ye to have the, eh, honeymoon night.”
Niall leaned back and looked from Connor to Douglas without moving his arms from. “Although I suspect ye had a reunion already, eh?”
Connor dropped Douglas a wink. “You can say that again.”
* * * *
Connor might be honest with Kayleigh with most things, but he wasn’t about to let on to Douglas how damned nervous he felt right now. She hadn’t asked about her mom in a while, and he didn’t talk about her. He wouldn’t lie to his daughter and say something like the woman was dead, either. That’d be the fastest guaranteed way to drive a future wedge between himself and his daughter, and he damn well knew it.
Niall gave them one more hug and finally turned to lead the way up the walk. “Call Loren while ye’re here, then. That way we can start working on plans.”
“What plans?” Connor asked.
Niall stopped and turned. “Fer yer wedding. Duh.”
“We don’t need anything fancy.”
“Ye’ll have cake and like it. We’ll grill hamburgers. Afternoon cookout.”
Douglas wore an adorable smirk but didn’t say anything. “What’s that look for?”
“Nothing, Sir.” His smir
k widened.
Connor tugged Douglas’ hand to stop him. “Say it.”
His lips pressed together before the smile finally escaped. “I don’t care if we have it in a backyard or a church, as long as I’m Dr. Strickland at the end of the ceremony.”
Connor blinked against the unexpected prickle of tears. He leaned in for another kiss. “Dr. Koenig Strickland. And I’ll be Koenig Strickland, too. Make things easier in the long run when we do the adoptions.”
Niall rolled his eyes but he wore a pleased smile. “Disgustin’ lovebirds. I’ll wind up wi’ diabetes listenin’ to the two of ye. Come on, then.” He opened the front door and they followed him inside.
“Daddy!” Kayleigh nearly kneecapped him, but Connor was ready and scooped her up to give her his usual greeting, blowing a raspberry against her cheek before pulling her in for a hug.
“Hello, Princess.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared at Douglas. “Hewwo, Doctuh Cowneg.”
Douglas smiled, and Connor loved the way it lit his eyes from within now, nothing forced about it. No tears trying to break free. “Hello, Kayleigh.”
“We need to talk, Princess,” Connor told her, carrying her into the living room. Etsu sat in a comfortable chair, her feet propped up on a hassock while she fed Zee. So he sat on one end of the couch and settled Kayleigh in his lap, then he patted the cushion next to him for Douglas. Niall stood there, brow arched in a silent question, and Connor nodded, waving him in.
They might need him professionally.
“Tawk about what, Daddy?”
“Well, Princess, for starters, you don’t need to call Douglas Doctor Koenig anymore.”
“Why not?”
Connor met Douglas’ grey gaze and his heart swelled, filled, warmed.
Like a decades-old ice age had instantly lifted and melted, leaving sweet spring in its wake.
“Because I’m marrying Douglas on Saturday, Princess. He’s going to be your other daddy.” Like hell would he think of Douglas as her step-anything. As far as Connor was concerned, Douglas was her other father, just like he was Zee’s other father now. Or, would be, come Saturday.
She grabbed his face and made him look at her, and he nearly laughed at her stern expression. “Daddy. We need to tawk.”
“Um, that’s what we’re doing, Princess.”
“Wha’ abou’ Zee’s mommy? He’s mawwied. Wook!” She grabbed Douglas’ left hand and waved it at Connor, nearly making Connor laugh.
Before he could answer, Douglas took over. “Princess, Zee’s mommy…passed away.”
“Passed away?”
“Died,” Connor said. “She died, sweetheart. Remember we talked about my mom and dad?”
Kayleigh’s eyes widened, and tears immediately filled them. “She died?”
“Yes, sweetheart,” Douglas continued. “I still wear my ring because I was so sad. Wearing it makes me feel a little less sad.”
“When did she die?”
Douglas was crying now, too, and Aden, who’d emerged from the hall to silently watch, ducked out and returned with a box of tissues for them. “She died a few hours after Zee was born. That’s why I moved back to Florida. I wanted to be close to Daddy.”
She was still holding Douglas’ hand and touching his wedding band. Connor, who was also crying now, decided to let this play out.
“Will you weah anothuh wing?” she asked Douglas.
“I’m going to wear the ring Daddy puts on there Saturday.”
Note to self, need to go ring shopping between now and Saturday.
Then Kayleigh looked up into Douglas’ eyes. “Is my mommy dead, too?”
“No, sweetheart,” Douglas said. “Your mommy made some bad choices that broke the law. She did some things that could have hurt you.” Connor’s eyes widened, but he kept his mouth shut and let Douglas keep going. “Because of that, she had to go to jail. Daddy needed to keep you safe.”
Douglas took another tissue and dabbed at the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Is she evuh comin’ back?”
“No,” Connor darkly interjected.
Douglas sighed. “Probably not, sweetheart. Daddy got paperwork to keep you safe, because your mommy wasn’t keeping you safe. After Daddy and I get married, we’re going to go to a judge and file more paperwork, called an adoption. That way, I’ll also be your daddy, and Daddy will be Zee’s daddy, too.”
She sniffled back tears. “I’ll haf two daddies?”
“Yes.”
Which Connor knew wouldn’t shock her, because she was already used to that with Niall, Etsu, and Aden, as well as other Suncoast Society friends she’d met.
“Will I get anothuh mommy, too?”
Douglas looked to him for help while Niall, Aden, and Etsu all struggled to contain their laughter.
Connor smiled. “No, sweetheart. Douglas and I aren’t going to add a mommy to the mix.”
Typical toddler, she flashed back to indignant immediately. “Well, we haf a pwobwem.”
“What kind of problem, Princess?” Connor asked.
She leaned back and propped her hands on her hip. “Well, I can’t caww you bof Daddy. Dat’s confusin’. And I can’t caww him Dougwas if he’s my daddy.”
Aden lost it and stepped out of the room, the sound of his laughter rolling back to them from down the hallway.
Connor tried and failed to hold back his snickers. “Then what do you suggest, Princess? Your choice.”
She stared at Douglas for several long, intense moments, where Douglas was doing his best not to burst out laughing, either. Life with a toddler—storms to sunshine in the space of a breath.
Then, she firmly nodded. “I’ll caww you Papa. Can I caww you dat now or do I haf to wait?”
Connor lost it. He hugged her against him as he laughed. “You can call Papa that now, Princess.”
She gasped, shoving back to look at him, wide-eyed. “Does dat mean Zee is my widdle sistuh now?”
“Yes,” Connor said. “Zee is your little sister now.”
She pumped her tiny fist. “Yes! I always wanted a widdle sistuh!” Then she glared at Connor. “You said I couldn’t haf one.”
Connor noted Douglas’ laughter and would “punish” his obvious enjoyment of Connor’s discomfort later.
Just a little.
Sadist, duh.
“That was before Douglas came back, sweetheart. I didn’t know you were going to get a little sister. I was wrong.”
“Den why’d you say he couldn’t stay?”
Connor quickly sobered. “Because I was wrong.” He stared into Douglas’ eyes and brushed a quick kiss against his lips. “I made the same mistake you did—I thought he was married. I didn’t know his wife had died. I’ve loved Douglas for a long, long time. Ever since we were kids.”
Another gasp from her. “Is he the boy in the pictuhs on your dwessuh?”
* * * *
Douglas completely focused on Connor. He honestly hadn’t paid attention to small details like that earlier. He was too busy celebrating his reunion with Connor.
Connor’s smile faded and he nodded. “Yes, sweetheart. He’s the boy in the pictures on my dresser.”
Now Kayleigh looked at Douglas with something akin to awe. “He always wanted to mawwy you!”
Connor blushed a little, but didn’t say anything.
“I always wanted to marry him, too, Princess,” Douglas said. “Unfortunately, I went away to college and made the mistake of not coming back. But now that Daddy and I are together again, nothing’s going to keep us apart.”
Connor reached over and cupped his cheek. “You got that right.”
“Do I haf to shawe my woom now?”
“No, Princess,” Connor said. “We’re going to put her in the other bedroom. In fact, that reminds me.” He looked at Douglas. “We need to get home and get her crib assembled.”
Douglas choked back a wall of grief that slammed into him like a rogue wave. “Yes, Si—yeah.” He’
d need to remember to watch himself around Kayleigh.
Connor straightened, now scowling, studying him.
Douglas shook his head a little to indicate not now, please.
“I want to hewp do it!” Kayleigh chirruped.
“Sure, Princess,” Connor said before Douglas could nix that idea.
Well, shit.
Connor stepped out onto the lanai and called Loren to make the arrangements. Before long, the plan was put together, and Niall, Aden, and Etsu wouldn’t even let Connor or Douglas give them money for food or cake. There would be a few other close friends from the Suncoast Society invited as well.
Once Zee finished her bottle, they gathered the girls’ belongings and the triad helped them get everything out to the SUV.
They said their good-byes and headed home, Douglas now struggling to pull himself back into something resembling under control.
A volatile mix of emotions swirled through him. His joy at war with his grief, and guilt over feeling such joy just weeks after losing Mackie.
He’d hoped Kayleigh would fall asleep on the ride home, but no such luck. Apparently she’d had a late nap before dinner and was ready and rarin’ to go.
Douglas took his time getting Zee’s carrier unfastened from the base while Kayleigh asked a bazillion rapid-fire questions of Connor as he carried her inside and got the alarm shut off.
Zee peacefully slept through it all.
No, he didn’t claim to know God’s will, or why things happened the way they had. It was cruelly unfair that Mackie wouldn’t know her daughter, or that Zee wouldn’t know her mother. Yet here he’d been given the answer to a long-held prayer, one he’d never honestly dreamed possibly could come true.
If he was brutally honest with himself, he’d truly expected Connor’s rejection for any number of reasons, but rejection nonetheless. In his heart, he’d honestly thought he would be living alone, a single father.
He thought that was what he deserved, not…this.
Not…guilt-tinged joy.
Thank You, Lord, for Your divine intervention. Please help me find peace in all of this, and please guide my path to be a good father and husband. Amen.
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