by Pandora Pine
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I wanted to answer the question. Was I ready to date again or not?”
“There was the “D” word again.” Faulk hadn’t said it. He’d been very careful not to use that word with Riordan. “Okay.” He busied himself by opening the box of lo mein and putting some on Riordan’s plate before adding some to his own. He did the same with the crispy spring rolls, giving them each one.
“I thought long and hard about it and then I called a friend.”
That stopped Faulkner in his tracks. The carton of dim sum was hot in his hand as he lifted his blue eyes to watch Riordan. “Anyone I know?” He kept his tone casual. Light.
Riordan nodded. “Cole Craig. I was looking for confirmation that my own conclusion was sound. He agreed I was in a good place. Cole also told me what an amazing man you are, but I already knew that.”
Those words warmed Faulkner’s heart. “Oh, yeah?” He felt his lips quirk into a grin. Faulk wondered how Riordan came to that conclusion.
“Part of it was the way you were with Isla at the recital. You didn’t know her at all and you were so kind and gentle. Then there was the flowers. She’s still talking about Uncle Faulk’s roses.”
“Where are they?” Faulk hadn’t seen them when Riordan brought him through the house.
Riordan laughed out loud. “They’re in her room. She insisted that she wanted to see them when she fell asleep and when she woke up. You totally charmed her. That was the other reason I knew how amazing you were. When we were at Carson’s house the other day, you were sitting on the floor surrounded by kids watching a Disney Princess movie while all of the adults were in the kitchen. None of the kids sitting on you were yours. I knew then you were a man worth getting to know.”
Faulk sat with those words for a few seconds. He dumped the dim sum onto their plates and reached for the crying tiger. He hoped Riordan was going to like this extra spicy beef dish. “Those kids are pretty amazing.” He looked up at Riordan. “All they want is your time and a cuddle or two. There’s nothing disingenuous about them. They just want to love on you.”
“That’s true.” Riordan picked up his fork. He pointed to the pile of beef on his plate. “What’s this?”
“It’s called crying tiger. It’s a spicy Thai beef dish. The beef itself isn’t what makes you cry, it’s the sauce that comes with it. The beef is just richly seasoned.” Faulk stabbed a piece of it with his fork and held it up to Riordan. “Taste it.”
Riordan bent forward, slipping his lips over the fork. He made a little moan.
Faulk’s cock jerked in his pants. Holy fucking shit.
“That’s delicious!” Riordan’s eyes were glowing.
“I’m glad you liked it.” He cleared his throat and adjusted his position in his seat to make more room for his half-hard dick. He watched as Riordan cut the dim sum in half and dipped it into the ginger sauce. Instead of bringing it to his lips, he held it up to Faulk.
He took the mouthful gladly. His eyes locked on Riordan the whole time. He made a happy, satisfied sound as he chewed. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” Riordan beamed back.
Faulk leaned forward, intent on capturing Riordan’s lips with his own when the sound of tiny feet on the stairs interrupted his intentions.
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla crowed as she ran on graceful tiptoes across the hardwood dining room floor.
Faulk pushed back from Riordan to catch the little pixie as she ran toward him. “Hello, princess! How come you’re not sleeping?” He smiled at her as he gave her a cuddle.
“I don’t know.” She rubbed her eyes. “I woke up to go potty and I came down to see Daddy because I missed him and I saw you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “I missed you.”
Faulk felt his heart swell. “I missed you too, sugar plum.”
“Hi, Daddy!” Isla waved at Riordan.
“Hi, Isla.” Riordan wore an amused smile.
“Are you having fun on your date with Uncle Faulk?” She batted her eyes at him.
“Who says this is a date?”
“Well, Laurel says her Mommy and Daddy got late night, date night Chinese food and then she got a little brother.” Isla looked up at Faulk. “I don’t want a baby brother. Laurel says they poop all over the place and then your Mommy and Daddy don’t love you anymore.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true.” Faulk tried to hold back a laugh. “Well, part of it is true. Baby brothers do poop a lot, but Cole and Cassie didn’t stop loving Laurel. It’s just that Brady can’t do anything for himself like you can. He can’t feed himself or use the potty, so he needs a little extra help.”
“Just like when Macy was born, remember?” Riordan was smiling.
“I remember. I guess I can have a baby brother if Uncle Faulk is the other Daddy.” Isla sighed heavily.
“Isla,” Faulk snorted. “Do you think that late night Chinese food means that you’re getting a baby brother?”
She nodded. “Oh! Wait! Laurel said that her Mommy and Daddy were kissing too.” She looked back and forth between them. “No kissing. Got it?”
Riordan barked out a laugh. “Got it.”
“Me too,” Faulk agreed. “No kissing. Can I hold your Daddy’s hand later if we watch TV?”
Isla’s mouth twisted as if she were thinking it over. “Okay! I don’t think I’d get a brother just from you holding hands.”
“Thank you, honey.” Faulk pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I brought you a present since I didn’t think I’d see you or Macy tonight.” He pointed across the table.
“Oh! I love the ballerina frog!” Her dark eyes were filled with happiness. “She’s a tiny dancer just like me.”
“That’s right.” Faulk could see that Isla was enchanted with the toy.
“You got one for Macy too?”
“She was onstage dancing with you.”
Isla turned in Faulk’s arms to hug him again. “Thank you,” she said out loud. “Take care of my Daddy,” she whispered.
Faulk crossed his heart and held up his pinkie.
She wrapped hers around it. “I love you, Uncle Faulk.” Isla pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I love you too, Daddy.” She leaned over to kiss him too. “Night, night, ballerina frog. We’ll dance together tomorrow.” Isla waved and jumped off Faulk’s lap. “Have a good date.” She danced back to the stairs and she was gone.
Riordan started to laugh. “I don’t know what’s funnier, Isla thinking babies come from kissing after late-night Chinese food or her not wanting a brother because they poop too much.”
Faulk laughed along with him. “I’ll never wash this cheek again.” He pointed to the one Isla kissed.
Riordan laughed again. “She sure is keen on you.” His eyes were twinkling. “So am I, Faulk.” He leaned forward. “How about I give you another cheek you’ll never wash again?” Without waiting for an answer, Riordan kissed Faulk’s other cheek. His lips lingered as his hand came up to caress the other side of his face.
Faulk’s stomach plunged. He never wanted this moment to end. It was sweet and romantic all at once.
When Riordan pulled back, his cheeks were flushed and he was smiling.
“We broke our promise to Isla.” Faulk grinned.
“I figure so long as there’s no little brother, she’ll never know.”
“Best first date ever!” Faulk held up a crunchy spring roll to Riordan, who didn’t hesitate to bite off half of it. Faulk popped the other half into his mouth, grinning as he chewed.
“Agreed.” Riordan nodded. The dining room light blinked twice as the word slipped from his lips.
Faulk thought that was a bit odd, but all in all, he couldn’t ask for more than Riordan agreeing that this was the best first date ever.
11
Riordan
Saturday morning, Riordan was still thinking about the way the lights in the dining room had blinked when he’d agreed with Faulk that their night had been the best first date ever. It hadn�
�t escaped his memory that something similar had happened before when he’d agreed to go out with Faulk and the bedroom light on Stephen’s side of the bed had blinked twice.
The house was only ten years old. The wiring was still fairly new. What on earth could be causing lights to blink like that?
It was March in Massachusetts, and winds were known to blow hard. The problem with that hypothesis was that both times the lights blinked, the weather had been clear and the winds calm.
Riordan thought it was just a case of the bulbs needing to be replaced. He felt much better coming to that conclusion.
Now that he settled the matter in his mind, he had another thing to think about. Faulkner Hayes. Riordan hadn’t been able to get the detective out of his head. It wasn’t just that he was tall and handsome with broad shoulders and a tight ass, the man had a heart of gold.
After they’d finished dinner the other night, Faulk had washed the dishes while Riordan had packed up the food. Faulk had been happy to sit in the living room talking about art for two hours before driving the forty minutes back to his own apartment in Boston. He was a real gem, that was for certain, which was why this next date had to be a good one.
He’d decided to ask Faulk to do something today that the kids could be involved in too. He knew how much the detective liked spending time with the girls. It had taken a while for him to figure out a good family activity. Isla was all about princesses and dancing. There wasn’t anything like that to do in Massachusetts in March.
His mind had moved on to the idea of the zoo, but most of them were closed this time of the year or had the warm weather animals off exhibit due to the cold temperatures. Then the answer hit him. The New England Aquarium. It has a giant ocean tank, penguins, seals, and a touch tank, if he remembered right. After that, they could grab dinner and take the train home.
Faulkner had been instantly on board with the idea as well, promising Riordan to meet them at the Government Center stop on the subway’s Green line. From there, they’d walk the ten minutes to the aquarium together.
Oddly enough, the only thing that had been worrying Riordan about the day was how Macy would behave on the forty-minute train ride from Salem to Boston. He needn’t have worried. The toddler sat on the bench next to him staring at the Massachusetts countryside as it flew past. His bag filled with books and his iPad loaded with movies never needed to be unzipped.
Isla, meanwhile, chatted the entire time about the animals she was hoping to see. Tops on her list were the penguins. What she didn’t know was that he’d made arrangements for them to have a penguin encounter. The aquarium had Little Blue Penguins available for meet and greets with guests. Riordan had booked that in a heartbeat. Isla would get the chance to learn about the birds and get an up-close view of their habitat. At the end of the encounter, one of the penguins would be brought in for them to meet and get a picture with.
He wasn’t so sure about meeting the aquatic bird, but knew Faulk would be up to the challenge. Faulk seemed to be up to every challenge. When Riordan had texted him about this day out, he’d gushed over it, telling Riordan all of the fun things they could do there with the girls.
It was getting harder and harder to shelter his heart from the charming detective.
Ushering Isla and Macy off the subway train, he led them up the stairs to the street level of the Government Center T stop. As promised, Faulk was waiting for them.
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla waved and pulled away from Riordan as they walked up to him.
“There’s my best girl!” Faulk knelt down to meet her and give her a big hug. He could see Macy was holding her arms out to him as well. “Hello, pretty.” He stood up and kissed the toddler’s forehead before doing the same to her father. “Hello to you too, Riordan.”
He felt himself blushing. “Hi, Faulk.” What that man’s lips did to him. Lord have mercy. That was just a tiny kiss to the forehead. What would happen when their lips actually met? Riordan shuddered to think about it. Worlds might collide. Or stop turning altogether.
“Ready to go?” Faulk was staring at him as if he knew just what was going through his mind.
“Ready.” He readjusted Macy on his hip, regretting his decision to leave her stroller at home. He’d be able to rent one for her at the aquarium, but it would have been too much trouble for him to deal with one by himself on the commuter train and then the subway.
“Here, I’ll take her.” Faulk plucked Macy out of his arms and rubbed noses with her. The toddler squealed in response. “Isla, Daddy said you researched the aquarium together. What do you want to see the most?”
“Everything!” Isla half-shouted. “Nemo and Dorie, Myrtle the turtle, the seals and the penguins. Daddy said there are sharks too, but we’re afraid of sharks.” Her little face scrunched into a frown.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were both afraid of sharks. I guess it will be just me and Macy with the sharks then, right, kiddo?”
Macy started to laugh.
Riordan wasn’t big on sharks. He supposed it was a product of the movie Jaws and not really understanding the giant ocean predator. He was starting to regret that stance. He’d made Isla afraid of an animal with his own fear. “Maybe I could learn more about sharks today and I could like them too.”
“That’s a great attitude, Daddy!” Faulk gave Riordan a poke. “What about you, Isla? Do you want to learn more about sharks too? I think they’re kinda cute.”
“You do?” Isla shot him a funny look.
Faulk pointed up at a giant picture of a dappled shark on the side of the aquarium. “I think he’s pretty cute. Don’t you?”
“Fishy!” Macy shouted.
“That’s right, cutie. He’s a shark.”
“’Hark!” Macy sprayed spittle as she exclaimed.
“Do you want to meet him? They have a touch tank where you can gently touch sharks and rays.”
Macy’s eyes went wide. “Me ‘hark.” She nodded her head.
It was on the tip of Riordan’s tongue to object. He didn’t want to see his youngest daughter eaten alive by an ocean predator. Then his common sense kicked in. The aquarium wouldn’t have a touch tank set up with animals that would hurt kids. He remembered seeing pictures of the tank and the small animals that inhabit it. “I’ll meet a shark too.”
“Me too!” Isla agreed.
“Well, let’s get on in there and meet a shark then!” Faulk held the door open for Isla and Riordan.
“Thank you.” Riordan mouthed as he walked past. He couldn’t help noticing the hungry look in Faulk’s eyes directed at him. This was going to be an interesting day.
Riordan left the kids with Faulk, who was showing them the picture of a real-life “Nemo” high up on the lobby wall, while he went to get the tickets.
The kids agreed they wanted to see the touch tank first since Faulk mentioned being able to touch a shark. He was still a little leery about doing it, but if Macy could be brave enough, so could he. Plus, he had big, brave Faulk with him. Faulk could save him from anything. His heart warmed at the mere thought of having a man like that in his life. Turning around from his place in line, he could see the detective laughing with the girls as they pointed at something, he couldn’t quite see.
“All set, everyone.” Riordan grinned when he rejoined the group a few minutes later. “Off to the touch tank.” He could still hear a tremor of fear in his voice. He needed to work on that.
“It’s going to be fine. The sharks on display are little ones. It’s not like they’re going to have Jaws in the tank for the kids to play with.” Faulk nudged his shoulder and picked up his hand. “I’ll hold Macy up to meet them if you want to hold back with Isla.”
Riordan shook his head. “No, I think it will be good to show Isla how to overcome your fear. I was the one who gave this silly fear to her. I should be the one to show her how to overcome it.” He straightened his spine.
“I’m really proud of you.” Faulk grinned. “Confidence looks sexy on you.”
“Damn, Faulk. You mean that?” Riordan felt a shiver travel down his entire body.
Faulkner nodded silently. His blue eyes had darkened and he looked like he wanted to take a bite out of Riordan himself. Forget the sharks, Faulk was the predator here. Riordan was feeling crazy enough to let the detective have a little nibble.
“Oh, wow!” Isla yanked on Riordan’s hand. “Daddy look!”
They’d walked into the humid lagoon area, complete with mangrove trees and the twenty-five-thousand-gallon touch tank, which was shaped like a giant kidney bean. The tank was kid-friendly in height, Riordan was going to have to bend down to reach the animals, if he was still courageous enough to touch them.
There were signs everywhere teaching people how to touch the creatures and urging gentleness and the idea of letting the animals come to you.
“Daddy! Look at the spotted one! Just like in the picture.” Isla’s eyes lit up.
“’Hark!” Macy pointed too.
“Do you want to meet the sharks and rays?” Faulk asked Macy.
The little girl nodded.
He set her down on the ground and started taking off her heavy winter jacket. “You have to be gentle, okay?” Faulk rolled up her long sleeves before he ran two fingers down her left arm. “Can you show me how to do that?”
Macy repeated what he’d just shown her.
“You’re so smart, cutie. That’s how you have to touch the sharks.” He lifted her up closer to the tank, holding her tight with one arm.
Riordan was feeling a bit sick to his stomach. He could see that Faulk had Macy in a tight grip. The tank itself was only eighteen inches deep. It wasn’t like Macy was going to drown in the seconds it would take Faulk to pull her out even if she did manage to wiggle out of his grasp. He took a deep breath and reached for his camera. Setting it to record, he trained it on Macy and Faulk.
Faulk set his hand in the water, grinning when Macy copied him. As if on cue, a cownose ray swam past, right under their fingers.
“Ohhh, soft!” Macy’s dark eyes glowed with excitement.
“The rays are so silky.” Faulk grinned at the camera. “Here’s a shark. Should we touch him?”