Page 22 of Angel's Share

Jamie pretended to be outraged. “You’re from San Francisco!”

“I won’t tell you about the Raiders gear I left at home.”

Continuing his dramatics, Jamie closed his tablet, pushed it aside, then hid his head under his arms on the table, groaning, “Make it stop.”

Angel’s chuckle was a welcome sound, as was his “smells good” as he filled a glass with water. His shoulders were still higher than Jamie liked to see on a young person, but this Angel was a much different kid from the surly, anxiety-stricken one of the past few days.

“Slow cooker chili,” Jamie said as he rose. “Perfect winter food.” He cruised along the other side of the island to the fridge for eggs and milk, then to the pantry for a pan and box of cornbread mix, before he claimed the stool by the mixing bowl he’d set out. “How’s your mom?”

“Asleep still. She’s always out for a while after the long ones.”

“And she flew three of them in a row.”

Angel hung his head and rubbed a hand over his nape. “Don’t remind me.”

“She’s a parent,” Jamie said as he cracked an egg into the bowl. “She did what she had to do.”

“Because I screwed up.”

“You were a friend doing what you had to. Tell me about her, Bev.”

“She’s gorgeous.”

Jamie stopped midstir and raised a brow. Maybe Angel was bi instead of gay, like he’d told his mother.

“Not my type,” he continued as he climbed onto a stool. “At least not that way. And I’m not hers either. She’s ace.”

“Your mom said she’s your Spanish tutor?”

“Yeah, she’s smart as hell, but most of the idiots at school don’t see past her looks. The girls pull their mean girl act since all the guys hit on her, even though she’s got zero interest in any of them. But she’s the last person to fight back or speak up for herself.”

“’Cause she’s a foster kid.” Jamie had seen it before, especially in his volunteer work. “So you pulled her into the queer kids club?”

Angel nodded.

“How’d you get her to do that?” Jamie asked as he poured the cornbread batter into the pan.

“Told her I didn’t need a gringo to teach me Spanish.”

Jamie laughed. “You didn’t?”

“She was determined to prove me wrong.” Smiling, his gaze drifted out the window, lost in a pleasant memory. “I had my test paper in my hand that day. Got a D. She snatched it from me, found three more errors the teacher missed, and changed the D to an F.” He shook his head, laughing. “Big yikes.”

“But you also found your best friend.”

“Bet,” he replied with a lift of his chin, before his gaze snagged on Jamie’s emerald-inlaid wedding ring. “Tell me about him, other than how you got him to dye his hair red.”

“Back red,” Jamie corrected as he rested against the counter by the stove. “That’s his natural color.”

“Figured.” Angel rolled his glass between his palms, seeming to drift through another memory. “I went to a couple birthday parties back in the day. All the Talley kids around then were redheaded.”

“There’s a whole army now, and Aidan is everyone’s favorite uncle.”

“You two got kids?”

“Not yet, but we’re starting to make plans for them.” While he and Aidan had paused the conversation owing to the kid in front of him, Jamie would pick it back up when the time was right. He wasn’t going to let this speed bump slow them down in the long run, not when they were finally starting to pick up speed.

“He’ll make a good father.”

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