Page 108 of More than Need

Gideon peeked around him, also dressed, his shirt buttoned up, the most presentable of all of them. Except for the open collar and the clear red mark in the shape of a mouth on his throat. Subtlety had left through the side window.

“Oh,” Theresa said quietly. She looked from Gideon to Dawson and back again. None of them said anything, the shock spreading.

“Damn,” Lucas said with a low whistle. “Gideon Clark. If someone had said to me that my brother was getting frisky in the shower with some dude, you would not have even registered.”

Gideon’s mouth opened to answer, and nothing came out.

“What are you all doing here?” Riley asked.

“We went to Mum’s for breakfast,” Lucas piped up, “but she was on her way out here to see you, and we thought, hey, we haven’t seen our big bro inweeks, and this is a great opportunity to—”

“Ambush me?”

“Exactly,” Peyton agreed.

Riley glanced at their plates. “I don’t have bread. Or Vegemite.”

“Have I ever mentioned how boring you are?” Lucas said. “You want a seat, Gid? You can have mine.”

“Thanks, I’m good,” Gideon said, still looking like a deer caught in headlights. Dawson could relate. He’d been hoping for a leisurely morning of sex and then maybe going out to get some breakfast together—like adate—not… this. Ambush was a good word for it.

“I think boning two guys at once is like the opposite of boring,” Peyton said. “I assume it’s both and not like a, ‘Oh no, he cheated on me, why is there another guy in your bed’ situation? Are we about to watch a big showdown?”

“I’m not answering that question on principle,” Riley said. “Hi, Mum.” He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and went to the cupboard, pulling down more mugs. Acting as calm as the others had. A family trait? After this, Dawson couldn’t deny that Riley had a wonderful family. That he had afamily, period. He hadn’t missed out because he didn’t have Sadie’s last name.

“It doesn’t look like you need introductions,” Riley said with an arched eyebrow.

“No, we met boyfriend number one. Number two? Which order would it go in? Who were you dating first?” Peyton asked.

“Alphabetically?” Lucas suggested. “How do you pickyournumber one with the four guysyou’resleeping with?”

“Alphabetically is a good call. So Dawson is number one, and Gideon is number two.”

“I’ll try not to be offended by that,” Gideon said with mock solemness.

Dawson couldn’t help the smile even as sadness flooded him. He wished Sadie could meet them and get a glimpse of Riley’s life, be part of it in her own way. He wanted things to be different, and he didn’t know how to get it there. None of them could keep their head in the sand anymore about it.

Gideon stood behind Dawson and stole half of his toast, taking a bite. “I have to go pick up my son from Lucia’s, so I should get going.”

Dawson twisted to glare at him. He could not seriously be thinking about leaving Dawson here by himself, could he?

Gideon smiled and kissed his cheek. “Do you want a lift, sweetheart?” he asked, in a whisper that carried.

“Aww, how cute,” Lucas cooed.

“So cute,” Peyton agreed. “How did you meet?”

“Enough,” Riley said, thumping a mug on the table beside Dawson’s plate. “Q&A is officially over. Eat your breakfast and go annoy someone else. Do you need to have a shower before you go, Dawson?”

“Uh, nah, I can shower at Darcy’s.” The hand on Dawson’s shoulder helped settle the uneasiness. Riley didn’t deny their connection—not like he could—and wasn’t letting anyone bully him, and fuck, he couldn’t be more grateful for that. Meeting the family could be stressful enough, but meeting them like this?Not even Dawson’d had back luck like that before. Having both Gideon and Riley right there helped.

“Mum, do you hear how he talks to me?” Lucas said, pouting.

“Don’t you have a husband to go home to?” Riley muttered.

“Seriously, though, we’re all curious.”

Riley let out a heavy sigh. “He came into the station to speak about a personal matter,” he said diplomatically. Impressive; he’d almost made their first meeting sound totally normal and not anything like the shitshow it had been.

---