Page 88 of More than Need

“No, I heard the point.” He couldn’t even argue the point. It waswaytoo early to be thinking about moving in with either of them—and not something he could even think about, when Dawson and Riley had their joined connection hanging over their heads—but he could admit it gave him warm feelings.

“And you’re ignoring it.”

“What else am I supposed to do with it? I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”

“Am I?”

She had to be.

Gideon’s phone rang, and he fished it out in relief. “Saved by the bell.”

Lucia didn’t seem amused by that. Gideon might have cared, but he spotted the name on his screen and smiled, instead. Much nicer than continuing this conversation.

“Not in love, huh?”

“Shut up.” He turned his back on her and answered. “Hey, finished already? We’re still at Auskick, but you could meet us—”

“I’m afraid not, and neither are you.”

Ah. Not a social call, then. It should have occurred to him, but it hadn’t. So easy to ignore their professional relationship, any and all boundaries completely erased with one kiss.

“Where do you need me?” Gideon asked.

“I’ll text it to you. It’s half an hour from your location. I’ll call Angel—”

“I can call her on my way,” Gideon interrupted. He wasn’t disappointed, just tired. He hadn’t seen his son in over a week because of his illness, and he should have been taking him tonight. Instead, Lucia would have to take him back home with her. Not how Gideon had pictured the evening going.

Riley paused. “I’m sorry, Gideon; if there were anyone else—”

“Since when do you apologise for asking me to do my job?” Gideon said sharply. Riley had never said sorry, not once in all of the times that he’d called Gideon at weird times of the night. It was the nature of the beast, and one Gideon had been dealing with for a long time.

“Call me if there are any problems,” Riley said before clicking off.

Gideon ran a hand down his face.Fuckkkkk.

“Not taking Hudson, then?”

“Not tonight. It might only take me an hour, or I could be there all night. If it’s only a few hours, I could call you and swing by to get him?” Best-case scenario. Highly doubtful he’d be less than five or six hours, and Hudson would be in bed by then, and they both knew it.

Another problem with having Hudson with him in general. He never knew how long or short a callout would be, or when they could happen. He could be back in time for dinner, or he could be so late he stumbled back into the house at two in the morning.Or he could be calledattwo in the morning to go out. The unpredictable nature of it made Gideon’s life difficult, at best.

“I have to go into work for an important overseas conference call,” Lucia said. “I’d postponed it to tonight because you’d have him.”

“Well, I can—”

“I can leave him with Ned.”

Gideon stared in shock. “Excuse me? I was about to say, I can call my parents. You want to leave him with a guy that’s basically a stranger?”

“Gideon…”

“What? You’ve known him like… five months, and you want to leave our son alone with him? I haven’t even done a background check on him.” Yet. He’d need to do one now.

“While I appreciate that you haven’t gone crazy enough to do that, I would like to think that I’m a good judge of character. He’s met Hudson, and Hudson likes him. You’ve met him, and while you clearly don’t like him, if you really thought he was dangerous, you would have said something.”

“That doesn’t mean I want him looking after my son!”

“He’s my son too.”

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