Page 60 of Loving You

Rod looked like he wanted to set the plates in front of them on fire, and it was all Bronx could do not to burst into a fit of laughter.

“These are my brothers, Carlos and Bernardo. My oldest brother, Angelo, is away on…business?” Monty asked.

Carlo, the one who’d choked, cleared his throat. “Yes.”

“He’s with his mistress,” Monty said. “Business is his code word.”

Bronx swore Monty was glowing with his shining spine, and he was grateful he could be here to see it. “He sounds delightful.”

Monty smirked as Rod looked like he was ready to launch into a tirade. Luckily—or unluckily, Bronx couldn’t decide—Poppy stood halfway up and grabbed the serving tongs for the duck. “Is anyone hungry?”

Bronx had a feeling no one was, but he was going tochoke down the meal, if only for Monty’s sake. And when it was over, he was going to make sure Monty knew exactly how impressed he was.

“So,” Rod said once everyone had been served. He pointed his finger at Bronx. “What do you do?”

“I’m a vet.”

“Military?”

Bronx smiled. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten that. “Animal. I just opened up a practice over on Fifth and Elm. We open on Monday.”

“And you’re just starting out at this?” Rod glanced at Monty and shook his head. “What career did you leave for it?”

“No. I just moved here,” Bronx said.

“Not that it’s your business,” Monty interjected.

Bronx reached over and picked up Monty’s hand, kissing his knuckles. “I don’t mind, honey. He can ask me anything he wants. You know I’m an open book.”

“Are you gay?” Rod demanded.

Monty choked on his water, but Bronx met Rod’s gaze when he answered him. “I am. I’ve been out for most of my life. My ex-husband and I divorced some time ago, and I moved here with my son to be closer to my brother.”

“Adopted,” Rod said with another sneer.

“He’d be my son regardless,” Bronx said flatly. “But no. We used a surrogate. Would you like to know how many milliliters of semen I managed to produce when I was at the fertility clinic?”

Rod paled, his sons glanced away, and Poppy covered a smile with her napkin. This wasn’t a game—Bronx was well aware of that. But if it was, he and Monty were winning by a landslide.

“Are you satisfied?” Monty asked when he’d regained his composure.

Rod sniffed, then turned to his wife. “How was the market today?”

Poppy rolled her eyes and chewed slowly before she answered. “It was the same as it is every time I go. Just fine.”

“I like him.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Monty said.

Bronx couldn’t see which brother he was speaking to, but as much as he wanted to look, he didn’t want to interrupt the moment. He’d excused himself to the bathroom before they left, and he was standing on the other side of the wall near the foyer.

“I’m not. I actuallydolike him.”

“Eavesdropping?”

Bronx spun to find Poppy standing a few feet away from him. She held her hands up in surrender as he took a few steps away from the conversation Monty was having. “I didn’t want to interrupt.” He tried to pitch his voice quiet so Monty wouldn’t hear him.

“I don’t blame you. This is a rare moment. His brothers are not always kind to him, and…” She trailed off, wringing her hands in front of her. “Anyway, it was nice, what you did. Especially after we barged in on you two.”

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