Page 64 of Loving You

“Oh.” Lucas bit his lip. “So how doyoufix it?”

“I don’t think I can.” Monty wrapped his arms around his middle. “I broke the rules and fell for him. He told me he wasn’t ready to be serious with anyone, and at the time, neither was I. I didn’t grow up in a good home. I’ve never wanted to inflict that on someone else. So we agreed to be friends with…well. As I said before. And now I don’t know how to be around him because when it ends, it’s going to hurt more than I can take it.”

Lucas’s brows furrowed. “Wait. You know he’s, like, batshit wild in love with you, right?”

Monty suspected Bronx was developing feelings, but to hear it so raw, so honest from the teen, was…it was more than he’d been prepared to take.

“And can I just call bullshit for a second? Excuse my Fre—oh. Is that offensive? Excuse my French?”

In spite of feeling like he’d just been bludgeoned by a baseball bat, Monty managed a soft laugh. “To some people. I find it quite flattering that Americans think the French invented all the good cursing.”

“Well, anyway, I’m calling bullshit on the whole not growing up in a good home thing.”

Monty’s eyes went wide. “Fortunately for you, you haven’t met my father or my brothers.”

“No, but I’ve met mine. Jules, anyway. Also, my dad grew up in kind of a shitty home. His parents sucked, and he had to raise Dallas on his own like some kind of teenage father. He was given the world’s worst example of how to love someone, but he loves me just fine. And he loved Jules even when he totally didn’t deserve it.” Lucas stopped for a second, then added very softly, “And I like to think that in spite of my crappy former dad, I’ll be a good boyfriend someday.”

“You absolutely will be,” Monty said softly, stunned that some kid had just dismantled his entire internal argument with a handful of words. It was impossible to argue because Bronx was an amazing man, and Lucas was growing up to follow in his footsteps.

And a small voice reminded him there was a good possibility he’d been using his father as a crutch—as a way of avoiding risk and pain. But maybe he didn’t want to anymore.

“You’re right. I need to woo him.”

“Uhg,” Lucas said, wrinkling his nose. “I mean, yeah, butuhg. Please don’t ask me for advice, though. I’ve never even kissed someone before.”

“Never? Not once?”

“I wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular at my old school being that I was a giant nerd,” Lucas confessed. “And people here so far are super freaked-out by the whole fake eyes thing. So…yeah. But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about how you’re going to call my dad’s best friend and ask him all the burning questions I know you have. And I can be your ally who doesn’t hear any details. Not ever.”

Monty couldn’t help a small grin. “I think I can agree tothose terms. And for what it’s worth, you’re going to make a perfect boyfriend for someone someday, Lucas. And that time probably isn’t too far off.”

Lucas sighed and shook his head. “I see why he likes you. If you want to be my new dad someday, I’m on board.”

Oh. Monty hadn’t expected that. And his eyes were most definitely not tearing up. No. It was probably just allergies.

Monty had never been so nervous in his life. He’d expected Lucas to tell him to call Dallas or Kylen, but instead, he’d slipped a piece of paper on the desk with a number written on it in very fancy handwriting.

“My friend Gage’s dad isn’t super close to mine, but he gets him. They’re both the same age, and we decided that he’d give the best advice since they’re both old,” Lucas told him.

Monty hadn’t realized this was a joint effort, and if people were going this far out of their way to encourage him to remove his head from his ass, maybe it was a good idea to give it a shot. Even if the two people currently were a pair of teenagers.

Monty had never cold-called someone like that before, but he somehow found the courage and was surprised by the low, rumbling, friendly voice who answered the phone. Adele didn’t sound surprised to hear from him, which made Monty think that maybe the boys had given him a heads-up, and he didn’t hesitate to say yes when Monty invited him to a café not too far from his office.

He had too many things to do, so he pushed it untilfive, when Matthew was finishing up filing papers at the courthouse and all of his meetings were over.

The walk was short, and it helped calm his nerves, though he was a little worried about collapsing in front of a total stranger. Would Adele think he was too weak to date his friend? He knew that was his dad’s voice talking, and he shoved it aside as he opened the café door and stepped inside.

There were only three people there, and the very broad man with the short haircut and Fire Department T-shirt stood out. The man met his gaze, then gave a hesitant wave. That had to be Adele.

Monty walked over and hovered beside the empty chair. “It would be almost like a comedy movie if you were the wrong person.”

Adele laughed. “Good thing I’m not. I’m Adele, and it’s really nice to meet you. Did you want to order anything before we get to it?”

Monty shook his head. He had absolutely no appetite, and he was jittery enough without caffeine. He sat and glanced at an empty plate with a handful of crumbs.

Adele flushed. “Their cinnamon coffee cake is to die for. I couldn’t help myself.”

“I’m not judging. If I could eat, trust me, I would.” Monty rubbed his palms over his thighs, the soft material of his slacks soothing against his skin. “Thanks for meeting me. It seems a couple of teenage boys have decided to play matchmaker.”

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