Page 67 of Something Unforgettable

Finn sat back, his eyes wide when he met Xavier’s. “You—why? What does that mean?”

Xavier caressed his cheek. “We’ll have to decide what that means. You and me together. But I can tell you that I’d like to be here a lot more than I have been. No more emergency trips out of town. No last-minute meetings that mean canceled plans.”

Finn shook his head. “But it’s your job,” he said, like he didn’t understand what Xavier was telling him.

“Sweetheart, you are so much more important than a job.”

Finn’s smile was shaky and he still didn’t look like he believed Xavier. “Don’t you have bills and stuff though? Houses are expensive—flying, too.”

Xavier chuckled. “Of course, but it’s not like I need the money.” He gave Finn a curious look when he continued to look concerned. “Finn, you know I don’t need the money, right?”

Finn shrugged. “I thought your job paid really well.”

“And I assumed—wrongly apparently—that Micah would have at least mentioned something. Did he ever tell you why Nick and I got married?”

“Not really. Just that you were best friends and it wasn’t because you were in love or anything.”

Xavier shook his head. How had they gotten to this point without it coming up? Maybe Xavier had been gun-shy when it came to his financial situation after his last failed relationship, but he’d assumed Finn knew more than he evidently did.

“We got married because marriage was a stipulation of my inheritance from my grandfather. I’m still not sure why he insisted on it. It wasn’t like he was a religious person, or all that fond of marriage. He got divorced twice, after all. Maybe he was hoping I’d carry on the family name.” Xavier put those speculations aside. He knew there were no answers. “My point is, I really,reallydon’t need my salary from my job.”

“Are you a millionaire or something?” Finn asked, like he wasn’t sure if Xavier was joking or not.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, then lifted his chin to indicate “higher.”

“Oh,” Finn said, sounding a little shocked. “So you don’t need to work? You can stay?”

“I can stay as long as you’ll have me.”

That got him the smile he’d been waiting for.

HisDaddywasstaying.Finn wasn’t super clear on the details because his mind was still reeling, but it didn’t matter. Xavi was staying with Finn. He wanted to put Finn first.

Finn reached up and caressed Xavier’s cheek, warmth flooding him when Xavier leaned into the touch.

“I love you,” he said again. He’d kind of screwed that up before, and he wanted to make sure Xavier knew he meant it. “Maybe I’m being stupid. We haven’t known each other that long. But I really—”

“Hey,” Xavier cut him off. “First of all, I love you, too.”

Finn smiled and pressed a hand to the butterflies in his stomach.

“But,” Xavier continued, making all Finn’s butterflies freeze in place, “I think we need to make a rule.”

A rule? Finn licked his lips. “Is that a Daddy thing?”

Xavier pretended to bite the end of his nose and Finn snickered, despite the sudden nerves.

“It can be, but in this case, I would insist on it even if I wasn’t your Daddy. No more speaking badly about yourself. Not in your head and not out loud. Let’s work on changing your self-talk, okay, sweetheart?”

Finn’s mouth opened and shut again. What?

Xavier shook his head, a small smile on his lips that told Finn he wasn’t upset.

“You don’t even realize you do it, do you?”

Finn went back over the last few minutes. “I called myself stupid.”

“You did. But you’re anything but stupid, and I won’t have you talking badly about my boy like that anymore.”

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