Page 106 of Better Late Than Never

I shot her a playful glare, which earned me an innocent look.

“Come on.” Quinn knocked his knuckle against the table between us. “Fess up.”

I considered it. There was a part of me that wanted toexplodewith the revelation that, yes, Iwasseeing someone. I was so stupid for Alex that I wanted to change my relationship status on social media, tell my mom, and gush to my kids about this sweet, funny man I’d been seeing.

But I also held back. How would they feel about me moving on from their mom? And though they’d known I was bi for a long time, would it be weird for them to realize I was seeing a man? It was one thing to know in abstract terms that it was a possibility—actually seeing Dad’s boyfriend in the flesh might be strange.

Can I call him a boyfriend? And even if I could, it isn’t like I can tell anyone about us, so?—

“Dad?” Quinn tilted his head, eyeing me uncertainly. “You good?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” I looked from one of them to the next, and finally decided that honesty was the best approach. Exhaling, I rested my forearms on the table and met each of my sons’ gazes. “Okay. Yes, I’m seeing someone. But… there are some circumstances that make it a little… complicated.”

All three kids stared at me with wide eyes.

“They’re not married, are they?” Landon asked.

“No! Definitely not.”

“Good,” Quinn said solemnly. “Can’t that get you in trouble with the Navy? Like for adultery for something?”

“It can, yes.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “And… I can get in trouble for this, too.” My stomach somersaulted at the three of them watched me expectantly, probably playing God knew how many worst-case scenarios in their minds. I took a deep breath, then admitted, “He’s enlisted.”

Both boys seemed to absorb that, and then they took on puzzled expressions that I thought screamed,“That’s it?”

Savannah cocked her head. “Wait, what does that mean?” She waved a hand. “I mean, I know officers and enlisted are different… somehow. I guess. But I didn’t realize you could get in trouble for that.”

“You can. And it’s the kind of trouble that can end a career.” I shot my sons pointed looks. “Which means it does not leave this table. Got it?”

“Got it,” they both said.

Savannah nodded too. “Why are they so weird about it? Officers and enlisted, I mean?”

“In theory,” I said, “because it can compromise the chain of command. The lowest ranking officer outranks the highest-ranking enlisted service member, so it can cause issues.” I rolled my eyes. “The stupid thing is that I can date another officer of a different rank as long as we’re not in each other’s direct chain of command. And this guy—he isn’t in my direct chain of command. We have the same commanding officer, but he doesn’t answer to me and neither do his superiors.”

Landon furrowed his brow. “So it’s like you’re the manager of the shipping department, and he answers to the manager of customer service.”

I chuckled. “Kind of, yeah?”

Savannah wrinkled her nose. “That sounds kind of stupid.”

“It does. But ‘it doesn’t make sense’ unfortunately doesn’t hold up in a court-martial.”

“Wow,” she said.

“Do the military’s rules ever make sense?” Quinn asked.

“Some do, some don’t.” I shrugged. “But they’re not up for discussion, so I have to live with them.”

Quinn and Savannah made sour faces. I didn’t blame them.

“Sooo…” Landon studied me. “Do we get to meet him?”

I cocked a brow. “It doesn’t bother you that I’m dating a guy?”

“Pfft. No.” Quinn waved a hand. “Don’t change the subject. Can we meet him or not?”

Yeah, I should’ve known it wouldn’t be a big deal. My bisexuality wasn’t news to them. He was probably right that I was just changing the subject.

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