Page 2 of Rex's Honor
“That’s the fun part.” Hawke waggled his brows. “I’m not ready to settle down.”
Rex swallowed, hard. Once upon a time, he’d been madly in love. In fact, he’d been so far under the spell of a woman, he’d planned on getting married and having half a dozen rug rats. But now? The idea of even being around children made his skin prickle with fear. Not to mention, the idea of giving his heart to any woman made him want to rip it from his chest and stomp on it himself.
That would hurt less.
There hadn’t been a woman in his life that hadn’t hurt him. All starting with his mother. She’d ruined everything in his life, and now that she was dying, she wanted to reconcile.
Well, too late for that, Mom.
Rex navigated the cruiser through the docks at the marina Arthur’s mother-in-law and wife owned. He put one engine in forward, the other in reverse, and turned the boat so he could back into his spot.
Arthur’s wife, Maren, and Timothy’s wife, Candice, stood at the end of the dock.
Maren was a beautiful woman with a great personality. She was perfect for Arthur. Kind, sweet, funny, intelligent, and she put up with all his friends as if they were family. He couldn’t hate her if he tried.
And Candice. Holy shit. That woman cracked Rex up. It was impossible not to like her, and Rex tried to avoid being around anyone in a relationship, especially if they had kids. He could tolerate Mauve. She was an adult. And Xander, he was a cool teenager. Wise beyond his years. But the little ones? That was rough. It reminded him of all the broken promises and dreams.
Rex tapped the throttles in gear, then brought them to neutral.
Timothy slapped Rex on the back. “Thanks for this. But next time I’m bringing the whole family and we’re staying for dinner.”
“Only if Mauve brings her boyfriend.” Rex laughed, wishing Timothy could have stayed for dinner, but he knew he had a family to get back to. The only problem was Rex often ended up a third wheel with Arthur and Maren, which hadn’t bothered him until recently. Seeing how happy Maren made Arthur reminded Rex of things past and for the first time in a long time, he felt a pang of loneliness.
A hint of regret.
A generous dose of resentment.
He’d lived alone since he left his parents’ home twelve years ago, the summer between his junior and senior year of college. He didn’t go back to school, and he hasn’t been home since.
Not that he had a house to go home to since his father had sold it when his mother had left him for another man.
And his girlfriend chose her side.
“That can probably be arranged,” Timothy said.
Rex shut off the engines, snagged the keys, and shoved them in the pocket of his jeans. He made his way to the stern of the boat, where Arthur and Maren had gathered, arms draped over each other, kissing. They were still in the newlywed stage of their marriage, where every chance they got, they were groping each other. Rex once commented on it. Arthur replied something about making babies.
Well, that wouldn’t happen in public, so why did they have to touch and kiss all the time? Even when Rex had been in love, he hadn’t participated in random public displays of affection very often.
Okay, well, he did more than he wanted to admit.
Or remember.
He didn’t want to miss her, even though she haunted his every dream.
“How was it out there today?” Maren asked, leaning into Arthur, her hand resting on his chest.
“I didn’t catch much,” Arthur said, kissing her cheek. “How was your day?”
“Candice and I had fun. Went shopping and had lunch.”
“Hey, babe,” Timothy said as he jumped onto the dock. “Ready to relieve Xander from babysitting duties?”
“Mauve and Richie are already there.” Candice patted her stomach. “I thought you could take me out to celebrate.”
Timothy cocked his head. “For what reason?”
“The fact we don’t have to go on vacation this time to achieve expanding our little family.” Candice smiled.
