Page 21 of The Surrogate Omega, Part Two

Lake clears his throat. “While I’m happy for you two and all, can you please tell me what’s got the two of you so riled?”

“Lake,look,” River grumbles as he gestures to the kitchen.

My gaze follows River’s hand until I see exactly why Essie and River are acting so weird.

“I didn’t know your dad was gay.” The words slip out of my mouth before I can think about it.

“He’s not,” Essie replies. “Well, I didn’t think he was, anyway.”

“Um, not to point out the obvious, but that looks pretty damn gay.”

There’s a sharp pain in my side and it takes me a second to realize Ev elbowed me in the ribs. “What?” I whisper, but all I get is a dirty look in return.

My attention turns back to Luke and his “friend.” Luke is pushed up against the counter with his back pressed into the edge and his hands gripping the sides. Luke’s friend is standing so close that they are practically touching, his hands covering Luke’s, and he’s giving my boyfriend’s dad a very heated look. There’s nothing that screams just friends about them at all. And oh, yeah, the person is very clearly a guy. A very large, very muscular man.

Essie finally drags her eyes away from her father and back to her brothers. “Did either of you know Dad liked men too?”

“Why would we know this? I would’ve pegged Dad as the straightest straight dude to ever exist.”

Lake still doesn’t say anything but is nodding his head in agreement. It’s hard to know what’s going through their heads. I don’t think any of them have a problem with Luke having a boyfriend, if that’s what this is, but I think they’re just shocked.

“Maybe he didn’t know either,” Ev interjects, the voice of wisdom. “I know I haven’t known your dad for long, but he doesn’t seem like the type of person who would keep the fact that he’s bi from you if he knew. Especially after you came out, River.”

“You’re probably right. Is he gonna tell us though? Not that he likes men, but that he’s dating someone. Does he think we won’t notice?”

Before anyone could answer, the man leaned down and whispered something to Luke, and I swear to fuck, his lips were brushing up against Luke’s ear as he spoke.

Luke startles and his head whips toward the group of us. His face reddens all the way to the tip of his ears, and there’s a long pause where we all just stare at each other.

Then Luke seems to have gotten his resolve. He straightens out and pushes his shoulders back. He glances at the other guy, who nods slightly, before turning back to us. “Hey, guys, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

Lake’s the first one to move, surprisingly enough. The other guy has backed off some, though I notice his leather-jacket-clad arm is still lightly touching Luke, showing his support. Luke’s not a small man. He towers over all of his kids and is probably less than an inch shorter than me. He’s broad, and a lifetime of working construction has kept his body fit and more on the muscular side.

This guy has at least three inches of height on Luke and is just big all over. The textbook definition of a bear. He’s probably more or less the same age as Luke, somewhere in his mid-fifties, with light-hazel eyes that are more green than brown. His dark, nearly black hair is peppered with gray, as is his full beard. His complexion is more olive-toned, giving him a Mediterranean vibe. There’s a faded scar that runs across his left cheek.

The dude screams biker, and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t ride. He’s wearing a faded but good quality leather jacket over a tight white shirt with dark-black jeans that are well worn. The leather motorcycle boots really finish off the look. Despite his intense stare, his eyes are kind, and the crinkles lining them and around his mouth show he smiles often.

Luke looks very uncomfortable as we approach them but clears his throat and plows through introductions. “Joel, I’d like you to meet my kids. This is my son River and his fiancé Cooper, my other son Lake and his partners Logan and Evander, and my daughter Essie.” Luke pauses, and I see his eyes flash to the man, Joel, before settling back on us. “Guys, this is Joel, my . . . friend.”

Essie waggles her eyebrows. “Friends, huh? You two seem close.”

River kicks her foot, but Joel just seems amused. He sticks out his hand to begin shaking ours. “Luke and I met at the widowers’ group. We’ve only known each other for a couple weeks, but yeah, I guess we are getting close.”

Luke kind of looks like he wants to run away, but Joel isn’t showing any sign of discomfort. I gotta give the guy props. It can’t be easy meeting the kids of the person you are into, especially when the kids are totally blindsided, but he’s taking it all in stride.

It’s finally my turn to shake his hand and he has a firm grip. Strong, but he’s not trying to take control or exert his dominance. I’m impressed so far.

River and Lake are both staring at their dad. “You didn’t tell us you actually went to the group, Dad.” Lake sounds a little accusatory and maybe a little hurt.

Luke looks at his kids guiltily. “I planned to tell you at Christmas. But it slipped my mind after Cooper proposed.”That made sense. It was a crazy day. “And then this thing with Joel happened and I honestly wasn’t sure how to approach it.”

“You know we don’t care if you’re dating a guy, Dad, right? Like seriously, none of us will give you shit about that,” River adds.

“Your dad and I aren’t dating. Not yet. Though I would like to change that. I respect him needing some time, though.” Joel squeezes Luke’s arm and whispers something in his ear. Luke nods, but his eyes never leave us.

“I’m going to let you all talk to your dad for a bit while I check out the food. It was nice meeting you, and I hope we’ll have a chance to really chat soon.” He kisses Luke on the top of the head in the most adorable gesture of affection ever before walking over.

Fuck, I really like this guy. He seems like he’s great for Luke.

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