Page 34 of Edward’s Bunny

I laughed again. “No, Owen didn’t tell me about your other piercings. I’ll find out about them later,” I said confidently.

“Oh, you will? We’ll see about that. What are you doing here? Let me guess, these two,” Brian pointed to Hayden and Owen. “Told you I broke up with my boyfriend and set this up.”

“No, that’s not the only reason,” Owen protested. “We did tell him about your break-up, but we wanted to have dinner with him because we’re thinking of going back to the beach house.”

I looked at my son. “You’re leaving? You’re not going to stay in Tampa?” I didn’t want them to leave. It seemed like I was finally going to have a relationship with my son. I admitted to myself that I was an absent father and wanted to make up for it.

Hayden released a heavy sigh. “Let’s take our food to the table, and we’ll talk.” We quickly grabbed our plates and headed to the dining room. Once we were seated, Hayden looked over at me. “It’s true, Dad. We’re thinking of leaving tomorrow evening.”

He looked around his apartment, and he reached his hand out to Owen, who quickly grasped it. “Since what happened with Owen, this place doesn’t feel the same.”

Owen nodded. “I love this place, but I…. I’ve been having nightmares of the attack. Even though he’s dead, I keep thinking Kevin will show up again.”

I understood what he was saying. Kevin was his ex-boyfriend, and with the help of Hayden’s ex and my wife, they attacked him here in this very place.

“I understand,” I said, resigned.

“So you’re leaving after Thanksgiving?” Brian asked.

“Thanksgiving?” I bowed my head. How could I forget it was the holiday? “I can’t believe I forgot tomorrow is Thanksgiving. It’s been a heck of a day.”

"That bad?" Brian asked, his voice laced with genuine concern.

“We had a delay at one of our plants. It’s been a mess, but it’ll be okay.” I looked at Owen and Hayden, a thought suddenly hitting me. “I thought you said Brian was staying here til Friday. What is he going to do until then if you leave?”

“I’m going to my parent’s house for the holiday. I’ll be fine.” Brian said, reaching for a box of veggie fried rice.

“So, you have plans for tomorrow?” I confirmed. I didn’t want my mate to be stuck in a bad situation.

“Yep, going to the crazy Bondar home, complete with all my nine siblings, their significant others, and kids. It’s going to be a mad house. I’d invite you, but I don’t think you’re ready for that level of crazy.” Brian laughed and stuffed a bite of his food in his mouth.

“I wouldn’t mind facing the family,” I said honestly. Would I be nervous? Hell yes! But I was serious about this new relationship work.

Brian stopped eating and stared at me for a moment before swallowing his bite. “I would invite you, but it’s not the right time yet.” He paused and appeared to be thinking of the right words. “I want to say this right, and I don’t want you to be hurt,” he continued.

I straightened in my seat. “Please be honest with me.”

“I just broke up with my long-time boyfriend, and I’m sure my family will have questions. On top of that, the fact that you’re a predator shifter, a lion, will cause issues with my family. I’m still overcoming my own prejudices, but I want to try. I think it’s worth us giving it a shot, but you meeting, my family now….” Brian shook his head. “I don’t think it’s the right time.”

I nodded and reached out to him. I was pleased to see him quickly grab my hand. “I understand. As long as you’re willing to give us a chance, we can go as slow or as fast as you want.”

“Thank you. I’d like that.” Brian gave my hand a squeeze before releasing it and continuing to eat.

I smiled. I’d give him all the time in the world if it meant we’d end up together. I focused back on my food, and the conversation around the table turned lighter. It flowed with ease, and it felt like we’d all known each other for ages. I learned some new things about Brian. Owen had a ton of stories. I knew they were best friends, but I never realized how strong their connection was.

I grinned, seeing Brian’s face and the lovely shade of pink it was turning. Owen was telling a funny story about high school where Brian had an insane crush on their math teacher, and he would blush and stutter when he had to talk to him. It was how Owen learned that Brian was attracted to older men.

Brian huffed and stood from his chair. “Okay, okay, enough stories about the past. It looks like we’re all done eating. I’ll start cleaning.”

Brian reached for the dirty dishes, and I stood, picking up my own plate. “Here, I’ll help you.” I looked at Hayden and Owen. “You two go relax. Brian and I have the cleaning.”

“You don’t have to tell us twice,” Hayden said, grabbing Owen’s head and hurrying him out of the room.

Brian and I stacked the dishes and worked in sync, bringing them to the kitchen. He started the faucet while I went back for the last few items. When I returned, Brian’s hands were deep in the soapy water. I paused for a moment. He was gorgeous; fate had blessed me with a handsome man.

I shook my head from my stupor and placed the dishes I held in the sink. The soapy water splashed up, and Brian jumped back. His eyes narrowed before slowly returning to the sink, but instead of washing the plates, he splashed water at me. Oh, it was on.

We laughed uncontrollably as we had one of the biggest kitchen water fights ever. “Okay, okay, I give.” I panted, raising my hands in surrender.

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