when he shifted in my arms, turning from the easy, comfortable spooning position I liked so that we were nose to nose.
“Ellis?” he whispered.
“Mm?”
“Can I paint you?”
“What, now?”
“No. Sometime.”
“Yeah. If you want.”
“Can I paint Harrison?”
“Yes, Zane.”
“Okay.”
I NSTEAD OF calling, like any normal person, Meg came over to tell me about the meeting arrangements. Which meant she found Zane in my apartment early in the morning, eating pancakes, wearing pajama pants that were way too big for him, watching cartoons on the computer with Harrison.
“This is all very domestic,” she said with a cat-that-got-the-cream smile.
“Hi, Meg!” Zane called from the sofa. “Say hiya to Auntie Meg, Harrison.”
Harrison’s head popped up comically over the back of the sofa, and he grinned at her.
“Oh my God. He’s got teeth! When did he get teeth?”
“They cut a little while ago,” I said. “Little bastard has been chewing on my fingers ever since.”
“Does he talk yet?”
“Not any language I understand. But he’s trying to walk. And he can pretty much stand up on his own, as long as he’s holding on to something.”
“Fuck me,” she said. “I can remember when you brought him home from the hospital.”
“I know. They grow up fast.”
“Do you want to stay for breakfast, Meg?” Zane asked. “I can make more pancakes. They’re banana-blueberry.”
“Thanks, but no. I have to get to work. The meeting is next week, at my office. You need to look sharp. I’ll text you once I’ve got the room booking.”
“Cool.”
“Have a nice day, boys,” she sang before sweeping back out of the apartment on her sexy red shoes. Zane followed her soon after, needing to run for his bus to get to his class on time because he spent too long kissing me good-bye.
That left Harrison and me on our own for the next couple of days. Zane had studio time booked to get some work done on his project and wanted to work late into the night. I was going to work late too, getting all my current projects done and sent off so I was ready to start again.
With Harrison awake and wanting attention, that wasn’t so easy.
My temperament had always leaned toward calm and in control. That was important, especially when I was carrying a lot of muscle. I didn’t want to be the guy in the bar who snapped and knocked someone out.
But sometimes, just sometimes, Harrison got on my last nerve.
He’d been sweet as pie with Zane, playing nice and eating his breakfast. Then, as soon as Zane left, he turned into a monster. He didn’t want to sit still and screamed as soon as I moved away from him. He didn’t want to play, and he didn’t want to watch cartoons. He definitely did not want to nap. It was too much to ask for the happy child who liked to sit and play with his toys while Daddy got some damn work done. He didn’t want my time, but he didn’t want me to give it to my work either.
He screamed for ten minutes solid while I packed up my laptop and strapped him into his stroller, where he kicked me in the knee, then cried when I swore. I was prepared to kill whoever thought baby Timberlands were a good idea.
Sometimes taking a walk was good for both of us. I got to clear my head, and he got to calm down. Sometimes it meant me looking like a terrible parent because I was ignoring my baby, who wanted anyone other than me to soothe him. That wasn’t true. He wanted Zane to soothe him.
We made a lap around the park, which was fairly successful in getting him to stop screaming, although I wasn’t about to let him out of the stroller and so avoided the playground. Since it was close by, I headed for the cafe when we left, hoping someone I knew was working the counter.
Lupe looked ready to give me hell, as was her normal way of showing affection, but stopped when she got a decent look at me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, coming out from behind the counter even though the other
“Ellis?” he whispered.
“Mm?”
“Can I paint you?”
“What, now?”
“No. Sometime.”
“Yeah. If you want.”
“Can I paint Harrison?”
“Yes, Zane.”
“Okay.”
I NSTEAD OF calling, like any normal person, Meg came over to tell me about the meeting arrangements. Which meant she found Zane in my apartment early in the morning, eating pancakes, wearing pajama pants that were way too big for him, watching cartoons on the computer with Harrison.
“This is all very domestic,” she said with a cat-that-got-the-cream smile.
“Hi, Meg!” Zane called from the sofa. “Say hiya to Auntie Meg, Harrison.”
Harrison’s head popped up comically over the back of the sofa, and he grinned at her.
“Oh my God. He’s got teeth! When did he get teeth?”
“They cut a little while ago,” I said. “Little bastard has been chewing on my fingers ever since.”
“Does he talk yet?”
“Not any language I understand. But he’s trying to walk. And he can pretty much stand up on his own, as long as he’s holding on to something.”
“Fuck me,” she said. “I can remember when you brought him home from the hospital.”
“I know. They grow up fast.”
“Do you want to stay for breakfast, Meg?” Zane asked. “I can make more pancakes. They’re banana-blueberry.”
“Thanks, but no. I have to get to work. The meeting is next week, at my office. You need to look sharp. I’ll text you once I’ve got the room booking.”
“Cool.”
“Have a nice day, boys,” she sang before sweeping back out of the apartment on her sexy red shoes. Zane followed her soon after, needing to run for his bus to get to his class on time because he spent too long kissing me good-bye.
That left Harrison and me on our own for the next couple of days. Zane had studio time booked to get some work done on his project and wanted to work late into the night. I was going to work late too, getting all my current projects done and sent off so I was ready to start again.
With Harrison awake and wanting attention, that wasn’t so easy.
My temperament had always leaned toward calm and in control. That was important, especially when I was carrying a lot of muscle. I didn’t want to be the guy in the bar who snapped and knocked someone out.
But sometimes, just sometimes, Harrison got on my last nerve.
He’d been sweet as pie with Zane, playing nice and eating his breakfast. Then, as soon as Zane left, he turned into a monster. He didn’t want to sit still and screamed as soon as I moved away from him. He didn’t want to play, and he didn’t want to watch cartoons. He definitely did not want to nap. It was too much to ask for the happy child who liked to sit and play with his toys while Daddy got some damn work done. He didn’t want my time, but he didn’t want me to give it to my work either.
He screamed for ten minutes solid while I packed up my laptop and strapped him into his stroller, where he kicked me in the knee, then cried when I swore. I was prepared to kill whoever thought baby Timberlands were a good idea.
Sometimes taking a walk was good for both of us. I got to clear my head, and he got to calm down. Sometimes it meant me looking like a terrible parent because I was ignoring my baby, who wanted anyone other than me to soothe him. That wasn’t true. He wanted Zane to soothe him.
We made a lap around the park, which was fairly successful in getting him to stop screaming, although I wasn’t about to let him out of the stroller and so avoided the playground. Since it was close by, I headed for the cafe when we left, hoping someone I knew was working the counter.
Lupe looked ready to give me hell, as was her normal way of showing affection, but stopped when she got a decent look at me.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, coming out from behind the counter even though the other
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