his ultimatum.
“I’ll drop them off at six.” Chris’s words brought him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah. Sure. Okay. We’ll have to discuss the holidays.” Thanksgiving had been a nonissue. Chris had been overseas in Dubai and he’d taken the kids to his parents for the whole long weekend.
“You just had them for Thanksgiving,” Chris bit out. “I assumed I’d have them for Christmas.”
“The whole holiday?” No. No way. Sarah was still little, still excited about Santa, and next year she might not be.
“Christmas Day,” Chris told him.
“Can we talk about this later?” When the kids weren’t watching them with worried eyes.
“Sure. I’ll have Anita call you to set up an appointment.”
“Yeah.” Kenn refused to let his hurt show. He was just another inconvenience these days. He supposed he ought to feel grateful the kids were still important to Chris. “You guys have a great weekend. I’ll miss you.”
Micah rolled his eyes, but Sarah ran to hug him. “I miss you already.”
“Yeah, me too.” He locked the door behind them and went to find his uniform shirt. Time to get to work. He had to buy a new Christmas tree, decorations, presents. Single dads had no time for tears.
Chapter Two
C HRIS TOOK a sip of his double-double and glanced at his watch. Kenn was late, goddamn it. He only had a half-hour window before he had to head uptown for a working dinner with the CEO of Leonard Dynamics. And if he sat here for too long without anything to do, he was going to fall asleep right where he was. God, he was tired. Without Kenn and the kids, there was no reason to go home, and he’d been practically living in the office the last year.
He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and began making speaking notes for the Drumheller meeting tomorrow. Or possibly the day after tomorrow; he couldn’t remember. It would be in his diary. Anita kept it scrupulously up-to-date.
The door flew open, and Kenn rushed in, covered in snow. “Hey, Jules. No. Just a drip. Yeah, I’m on the schedule for every day this week.”
Even in the heavy coat and accoutrements, Kenn looked like the guy Chris had met in university—skinny, bald, eyes huge and bright, bright green.
“Sorry. Sarah’s dance teacher was running late.” Kenn sat, coffee in hand. “Micah’s at his skating lessons.”
“It’s fine. I have to go at five sharp, though.” It would take him a half hour to get to the restaurant, if he was lucky. Between the weather and the proximity to Christmas, rush-hour traffic was going to be a bitch.
Chris tried not to think too hard about how sexy Kenn looked, about how he still loved the stubborn asshole. Or about how much he wanted to get rid of those bags under Kenn’s eyes, the tense set of his shoulders. It wasn’t right. Kenn was supposed to be making art and looking after their babies. Chris was supposed to make sure they had the money for that to happen. Why couldn’t Kenn have understood he had to work hard to provide for everything they needed? From a roof over their heads to the best ballet shoes money could buy to a nice fat nest egg for the kids’ schooling.
“I won’t keep you. I was thinking, if you want, you can have them the week before Christmas and I can have them late Christmas Eve? Your folks like to do Christmas Eve.”
The whole week before Christmas? What the hell was that? “I want them Christmas morning. I hardly ever see them. I want to be there when they open their gifts.”
“And I am the one who’s dealt with all the details. I want to see them open the gifts from Santa,” Kenn insisted.
“And what exactly am I supposed to do with them the week before Christmas? Bring them to work with me?” He was avoiding the question of Christmas morning because he wasn’t in the mood for a screaming match in the middle of the coffee shop. He wasn’t budging on getting to see the kids open their gifts either, though.
“You have almost ten weeks of leave built up.
“I’ll drop them off at six.” Chris’s words brought him out of his thoughts.
“Yeah. Sure. Okay. We’ll have to discuss the holidays.” Thanksgiving had been a nonissue. Chris had been overseas in Dubai and he’d taken the kids to his parents for the whole long weekend.
“You just had them for Thanksgiving,” Chris bit out. “I assumed I’d have them for Christmas.”
“The whole holiday?” No. No way. Sarah was still little, still excited about Santa, and next year she might not be.
“Christmas Day,” Chris told him.
“Can we talk about this later?” When the kids weren’t watching them with worried eyes.
“Sure. I’ll have Anita call you to set up an appointment.”
“Yeah.” Kenn refused to let his hurt show. He was just another inconvenience these days. He supposed he ought to feel grateful the kids were still important to Chris. “You guys have a great weekend. I’ll miss you.”
Micah rolled his eyes, but Sarah ran to hug him. “I miss you already.”
“Yeah, me too.” He locked the door behind them and went to find his uniform shirt. Time to get to work. He had to buy a new Christmas tree, decorations, presents. Single dads had no time for tears.
Chapter Two
C HRIS TOOK a sip of his double-double and glanced at his watch. Kenn was late, goddamn it. He only had a half-hour window before he had to head uptown for a working dinner with the CEO of Leonard Dynamics. And if he sat here for too long without anything to do, he was going to fall asleep right where he was. God, he was tired. Without Kenn and the kids, there was no reason to go home, and he’d been practically living in the office the last year.
He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and began making speaking notes for the Drumheller meeting tomorrow. Or possibly the day after tomorrow; he couldn’t remember. It would be in his diary. Anita kept it scrupulously up-to-date.
The door flew open, and Kenn rushed in, covered in snow. “Hey, Jules. No. Just a drip. Yeah, I’m on the schedule for every day this week.”
Even in the heavy coat and accoutrements, Kenn looked like the guy Chris had met in university—skinny, bald, eyes huge and bright, bright green.
“Sorry. Sarah’s dance teacher was running late.” Kenn sat, coffee in hand. “Micah’s at his skating lessons.”
“It’s fine. I have to go at five sharp, though.” It would take him a half hour to get to the restaurant, if he was lucky. Between the weather and the proximity to Christmas, rush-hour traffic was going to be a bitch.
Chris tried not to think too hard about how sexy Kenn looked, about how he still loved the stubborn asshole. Or about how much he wanted to get rid of those bags under Kenn’s eyes, the tense set of his shoulders. It wasn’t right. Kenn was supposed to be making art and looking after their babies. Chris was supposed to make sure they had the money for that to happen. Why couldn’t Kenn have understood he had to work hard to provide for everything they needed? From a roof over their heads to the best ballet shoes money could buy to a nice fat nest egg for the kids’ schooling.
“I won’t keep you. I was thinking, if you want, you can have them the week before Christmas and I can have them late Christmas Eve? Your folks like to do Christmas Eve.”
The whole week before Christmas? What the hell was that? “I want them Christmas morning. I hardly ever see them. I want to be there when they open their gifts.”
“And I am the one who’s dealt with all the details. I want to see them open the gifts from Santa,” Kenn insisted.
“And what exactly am I supposed to do with them the week before Christmas? Bring them to work with me?” He was avoiding the question of Christmas morning because he wasn’t in the mood for a screaming match in the middle of the coffee shop. He wasn’t budging on getting to see the kids open their gifts either, though.
“You have almost ten weeks of leave built up.
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