Rialto (Unbreakable Bonds 8)

Rowe lifted his glass. “Agreed!” He took a huge gulp of his drink and hiccupped. “You know our significant others still have their nights out once in a while.”

Snow snorted. “You mean the ‘No Boyfriends Allowed’ club? I can’t believe they did that.”

“What? Can’t believe that Jude might need one night off from your grumpy ass?” Rowe teased.

“What the hell do you think they talk about?”

“Probably about the fact that my forever boyfriend hasn’t met my parents yet,” Rowe muttered under his breath.

“Or that I’m afraid to commit to a wedding date because I’m sure I’m going to fuck this all up,” Snow admitted.

“Or that I’m fighting Andrei over being the sperm donor for our next child because my own family is so fucked up,” Lucas added.

“Or that Hollis and I both need to go into therapy,” Ian murmured. He looked up to find three sets of worried, questioning eyes. Ian smiled and shrugged. “The recent troubles have stirred up a lot of old Jagger baggage. Made us realize that we have stuff that we haven’t worked through.”

“Fuck,” Rowe said with a heavy sigh and then threw back the rest of his drink. “I seriously hope their meetings aren’t this big of a downer.”

Lucas chuckled. “I doubt it.”

“And ours won’t be either,” Ian added, keeping his tone upbeat. “We can do our get-togethers on the nights they meet. When those of you with kids have babysitters.”

Rowe looked down into his empty glass, eyes wide. “Wow, that sounds so weird. Babysitter. Kids.”

“Still don’t want any?” Snow asked.

“I’m surprised you do.” Rowe poked Snow in the chest. “Mr. I’m Never Having Kids.”

“Things change. I want it now. Jude will make a great father.”

“So will you,” Lucas added confidently. “And an interesting one.”

“I haven’t quite figured out how it will work with our schedules. Half the time, we’re on together, so that’s a lot of time to be away from a child.” Snow sipped his bourbon.

“I’m sure Anna will step in for babysitting,” Ian chimed in.

“Oh, there’s no doubt about that. She’s already screening surrogates.”

Rowe snorted and spilled a bit of alcohol on his black Ward Security polo. He brushed it off absentmindedly. “Is that the way you’re going to go?”

“We haven’t decided, but more than likely we’re going to adopt. If I left it up to Jude, we already would have. He’s ready.”

“Are you?” Ian asked because Snow looked a little green around the gills.

“Almost. I’m not quite there yet. I’m just really enjoying it being us still.” He grinned. “I like the freedom to fuck him anywhere I like.”

“Sex doesn’t stop with a kid,” Lucas said. “It gets interrupted sometimes, but there’s still plenty of time to be together. I think you’re going to love being a father, Snow.”

“Well, I can’t wait to be a foster parent. We’re getting so close.” Ian sipped his wine, feeling a pleasant buzz despite all the food he’d eaten. “But I won’t even think of bringing a child into my life the way it is now. Not until we figure out who’s messing with me.”

“We’ll figure it out, Ian. Don’t give up on your dreams.” Lucas gave him a smile.

“To dreams!” Rowe said, holding up his glass. “And to new beginnings!”

They all lifted their glasses. Ian settled back onto the couch and basked in the pleasure of being with these men as they said good-bye to the penthouse. He looked around and realized that the place really didn’t matter. They were what mattered, and they’d always be together.Chapter SixteenIan stood to the side of the entrance to Rialto’s kitchen, watching as Isabella directed the controlled chaos with the expertise of a conductor overseeing the London Symphony orchestra. He’d just escaped his office and the pile of applications he’d been digging through in the hopes of lending a hand in the kitchen since both Sean and Wade were out for another day, but it was clear that Isabella had everything under control. He was almost afraid of being underfoot in his own kitchen.

He bit back a sigh and shook his head. He and Sean needed to have a meeting with that woman to discover if she wanted to remain at Rialto or take over as the sous chef for In Good Time. They’d put it off because of the recent chaos with the inspections, raid, bad reviews, and now the attacks on Sean and Wade. But it needed to get done.

Ian hated to admit that he loved having her at Rialto because he knew that his beloved restaurant was in good hands if Sean wasn’t around, but she deserved her own kitchen, her own place to be queen.

And at the new place, she’d have a chance at trying some of her own recipes. He was curious to see what she’d do.

Moving her up also meant giving someone else in the kitchen a chance to move into her coveted spot and shine.