Rialto (Unbreakable Bonds 8)

Light-brown eyes met his, and Ian was struck again by how much they resembled each other, though Max was thinner and had lighter hair. Ian’s heart broke to think about how small and helpless he’d been with Jagger. How fucking young.

“Thank you again for doing this,” Max said softly. “Especially after everything I did to you.”

“I had help myself. People sometimes need help to get past the really rough stuff.” He glanced at Hollis, who was busy navigating the intense traffic. Ian had all the support he could ever need. He smiled at his husband, who threw him a smile back.

It took them over an hour to get Max situated at the rehabilitation facility. They had spoken with nurses, doctors, counselors, nutritionists, and more. But those weren’t the only members of Max’s support team. That morning, Ian had gotten him a new phone and programmed the numbers for himself, Hollis, Rowe, Noah, Lucas, and Snow. They were all there to help him fight. By the time Ian and Hollis climbed into their car to leave, Max looked a little frightened but also determined to see this thing through.

Ian expected there’d be bumps in his road, but at least Max seemed willing to try. If he pulled through this and got clean, Ian planned to offer him a job. He’d talked with the man a lot the last couple of days and Max had been angry, jealous, and so hyped up on drugs, he could barely function. Ian got the feeling he wasn’t that bad of a guy. He certainly seemed thankful for all they were doing.

As Hollis drove them home, Ian reached out and took his hand. He threaded their fingers together. “Have I told you lately how lucky I feel to have you?”

“I’m the lucky one,” Hollis replied, tightening his fingers.

They drove in silence for a while until he noticed that Hollis kept glancing at him. “What?”

“How are you feeling about the foster thing now?”

“I still want to do it at some point, but the last few weeks have shown me I was taking on too much, and I still have some baggage I need to work through.”

“We both do.”

“I think we need to go ahead and finish the classes but hold off on the rest until we work through some of it. I need to get In Good Time off the ground and turn more of the work at Rialto over to my manager. If we’re going to have children, I want to be around more.”

“I’ve already talked to Shane about fewer night jobs, and he’s on board with me. But as for working through the baggage, are we talking therapy?”

Ian nodded. “I still plan to go back. I hadn’t realized we were pushing so many emotions down when it came to my time with Jagger. I thought I’d really gotten past all that. But I still carry a lot of guilt.”

“What happened to you wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but I feel like I should have done more for the people who’d still been trapped there. Max is a perfect example of that.”

“What happened to Max isn’t your responsibility either. And what you’re doing for him now is wonderful.”

“All I’m doing is paying for his rehab.”

“And planning to visit him. And offering to be a support during the process.”

Ian shrugged. “I can make time for him.”

“And planning to offer him a job. That could easily backfire.”

Ian sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. “I know. But I have to try.”

Hollis lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of Ian’s. “I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

He shivered when Hollis kissed his hand again. The butterflies going crazy in his belly were so welcome. He hoped he’d always feel them when Hollis loved on him.

And speaking of loving, Ian wanted to go home for some of that. They’d had Max in their place and hadn’t really had the time to connect following all the chaos with Rialto and then the rescue.

Of course, when Ian hadn’t been hovering over Max in his recovering, he’d been hovering at Rialto. The destruction hadn’t been horrible, but it still made his heart clench. A company had been called in to deal with the smoke and water damage. James was in the middle of hiring a contractor to make the necessary repairs. The earliest estimates coming in were that it would be two weeks before Rialto could reopen. As part owner, Lucas was already butting in, trying to squeeze out an earlier timeline.

For now, Ian was leaving James and Lucas to hash it out. There wasn’t much he could do until the repairs were done. This forced mini-vacation could be a good thing. He could turn his attention to his new restaurant and his sexy husband.

“How about you take me home for some makeup sex?”