Unbreakable Stories Lucas (Unbreakable Bonds 1.5)

Lucas’s mouth bobbed open twice as he stepped back, his heart hammering his chest. This…This was not a conversation he should be involved in. This was an Ian conversation. Ian would know exactly what to say to make the panicked look in Rowe’s eyes completely disappear. Pregnant? Was this good? A little Rowe running around? Frightening. A little Mel running around? Adorable, but absolutely terrifying.

“Are you sure?” Lucas asked because it was the only thing he could think of.

“I don’t know.”

“You have anything else to go on besides doctor’s appointments? Women go to doctors for other reasons.”

“Well…she didn’t want to drink today.”

“One of you usually plays designated driver.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t even fight me over it this year.”

Lucas frowned, stepping back so that he was leaning against the door again. “Do you want a baby?”

Rowe winced. “I don’t know,” he said, his voice barely audible. “We never talked about it. I’ve never really thought about it.”

“Do you think that Mel wants a baby?”

“I don’t know.”

“I—”

A loud knock on the door caused them both to jump. “What the hell is going on in my laundry room?” Ian demanded.

Lucas nearly moaned in relief. Before Rowe could speak, Lucas jerked the door open and pulled Ian inside before stepping out of the laundry room himself. “Rowe needs to talk to you,” he grunted and then enclosed them in the tiny room. Lucas stopped and closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. He didn’t mean to bail on Rowe, but he really was the worst person to handle Rowe’s question. Pregnant? Rowe would be a great dad, but that didn’t mean he was ready for it.

When Lucas opened his eyes, he found Sonja watching him with a smile. “Never a dull moment, huh?”

“Never.”5The Living RoomLucas wandered into Ian’s living room. It was probably best if he put a little space between himself and Andrei for a bit. While his goal had been to merely help the other man relax, he was getting just as worked up and his growing discomfort was only going away with a cold shower or getting Andrei behind a locked door. Neither was close at hand until after dinner.

Milos was standing in front of a bookshelf filled with books and framed photos. Lucas knew those pictures well. They were all of himself, Snow, Rowe, and Melissa taken over the past several years.

“Can I get you a drink, Milos?” Lucas inquired as he came up behind the man.

Milos raised a glass of what looked like iced tea, but he could easily be mistaken. Ian was almost as good at mixing drinks as he was at cooking. “Ian already got me,” he said with a smile. “However, I was just wondering where this picture was taken.” He pointed to a picture that Lucas didn’t immediately recognize until he took a step closer.

A smile toyed with the corners of Lucas’s mouth. The picture was of Lucas and Andrei seated across from each other at Rialto. In fact, judging by the tie and the slight bulge he could spot under Andrei’s suit jacket from the gun he’d been carrying, it looked like a picture of the first time he’d had dinner at Rialto with Andrei, when they’d been employer and employee. Before they’d become friends and then lovers. How the hell had Ian gotten this picture? Lucas hadn’t even been aware of anyone taking it.

Reaching past Milos, Lucas picked up the frame and looked more closely at the picture. His fingers strayed across Andrei’s strong jaw. He had one eyebrow lifted and a smirk twisting his lips, as if Ian had caught a moment where Andrei was daring Lucas. And Lucas was smiling back at Andrei as if he were both the sun and the moon. Had it been so obvious even back then?

“Rialto,” Lucas said and then cleared his throat against the roughness that had invaded his voice. “Taken a couple months ago, I think.” Lucas returned the picture to its place on Ian’s shelf, making a mental note to ask Ian for a copy. He wanted it for his desk at work.

Milos watched him, a worried look growing in his dark eyes. Andrei’s eyes. He was beginning to wish that maybe he’d grabbed a drink before venturing in to talk to Milos. It was the first time Lucas had been alone with Andrei’s father since Andrei had told them that they were dating.

“I think this is the point where I am supposed to warn you against hurting my son,” Milos started. He flashed Lucas a mocking smile before shaking his head. “But we’re both smart men. We know that people get hurt in a relationship. It is the nature of things.”

“I don’t want to hurt him.”

“And he doesn’t want to hurt you.” Milos paused and looked over at his son as he stood near his mother in the kitchen. They were both grinning. It looked as if he was teasing her about something, mischief lighting his features. “He spent years studying fighting to protect himself, but my boy still wears his heart on his sleeve. Always will.”