Harmless(19)

Roan smiled as he looked at his friends. Cam had always been there for him. Even when he'd thought he wasn't, he had been. And Gannon …  Despite Roan trying to sabotage Cam and Gannon's relationship in the beginning, the man didn't seem to hold a grudge. Roan was the one who'd managed to alienate himself from everyone. He knew he had to rely on them now. No way could he get through this by himself.

"Thanks for that."

"And we're not gonna let you push us away again," Cam stated, his eyes reflecting the seriousness of his statement. "You never should've done it in the first place."

Roan nodded. He knew that. Would he change what he'd done if he could? No, probably not. But Cam didn't need to know that.




 

 

"When are you gonna tell Dare and Teague?" Cam inquired.

"I don't know. I'll have to do it soon, I guess."

"They'll want to help you, you know."

Yep, he knew.

All this time, he'd been wishing he had their help, but he'd known how nasty Cassie could get, and he hadn't wanted any of them enduring her wrath. Instead, he had isolated himself, making sure that he was there for his sister. And when Liam was born, Roan had done everything he could, but he'd found he stopped helping Cassie because he was more focused on taking care of Liam.

Not that he minded. In fact, in four short weeks, he'd fallen absolutely head over heels for the kid. So much so, that half the time he'd wished that Cassie wasn't even there so he could raise the baby himself.

Now it looked as though he got his wish.

And that load of guilt nearly took his breath away.



CAM WAITED UNTIL HE AND Gannon got into bed before he asked the one question he hadn't been able to ask Roan tonight.

"Did you see what happened between Roan and Seg?"

"Who's Seg?" Gannon looked sincerely confused.

"The defenseman for the Arrows. Colton Seguine. The one who was talking to Roan when we went to meet the team?"

That seemed to clear the fog from Gannon's eyes. "I saw them talking. Seemed completely innocent. Plus, Roan said they'd met at a bar, right?"

Cam shrugged, leaning back on the pillows. "That's what he said, sure. But something was up with those two."

"Up?"

"I'm wondering if they had a thing."

"Why would you think that?" Gannon rolled closer, putting one leg over Cam's legs, his arm across Cam's chest.

"I don't know. Roan looked ready to run when he was talking to him."

"And that's unusual how?"

"I don't know. They clearly knew each other, but it seemed more intense than just a quick hi, how are ya at a sports bar. I find it funny that Roan never mentioned the fact that he was friends with a fucking hockey player."

"By friends, you mean … ?"

He shrugged again. Cam didn't know what he meant. "I'm not sure, but I haven't seen Roan act like that before. It was  …  weird, I guess. I don't even know how to explain it. But I saw it."

"Really?" Gannon pulled back to look at Cam. "In all the years you've known him, Roan's never greeted another man casually?" Gannon laughed.

"There wasn't anything casual about that."

"Looked casual to me." 

"They were hiding something." Cam wanted to know what it was, too. "Roan has never been the type of guy to date much. At least not that I've seen. I know he's had some casual encounters, but he's never brought anyone around."

"So what you're saying is you really don't know what this guy is to Roan. If anything at all."

"That's what I'm saying." He didn't know. However, he got the sneaking suspicion that there was something going on between the two of them. Or perhaps it had in the past. Cam had watched Seguine. He didn't know the man, but he'd seen something on his face.

"You should ask Roan about him."

Yeah. Maybe. After everything settled, he might.

"Is that guy gay?" Gannon questioned.

"No idea."

"I thought you were a hockey fanatic."

"I am. But I'm interested in the game, not the love lives of the players."

"You're telling me that you never had a crush on one of those guys?" Gannon moved closer, his breath warm against Cam's neck.

"I didn't say that."

"And to think, you married a gamer nerd with glasses," Gannon teased, his lips gliding over Cam's neck.

"That I did. A sexy"-Cam tilted his head a little-"gamer nerd  …  oh, hell yes … "

"With glasses," Gannon added.

"Yes, with glasses. God, I love those damn glasses." Okay, and now he sounded winded and he wasn't even moving. Then again, Gannon did that to him. Even after the hell they'd gone through the past few hours, the man could still make him crazy with want.