"Where's your man at tonight?" Gannon asked, making his way back to the kitchen.
"He's not my man," Roan argued without thinking.
"I'd beg to differ," Cam stated, his intent to argue evident in his tone. "I've never seen you quite this neurotic. I can only assume that's because he's your guy."
Roan knew there was no point in disputing Cam's accusation. They'd figure it out soon enough. No way could Roan keep up the charade that things weren't serious with him and Seg. But shit, it was still hard to believe that things were serious. Hell, he hadn't known Seg all that long, so how was it even possible that serious was something he thought about?
"His mother's coming into town tonight," he explained, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.
Cam's eyes widened. "Oh, shit."
"Yeah. My sentiment exactly."
"Lemme guess," Gannon said. "She doesn't know he's gay either."
Roan shook his head. "She might now. He was going to tell her."
"Maybe he should ease into that conversation," Gannon mumbled beneath his breath. "It's not something you blurt out over spaghetti and meatballs."
Roan knew that Gannon didn't have a high opinion of coming out of the closet. He hadn't been one of the lucky ones either. Like Roan, Gannon's parents hadn't embraced the news.
"Are they close?" Cam asked.
"According to him they are."
"Then I'm sure it'll be fine. Is he gonna call you?"
Roan shrugged. They talked nearly every day. If not on the phone, then by text. He figured for sure Seg would tell him what was going on, but if things went bad …
"Quit worrying about it," Gannon stated firmly. "There's nothing you can do to change the outcome. It is what it is. Think positive."
Positive. Right.
Roan's cell phone buzzed in his pocket, and he damn near went through the roof. He yanked it out and stared at the screen while Cam laughed.
Hockey boy: Gonna call you in half an hour. Cool?
Roan responded with: Yeah.
"You've gotta go." Cam pasted on his puppy dog eyes. "And you're taking this sweet boy away from me, aren't you?"
"I am."
"Fine." Cam got to his feet and headed for Liam's diaper bag. He tossed in the few things they'd pulled out, then held the bag out for Roan. "If you need to talk … about anything … "
Roan nodded. "I know."
"So I assume you're gonna meet Mama Seg during this visit?"
That wasn't something Roan wanted to think about right now. He'd been dreading the outcome of Seg's conversation almost as much as the idea of meeting Seg's mother. Seriously. Not once in his life had he ever been introduced to the parents.
Cam chuckled. "You need to relax."
Roan hefted Liam's diaper bag onto his shoulder, then took Liam into his arms. "Easier said than done."
"The Arrows are at home this weekend," Cam noted as they headed for the door. "You wanna catch at least one game? Milly's been beggin' me to ask you if she can babysit."
"I'm sure we can work out somethin'."
Half an hour later, Roan was sitting on the couch while Liam sat in his swing, staring at anything and everything he could. It didn't fail to amaze Roan how quickly the little boy was growing. It seemed every day Liam developed a little more. He was gurgling nonsense frequently, pushing up his upper body when he was lying on the floor, smiling more and more, and grasping on to things with a surprisingly strong grip, including the little toys Roan gave him.
When Roan's phone rang, he tried to play it cool. He even let it ring twice, though he was terrified he'd miss the call.
Pathetic, much?
"Hey."
"Hey."
Roan tried his best to decipher from the tone of that one word what Seg's mood was. It didn't work.
"How'd it go?" Roan asked, leaning back into the cushion of the couch.
"Good. My mom's … good."
Roan released a breath, and his shoulders instantly relaxed.
"Roan?"
"Hmm?"
"I want to see you."
Oh, God. "I wanna see you, too," he answered softly. This was all new and strange for him. He hadn't had a … What was Seg to him? His boyfriend? Lover? Roan didn't even know.
"Can you talk to me for a bit?" Seg asked, his voice warm. "I just want to hear your voice."
Yeah, this man was impossible to resist. Roan wasn't sure where things were going or how they'd end up, but he knew for a fact that he was already falling for this sexy hockey player.
And he was falling hard.
"So, how'd it go?" Roan probed, hoping Seg would feel comfortable enough to share the details. "What did she say?"