"Relax," Seg whispered, reaching over and touching Roan's hand.
The warmth infused him and Roan suddenly wished they were alone. Hell, he hadn't even been able to kiss Seg yet, and he'd been looking forward to it since the last time he'd kissed the man.
"I'm trying."
"No, you're not." Seg chuckled.
"Fine, I'm not."
"Are you nervous?"
Roan shook his head. "No, I'm terrified."
Seg laughed again and the sound eased some of the tension in Roan's shoulders.
"She doesn't bite."
Roan peered over at Seg. "So, you've done this before?"
"Done what?"
"Introduced your mom to … " Roan didn't even know what this was.
"To my boyfriend?" Seg's eyes glittered with amusement. "Can't say that I have, no. In fact, I've only ever introduced her to one person, and that was the girl I dated in the tenth grade. Needless to say, it wasn't serious."
Roan was still hung up on the word. Boyfriend. He liked the sound of it. Especially when Seg said it. It was strange, yet it filled him with a weird sense of … hope.
"Boys! Dinner's ready!"
And just like that, the hope disappeared and terror surged through Roan's veins. Thankfully, Liam chose that exact moment to stir from his spot on the couch between him and Seg. Roan turned his full attention to the baby, trying to regulate his breathing. It would suck if he passed out right about now.
"I hear that baby."
Roan glanced up as Deb was heading toward them, her eyes locked on Liam. She instantly started talking to him, cooing and smiling. Roan shot a quick look at Seg, noticing the man was still watching him.
"You boys go on in there and get some food. I'll be along in a minute."
Forcing himself to his feet, Roan prayed he wouldn't fall over.
"Does he have a diaper bag?" Deb asked.
Before Roan could head over to get it, Seg held him back with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Kitchen."
Okay, so clearly Seg could see Roan's distress. He hated that he couldn't hide it better, but the truth of the matter was he had no idea how to react in a situation like this. Being in a committed relationship was so far outside his realm of experience Roan wasn't even sure how to act.
Once in the kitchen, Roan took a deep breath and planted his palms on the counter to steady himself. He was attempting to rein himself in when he felt warm hands on his back. He turned, coming face-to-face with Seg.
"I've waited long enough."
Roan was processing Seg's words when the man leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't a quick, chaste kiss either. This one sparked a flame inside Roan's gut, and he grabbed Seg, jerking him closer. This was more like it. For whatever reason, he could easily get lost in Seg's kiss.
"Ahem."
Seg smiled against Roan's mouth before pulling away. Roan's face flamed with heat as he did his best to make eye contact with Seg's mother. It wasn't easy. Didn't matter that she was smiling either.
Half an hour later, the three of them were still sitting at the table. Deb was holding Liam in her lap, bouncing him gently while she regaled Roan with stories of Seg as a child.
"No matter what we did, we could not convince him that sleeping with his hockey stick would not improve his game."
"It worked, didn't it?" Seg asked, taking a sip of his water. "I might've never made it into the NHL if I hadn't done that."
Deb grinned. "I doubt that's true, but we will never know." She turned her attention to Roan. "Do your parents live close?"
Roan swallowed. "My dad and stepmother do."
Her eyebrows lifted as though waiting for him to provide more information.
"I … uh … " Roan glanced at Seg briefly before turning his attention back to Deb. "I haven't seen my mother since I was a teenager. She left and never came back. Not even to visit."
"Well, that's a shame," Deb stated. "Whatever her reason, she's the one who missed out."
Roan appreciated the fact that he didn't have to go into detail. It wasn't easy talking about his mother. Sure, he shrugged it off and pretended it didn't bother him that she'd left, but deep down, he still felt the pain from it.
"Did Seg tell you about the time he shot a puck in the house and broke his grandmother's lamp?"
Roan smiled, enjoying the fact that Deb seemed in tune with his discomfort. She never made it apparent that she was probing into his life. "He didn't, no." Roan glanced over to see Seg rolling his eyes.
"He was eight. His father and I heard the noise and we instantly knew what it was. However, like any creative eight-year-old, when we asked Seg what happened, he insisted that he'd been watching TV and the lamp just shattered."