Harmless(95)

"I'll be back on Sunday."

This was something that Roan understood. Seg was a hockey player. They were on the road a lot. He didn't like that he couldn't have the man all to himself, but he got it.




 

 

"Then stay. It's almost six. Sleep for a couple of hours and then you can drive home."

Seg peered into the back seat at Liam, then turned his gaze back to meet Roan's, and Roan instantly knew that the answer he was going to get was not the one he wanted.

"I need to get home."

Roan's knee-jerk reaction was to get his feelings hurt, but before he could turn to get out of the SUV, Seg reached for him, holding him in place.

Seg pressed his forehead to Roan's. "I want whatever the next steps are, Roan. Whether that's dating or more than that. But I want you to have the time you need to think on it. I can't be left in the lurch, not knowing."

Damn it. "Fine."

"No, not fine," Seg countered, pulling back. "Why do you do that? Why do you get angry when I'm giving you what you asked for?"

Roan swallowed back the retort, hating that Seg was right. He managed to take a deep breath.

Their eyes locked together as Seg held the back of Roan's neck, not allowing Roan to move.

"I love you," Seg whispered. "I don't say that lightly. And yes, I've got my own sins to atone for, but I gave it some thought tonight at the hospital. I'm going to give you the space you need to think, to work it out in your head. And when I come back from this trip, I need an answer. You have choices. You can keep me in your life and we move forward and fight for our family. You, me, and Liam. We confront your father together-you and me-or you move forward and fight him on your own. Either way, I know you'll win. Liam is lucky to have you. But I want to be in your life because you want me there. I've gotten too attached. To both of you."

Roan could hear the emotion in Seg's voice, see the way he swallowed hard to hold it back. He wanted to tell him that he already knew what he wanted, but he understood where Seg was coming from. This way, Roan got the time he'd said he needed, and he could prove to Seg that this wasn't one-sided.

"Okay."

Seg's gaze dropped to Roan's mouth briefly, and the next thing he knew, Seg was kissing him. Gently, softly.

Roan was caught up in the emotion, his chest constricting, his heart ready to burst at the seams. He loved this man, there was no doubt about that.

But Seg was right. Roan needed some time to think. Some time to process what his father was doing. Hell, he needed to have a rational conversation with the man without having to deal with any of the other shit.

When the kiss ended and Seg pulled back, Roan reached for him, cupping his face. "Call me the minute you get back?"

Seg nodded.

As Roan climbed out of the SUV, as he unbuckled Liam and pulled the sleeping boy from the car seat, as he walked to his front door, a million thoughts were running through his head. 

And not a one of them good.

Why was it he felt as though his world was ending right here and now? The eerie feeling that he'd never see Seg again shredded his composure, threatening to take him out at the knees.

He didn't know why he felt this way. Seg was merely giving him time.

Right?

Whatever the reason, he couldn't shake it.

And that scared him more than anything ever had.



SEG DIDN'T GET A CHANCE to sleep after leaving Roan's, but he figured he could easily grab a nap on the plane to Boston.

That had been his thinking right up until he arrived to find everyone talking about Mattias leaving the team. No, it wasn't official, but it did sound as though the guy had an issue. Seg could only guess what that issue was. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that Mattias had given him the stink eye in the locker room last week.

"Hey, man," Kaufman said, leaning down near Seg's ear from where he was standing in the aisle, arm landing over the back of Seg's seat.

Seg turned his head slightly to hear what his captain had to say.

"Phoenix wants to talk to you when we get to Boston. He said not to freak out. It's nothing bad."

Seg smirked. The guy obviously knew that Seg was still on pins and needles regarding all the shit that had gone down.

"Cool."

Kaufman touched his shoulder, then headed back to his seat. Seg leaned his chair back and closed his eyes. He had a feeling he knew what Phoenix wanted to talk about. And since he had no desire to dwell on that right now, he figured he might as well get some sleep.

Three and a half hours later, Seg was sitting across from Phoenix at the coffee shop in their hotel. He'd checked in with him as soon as the plane landed, and Phoenix had informed him he would be about an hour behind. That had given Seg enough time to dump his stuff in his room, grab a quick shower, and make it back downstairs.