Home and Away (10 page)

Rupert climbed in the back with Oliver, and both were asleep before they’d left the airport parking lot. Callum was just plain jealous, though the ten minutes it took to get to the arena probably wasn’t going to do Rupert all that much good.

Oliver was asleep in Rupert’s arms when they trudged into the arena to find Reese Lamont standing in the hallway, looking a little lost, with a tiny woman hovering behind him.

“Rupert!”
Reese said with undisguised relief, charging toward them. When his eyes landed on Oliver, he pulled up short.

Callum reached out for a bleary-eyed Oliver, who promptly pressed his face against Callum’s neck and went lax in his arms. Reese watched, fascinated, as Rupert brushed Oliver’s hair back from his forehead before turning back to his friend.

“What are you doing here?” Rupert asked. “I texted you last night that we were on our way back.”

Callum admired Rupert’s judicious avoidance of asking why Reese hadn’t shown up before they got here, when he had said he would. Given the look he was getting from Reese, Callum didn’t think he was doing a good job keeping this thought off his face.

“Callum,” Reese said, sticking out his hand, “it’s nice to meet you in person.”

“Same,” Callum returned, taking his hand from Oliver’s back only long enough to shake.

“And this must be Oliver,” Reese said, studying his sleeping profile. “God, Rupert, he looks just like you.”

Callum smirked. “Yeah.
Poor kid
.”

Reese looked stunned for a moment, then he started to laugh.

Rupert rolled his eyes. “Do
not
encourage him.”

Callum wasn’t sure which of them he meant.

Reese arched an eyebrow. “Have you been giving Rupert a hard time, Callum?”

“I hope so,” Callum said sincerely.

“I assure you, he has,” Rupert snapped, but his voice no longer held the heat it once had around Callum.

Reese rubbed his hands together with undisguised glee. “You and I should talk, Callum. The things I could tell you…”

Callum grinned. “Yeah?”

Rupert looked like he was contemplating murder, his cheeks flushing bright pink. “Reese, I shan’t ever forgive you if you dare,” Rupert said, super primly.

When had that become so adorable?

“Don’t worry, duchess,” Callum said with an obnoxious wink. “I’ll keep your secrets.”

Reese’s eyes bulged. He looked like he might explode with joy.

Rupert leveled his best death-glare—which was also adorable—on Callum, then turned pointedly toward the silent woman hovering on the edge of their little circle. “Matilda, it’s nice to see you. Welcome to Moncton.”

“Thank you, Mr. Smythe.”

“
Matilda
!” Callum cried, making her and Rupert jump, and Reese scowl furiously. Callum grinned at Reese’s assistant, delighted to put a face with the voice he’d heard countless times over the phone in the past few months. He’d pictured her far older and less…
curvy.
Her dark, perfectly demure suit made Callum wonder if she and Rupert used the same tailor.

“Mr. Morrison,” she returned politely, a smile hovering on her lips.

“Mati, what do I have to do to get you to call me Callum? We’ve been over this a thousand times.”

Matilda poked her funky little glasses higher on her nose. “Yes, Mr. Morrison.”

Callum laughed. “I’ll convince you someday,” he promised as Reese inserted himself between them.

“Please do not harass
Matilda
.”

There was no mistaking the inflection on her full name. Message received, loud and clear—and doomed to be ignored. He almost cracked up at the shocked look on Rupert’s face at Reese’s possessive maneuvering.

This evening was turning out to be more fun than he’d expected.

Reese turned to Matilda, solicitous. “Our meeting will begin shortly. I realize it’s not in our normal duties, but would you mind keeping an eye on Oliver for a bit?”

Oliver let out a squeak and latched onto Callum’s neck. Breathing was suddenly a challenge.

“He stays with us,” Callum croaked, pressing a reassuring hand to Oliver’s back.

Normal airflow resumed.

Reese looked stricken. “I apologize. I hadn’t realized—”

“It’s fine,” Rupert said gently. “Oliver will stay with me or Callum for a while. Until he asks otherwise, in fact.”

Oliver smiled at Rupert.

“I see,” Reese said. It was clear he had questions, but they would have to wait, as the group from the contractor’s offices chose that moment to arrive for the meeting.

Rupert was impressed. Considering that Callum had to be dead on his feet, he took charge of the meeting with ease.

Rupert had always been able to remember numbers. Big, little, whatever—his brain just liked them. He took the binder from Jack and looked up what was needed when he couldn’t recall something from memory. Which wasn’t often, since while Rupert had the figures down, Callum was apparently an ace at recalling the details of the project plan—what was supposed to happen when, what the deadlines were for various stages of the project, and, accordingly, when payments were due.

They made a pretty good team, and kept the meeting blessedly short.

Callum and Oliver ducked into the men’s room as soon as they were adjourned, while Rupert stood in the hallway and checked in with Matilda and Reese to be sure they’d be all right getting home. Reese’s driver was apparently in the parking lot awaiting a phone call, and Matilda was proving surprisingly adept at prodding Reese along. Rupert had never seen her outside her tidy office in Reese’s house, but she clearly had a handle on what her boss needed in the outside world as well.

They all jumped when a huge voice boomed out of nowhere.

“
Rupert
!”

Rupert swore silently as he turned to look down the corridor. Sure enough, two of the Ice Cats’ core players were exiting the gym just as Callum and Oliver stepped back into the hallway, Oliver’s hand tucked in Callum’s.

“Hello, Alexei,” Rupert said, automatically searching the man for anything that might lead to one of his infamous pranks. Rupert was in no mood to be slathered in lube or Bengay or whatever the hell Alexei might have up his sleeve.

“Alexei Belov?” Callum asked with a childlike excitement.

Alexei’s eyes widened. “Callum Morrison!”

Suddenly the two men were doing the manly one-armed bro-hug, pounding each other on the back hard enough to fell mere mortals. It was a wonder the entire arena didn’t shake.

Callum grinned as he stepped back. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Rupert’s mouth dropped open. Callum had managed to insult Rupert’s work, his heritage, and possibly his manhood when they’d first met. But Alexei, probably the scariest man on the Ice Cats roster, if not in all of Moncton, Callum practically
humped
?

Mike Erdo, Alexei’s best friend and constant companion, caught Rupert’s eye.
Goalies
, he mouthed with an eye roll.

“And who is this?” Alexei boomed, looking down at Oliver.

Rupert jumped forward, prepared to grab Oliver if he showed any sign of being frightened by the enormous Russian.

Oliver smiled up at the big man beatifically.

“This is Oliver,” Callum said.

As one, Alexei and Mike turned from peering down at Oliver’s face to stare at Rupert’s.

“You have a son!” Alexei announced, not a trace of question but a whole lot of disbelief in his voice.

“No, I—”

“Rupert! You have so many secrets!”

“I really don’t. I—”

“Is he yours, too?” Alexei asked Callum.

Rupert snapped his mouth shut and let Callum be the one to stand there agog for a moment. Reese was giggling now, which was no help to anyone.

Callum finally managed to sputter, “What? No, I—”

“I’m Alexei,” he announced, thrusting out his hand to Oliver. Rupert was standing ten feet away and wanted to take a step back, but Oliver just gazed up at the bear of a man thoughtfully, then stuck his little hand into Alexei’s huge paw. Alexei gestured with his other hand. “And this is my friend, Mike.”

“Hello, Oliver,” Mike said, warmly and at a volume that didn’t threaten to burst anyone’s eardrums. “It’s nice to meet you. Alexei and I work for your father.”

“No, I—” Rupert tried again, his voice lost under Alexei’s.

“Your papa is very sneaky. We didn’t know he had a boy,” Alexei said while trying to take his hand back. Oliver didn’t let go. Alexei appeared quite flummoxed by this.

“He’s my brother!” Rupert shouted, cringing in the echoing silence that followed. He cleared his throat. “Erm. Sorry. Yes, well, Oliver is my brother. He’s come to live with me. Only just arrived today.”

For the life of him, Rupert didn’t know why he was explaining. Or why he sounded like a prig when he got nervous.

Alexei attempted to free himself again, succeeding only in shaking Oliver’s entire arm. He tugged Alexei’s hand until he crouched down to Oliver’s level, his huge thighs as big around as Oliver’s torso.

“What is it, little man?” he asked gruffly, for once not sounding like he was competing with a goal horn.

Oliver tilted his head, then reached out and patted one of Alexei’s cheeks, leaving his palm pressed there when he was done. Alexei’s eyes widened and he almost fell over, Mike’s quick reflexes the only thing sparing him the indignity. Oliver just smiled at them both.

He obviously had deplorable taste in men, Rupert thought wryly.

“He’s not left mine or Callum’s side since we found him in London,” Rupert said quietly. “He’s had a bit of a rough go and doesn’t seem to trust anyone. Doesn’t—” Rupert had to clear his throat— “speak, really. Not often, anyway.”

Alexei nodded, then looked at Oliver. “Thank you, little man. I will be your friend.”

“And him,” Oliver said, pointing at Mike.

Mike crouched down, too, his chest to Alexei’s back so he could smile at Oliver over Alexei’s shoulder. “I’d be honored.”

Callum grimaced, trying to give the road his full attention for the short drive from the arena to his hotel. Well,
their
hotel now. It was hard to focus, though, when Rupert was yelling at him from the passenger seat.

“You did
what?
”

“I had Jack pack up your room, check you out of your hotel, and move you to my hotel instead.”

“You’re such a douchebag.” Rupert announced.

“I’m sorry, Rupert. Your hotel didn’t have any more rooms. I thought it would be easier this way. My room is just down the hall, so no one will think—no will see...” At Rupert’s dark look, Callum swallowed hard, hating himself a little. “People know me. My name. I can’t—”

“I get it, Callum,” Rupert said, voice flat.

Callum wasn’t sure that he did. He tried to get them back on track. “Jack said he got you settled in, all unpacked and everything.”

Rupert slumped into his seat, appearing utterly dejected. “That lovely man has been through my underwear drawer.”

What.
“What?”

Rupert shook his head. “Nothing.”

“I don’t think Jack is some kind of pervert, if that’s what you mean.”

“Of course that’s not what I mean,” Rupert snapped.

“Oookay. Well, anyway, I’m sure yours isn’t the kind of underwear Jack is into. So to speak.”

Rupert rolled his head against the seat to look at him. “What do you mean?”

“I mean he’s straight.”

Rupert laughed. “Your gaydar is terrible.”

“What? No. I don’t even have—wait. You mean he’s gay?”

Rupert shrugged. “He’s never said, but I think so, yes.”

“Oh.”

He knew Rupert was studying him. He kept his eyes fixed on the road.

“I didn’t have you figured out, though, so I don’t suppose my gaydar is that terrific either,” Rupert conceded.

“That’s because I’m not, you know…”

“You’re not what?”

“You know. Gay, really.”

Rupert sat up. “Pardon me?”

“I mean, I’m not really anything. I don’t send out a vibe, or whatever. Because I don’t…I just don’t, okay?”

“You said you were gay.”

“
I am
.” Callum sighed, wondering when his life had gone sideways and his sexuality had become something he talked about. “If I had to choose, if I
could
be with someone, it would be a man. I would want that. A guy.”

Like you.

Callum packed that thought away, to be taken out and examined never.

Rupert collapsed back against his seat and blew out a deep breath. “Right. Well, what I’d like to know is how on earth Jack managed to check me out of one hotel and into another without my permission.”

“I didn’t even ask, to be honest. I’m sure you’ve noticed that between Jack and Garrick, they know just about everyone in this town.”

“I had noticed. It’s been a bloody boon for the construction project.”

“And now it’s a bloody boon for us,” Callum said, chuckling at how stupid that sounded with his American accent. He snuck a peek at Rupert. “Are you really angry? Or just surprised?”

“I’m not angry. I’m not particularly enamored with your highhandedness, but that’s nothing new, is it? I do appreciate you thinking of Oliver. He’ll probably want you to stay with us a few more nights, if that’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course it’s not,” Callum said quickly. “I didn’t mean to imply—”

“Then I’m sure you’ll be able to return to your own room at night,” Rupert said, sounding depressingly hopeful.

It shouldn’t bother Callum, but he felt oddly disappointed.

It wasn’t like they were doing anything more than sleeping, and making a scared little boy feel safe. Hell, Callum wasn’t convinced it
was
all that safe, since he and Rupert were so exhausted, they’d both probably sleep through Oliver getting up in the middle of the night and doing a tap dance on the mattress.

Callum had only ever slept beside Michaela or a sibling before, and in all those cases, the point of the exercise was to keep as far away from the other person as possible, to turn your back so your breathing didn’t bother them or vice versa.

Now, it turned out, Callum
liked
the sound of Rupert’s breathing. The soft, rhythmic susurration of his exhale was soothing. Which was stupid, but whatever. He liked it.