Total pages in book: 188
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 911(@200wpm)___ 729(@250wpm)___ 608(@300wpm)
Heavenly slid in after him, her thigh brushing his as she laid her hand over his and spoke to his son. “I’m surprised I could hear the traffic twenty floors up.”
Hudson took the chair across from her, beside Beck. “Really?”
She nodded. “It was crazy.”
His mom just laughed. “There’s a reason people call it the city that never sleeps, dear.”
“I had to see it to understand.” Heavenly flashed a self-deprecating grin before changing the subject. “How are you feeling with the wedding two days away?”
“Nervous but excited,” his mom admitted. “I’m so afraid I’ve forgotten something important, but Carl just tells me to relax.”
“Everything’s going to be perfect.” Her groom sent her a reassuring smile across the table.
As he, Beck, and Heavenly began comparing life in New York and California with Hudson hanging on their every word, Seth saw his opening. Time to start laying the groundwork.
“You seem happy this morning,” Seth said quietly as the waitress brought their coffee and paused to take their order.
After her departure, his mom smiled and stirred more cream into her cup. “I am, though I feel a bit run ragged trying to take care of all the last-minute details.” She glanced at Carl, her expression softening. “But I’m marrying a good man. I never thought I’d get another chance at this kind of happiness.”
“You deserve it.”
“Thank you, honey.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m so happy for you and Heavenly. Having you two here—and announcing your engagement—makes everything even better. And Beck seems like a wonderful friend. I’m glad he came, too. He fits right in with the family.”
Seth overheard Beck describe the last medical conference he’d attended with his usual sarcasm. They all laughed, and Heavenly poked gentle fun at him. But the tightness at the corners of his eyes told Seth just how much effort it cost him to keep that smile in place.
“I thought he would.” Seth leaned in close to his mom and dropped his voice. “Speaking of family, how are things with Jack and Connor lately?”
Her smile faltered slightly, her fingers tightening around her coffee mug. “Better. Not...normal, but better.”
“That’s progress.” And at least she wasn’t hostile anymore. Struggling, he’d expected. She even sounded a bit resigned. Maybe that meant she was trying to accept their choices?
“I suppose. I’m still trying to understand why they share women that way. The glimpse I saw… It was so shocking. I still can’t wrap my head around it.”
Seth’s throat went dry. How could he explain the completeness, the rightness of what he shared with Beck and Heavenly when he couldn’t admit yet that their relationship even existed?
“Have you talked to them any more?”
“A little. They’ve been respectful about my boundaries—no bringing women to the house, no flaunting one in public. And I’ve tried not to be intrusive.” She sighed, her voice dropping. “I love them, but I don’t know how to accept this part of their lives.”
“Are you hoping they’ll grow out of it?”
Her silence was answer enough.
“Mom…” Seth chose his next words carefully, as if he was defusing a bomb. “I’ve talked to them. This isn’t a phase. They’re not experimenting or rebelling. This is who they are, the way they’ve chosen to express love.”
“But—”
“I know you don’t approve, but if you want them in your life, you’re going to have to make peace with their choices.”
His mom’s eyes filled with tears. “You said the same thing last time we talked, and you made good points. I’m not trying to be old-fashioned. I’ve been praying about it, thinking about it...”
“And?”
“Logically, I know you’re right. They’re still the same kind, funny, protective boys I raised.” She rubbed her forehead. “It’s just…their desires go against everything I was taught about relationships, about what’s right.”
“What if you stopped focusing on their sex life and just considered who they are as people? On the fact they’re your sons?”
His mom blinked. “I’m sure I should, but…how?”
“Easy. When you talk to them or spend time with them, just be their mother. Their romantic choices aren’t the sum of who they are, just like Carl’s job doesn’t define who he is.”
“I know you’re right.”
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t struggling.
“Why do you need to understand Jack and Connor’s sex life to love them?”
“I don’t, but—”
“There’s no buts. You need to love them for who they are, not who you want them to be.”
She stared into her coffee cup for a long moment. When she looked up, her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “When did you get so wise?”
Seth’s chest tightened. If she only knew… “You raised us to think for ourselves, and sometimes those choices are going to be different from what you’d pick.”
“You’re right. I just…” His mom glanced around the table, making sure the others were still absorbed in their own conversation. “What about marriage? Children? How will that work with their…arrangement?”