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“Hey, man, where the hell have you been?” Gunner asked when he saw me. “It’s been for fucking ever.”
“I have a couple of things to take care of,” I said with a grin.
Noah looked up from the bar where he’d been in deep conversation with his dad and Landon, another one of the older Cavaliers, and he came to us.
“Nice to see you back here,” he said and nudged me.
I chuckled. “Thanks, man.”
“How is she?”
“She?” Gunner asked and frowned. “Who?”
Noah and I both glanced at Gunner before we burst out laughing.
Jade and Ben were with Ava and Warner, spending the afternoon on a playdate. I’d introduced the two women just after Jade and I had gotten together––I figured it would help her get settled in this life she knew so little about. I didn’t care about the money and the image, but if Jade was going to be a part of the family, she needed to understand what it was like dealing with the people we rubbed shoulders with. If anyone could show her the ropes and be a shoulder for her, a support system, it was Ava.
“Come on, man, give a dog a bone,” Gunner said and threw back the rest of the drink he had in his glass. “And buy a friend a round, would you? I need a drink if you guys are going to fuck with me like this.”
I laughed. “I’ve got you.” I walked to the bar when I didn’t see a server around and waited for the bartender, who was mixing drinks for a few other guys.
Richard came in. I saw him from the corner of my eye, and when I turned to look at him, he nodded at me. I nodded back. He walked to my dad, where they got into a deep conversation right away––probably about business.
It was weird––Richard, and I had had that heart-to-heart just before I’d told Sabrina off, and it had been eye-opening to know that my brother didn’t think I was as bad as I’d thought he did, but after that, we hadn’t suddenly become close friends.
I guessed that would come with time. We had a lot of years to catch up on, and we weren’t going to be best buddies overnight, even if we were brothers. It was good to know I had another family member in my corner, though. It was also nice to know that Richard and I were equals. There wasn’t some kind of fucked up hierarchy between us because of the choices we’d made in our lives.
The bartender took his sweet time with the other drinks, and eventually, Noah and Gunner joined me at the bar.
“I think I’ll die of thirst before I get a drink around here,” Gunner complained.
“It will do you good to drink a little less, eh?” Noah asked with a laugh and patted Gunner’s stomach. He had a bit of a belly.
“Hey, Maddison likes it,” Gunner hedged. “She says if I start with the dad bod, the dad bit will follow soon enough.”
Noah sorted. “That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.”
“Not that stupid,” I pointed out. “You want the whole family scene, don’t you?”
Gunner shrugged. “It’s not so bad. I always thought I wasn’t cut out for that shit but with Maddison…I guess I can see myself settling down.” He looked around the Cavaliers HQ. “It’s hard to imagine we were the ones coming up in the ranks once upon a time, and now we’re talking about having kids. Or rather, I’m talking about having kids. You guys…you’re already there.”
We all nodded, thinking about what Gunner had said. We’d been the kids, the ones our dads had high hopes for, and now we were becoming the dads with the high hopes. I just didn’t know if I wanted to subject Ben to the kind of pressure that came with all of this––with being a Steele and a Cavalier…but it was a part of who we were. I didn’t even know who I was without the legacy passed down to us and my parents' pressure to work harder, be better, and make a bigger name.
Jade wasn’t like that. She was different in every way, sweet and caring and unassuming. She was unapologetically herself, and being with her taught me to be the same.
“So…are you guys going to tell me what the hell is going on, or what?” Gunner asked.
I had half a mind to screw with him and not tell him anything but I decided against it.
“Jade and I are together,” I said.
“Jade…the nanny?” Gunner asked. “Oh, talk about juicy gossip.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Well, she’s not a nanny anymore. She’s my girlfriend.”
“What happens if you get a new nanny?” Gunner asked. “Will that be weird?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t think I’m getting a new one. I think I will ask Jade to move in with me, and we’ll figure it out together.”
