Page 108 of Stealing Home

“Sorry.” Gavin rubbed his palms against his jeans. “Long day.”

Dom watched him carefully for a moment, then lifted Lucia against his chest and stood from the floor. Gavin took a step back before he could stop himself, and Dom stopped too. The hurt that crossed his face made Gavin feel sick.

“Gavin.” Dom took a step toward him again, and Gavin forced himself to stay still. “Talk to me. What’s happening right now?”

Gavin couldn’t answer without saying something that would expose all his raw edges. Like how he’d walked through the door and seen how easily there could be a life here without him, or how Talia had reappeared after six months and looked like she just slid back into place like nothing had happened. He shook his head and pressed his lips together. He couldn’t explain how knowing she would be here hadn’t prepared him for seeing her sitting with Dom.

“I should let you finish,” Gavin said.

“We’re finished.”

Talia gathered the scattered rings and placed them on the post, then folded her hands in her lap. Gavin could feel her watching him. Heat crept up his neck, and his heart pounded hard enough to turn his stomach. He’d come here to make Dom’s evening easier, and now he was making a scene in his living room with Talia there to witness every uncomfortable second.

“Talk to me.”

Gavin looked at him and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wanted to ask what had happened and where he stood now. But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. He couldn’t ask whether Dom still wanted him while Talia sat a few feet away. He had no right to tell him that seeing Talia with Lucia had scared him more than it should have.

“Gavin, please,” Dom whispered. He held out his free hand. “Come here.”

Gavin stared at his hand. Dom was standing right in front of him, asking him to take it, and he couldn’t get past the thought of how much worse he would hurt if he lost this in another month or year.

“I’m gonna go.” He turned before Dom could answer.

“Gavin.” Lucia started to fuss behind him, and he heard Dom say something softly, the familiar reassurance he used to soothe her. Dom caught up with him at the front door with Lucia against his shoulder, slapping one fist on the door to keep him from opening it. “Will you just wait one fucking minute?”

Gavin stopped with one hand on the doorknob, but he turned to look at Dom.

“You told me not to decide what she was going to say before she said it.” Dom’s voice was low, but there was anger in it now. “I listened to you because that was good advice, but you won’t even give me the same chance.”

Gavin stared at the little fist curled in Dom’s shirt. He wanted to reach out and touch her cheek, let her catch his finger and pull it toward her mouth the way she always did. His gaze lifted to Dom’s face and the ache in his chest sharpened. He wanted to wrap his arms around both of them and stay there until he could breathe again. That was the problem. He wanted to stay so badly that he was afraid of hearing anything that might give him a reason to leave.

“I love you.” The words escaped before he could stop them, and Dom froze.

Gavin swallowed. He’d imagined saying those words somewhere quiet, when they were alone and Dom was close enough to kiss afterward. He hadn’t imagined standing by the front door, desperate to leave before he broke.

“I love you,” he repeated because whatever else he was getting wrong, he needed Dom to know he meant it. “And I love her. I didn’t mean for it to happen this fast, but it did.”

Dom’s lips parted and he looked as overwhelmed as Gavin felt.

“Gavin—”

“That’s why I need to go.”

Dom’s face fell. “What?”

Gavin looked at Lucia. Her cheek rested against Dom’s shoulder, wide hazel eyes fixed on him. “If there’s a chance for you to build a family for her, I can’t be the reason you don’t take it.” Dom stared at him, and Gavin forced himself to keep going. “Talia’s here. She came back, and maybe that changes things. Maybe it doesn’t. But you should get to figure that out without worrying about what it does to me.”

“You think that’s what I’m doing?”

“I think you’d do anything for Lucia.”

“Yes, I would.” Dom stepped closer. “But that doesn’t mean I want to be with her mother.”

Gavin sighed. “You don’t know how you’ll feel once you’ve had time to⁠—”

“I love you too.”

Gavin stopped breathing.