Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
“Good enough for me.”
William was surprised, but Solomon didn’t linger to enjoy it. He was still too damn cold.
“Younger, wait.” William called, but he’d already opened the door and come to a surprised stop in the entry.
It was a full house of Finns.
“Did I miss a newsletter?”
Rory and his cousin Owen were sitting on the reclining couch, playing a videogame one of them must have brought with them. Twins, Stephen and Seamus were chatting at the kitchen table with Noah and Wyatt, who were joking with each other as if there’d never been any tension between them.
Jake was in the kitchen with his grandfather while Shawn tried to teach him and his brother Wes the art of flipping the perfect pancake, while Brady and James looked on in silent amusement.
What were they all doing here this early in the morning? He didn’t see the new babies, his cousin Jen or young Penny. Even Aunt Ellen was nowhere to be found. “Have the women and children finally kicked you out of their clubhouse?”
William came up behind him and clapped him on the back. “I tried to warn you what you were walking into. No women. No partners. Just Finn men and bacon. If this becomes a new tradition while I’m gone, save me a seat.” He stepped around Solomon heading to the kitchen.
It really was too early for this.
“Here,” Brady said, showing up at his side with a steaming cup. “Hot coffee. Take it upstairs and defrost yourself in the shower. We’ll have breakfast ready by then.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Celebrating your triumphant return? Dirtying up your dishes? Take your pick.”
There was a time when he used to intimidate all of them. They never would have pulled something like this back then, converging on his house uninvited and cooking him breakfast.
He wasn’t smiling as he climbed his narrow stairs.
Definitely not.
The water was scalding but he was too cold to complain. As he let the pounding spray warm his chilled limbs, he wondered if this was another Finntervention.
If so, it was doomed to fail, the same as the others. At least this time it came with pancakes and bacon.
He was a hopeless case. Seamus and Bellamy, Ken and Brady, even Uncle Shawn had given him the talk. The one that made everything clear and solved all their relationship problems. And each time, he’d taken their advice. He’d genuinely tried.
Nothing took.
At least he’d had a taste of what the rest of them had found. The passion and connection they’d built with their partners. That’s what he’d regretted before, that he hadn’t been strong enough to take what Hugo had offered.
Now he knew. And even if someone had warned him how it would end, he knew he would still do it again. In his mind, the time they’d had together was worth the pain he was feeling now. He only wished he’d been able to be what Hugo needed.
By the time he’d dried off and dressed in a thermal and a pair of old jeans still stained with faded yellow paint, everyone was filling their plates and making themselves at home.
If he was going to throw a Finn Again, he needed to remind himself to get a bigger table. “Any bacon left?”
“As long as you’re around,” William mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.
Solomon cuffed him lightly on the back of his head. “Watch it, leprechaun.”
“Here’s a plate, Younger.” Rory handed him the heaping pile of food with a grin. “No egg whites. We’re loading up on carbs for winter. Deal with it.”
Solomon was surprised his little brother was still so slender, the way his boyfriend loved to cook. “I’m not turning this down. Though I would still like to know why everyone’s here without their significant others and the women are missing.”
“The women were all surprised last night with free salon and spa treatments. They decided to go out for breakfast and make a whole day of it.” Seamus and Stephen shared an identical look before watching him find an available seat beside them.
“All of them?”
Owen swallowed his bacon with a groan. “So good. And not all of them. The little ones are being looked after by Aunt Essie and Aunt Fiona, who volunteered for the duty. But all of the other women plus Jeremy are at the salon.”
“Plus Jeremy?”
“You know wherever Tasha and Jen go, they always end up dragging him along.”
Solomon’s lips twitched at the idea of the artist suffering through a seaweed wrap for the women’s amusement. “You’re just jealous you weren’t invited.”
“Not even a little bit,” Owen grimaced. “Especially not when we’ve got tickets for the start of the college football season. We can survive without pedicures, and I don’t even care how cold it gets today, some things in a man’s life can’t be replaced.”
“Football? We’ve got football tickets?” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gotten to enjoy a game with his family. “Count me in.”