Page 21 of Winning the Dad

Sawyer swallowed. “For another hookup?”

Fuck this. I was too old to play games. I bridged the last bit of distance between us. “No, Sawyer. Because this is not just sex, and we both know it. What we have… This is special. This is more. This is…this could be…love.”

There, I’d said the word, hard as it had been to put myself out there. But I wasn’t afraid anymore of making a fool of myself or being rejected. I was far more scared of letting this man walk out of my life and never seeing him again.

“Love?” Sawyer’s voice was barely above a whisper. “You mean that?”

“I could fall in love with you…real easily.”

He swallowed again. “So not straight, then.”

“Very much not straight. I like you, Sawyer. I really, really, really like you. I want to give this a chance. Give us a chance. I’m not interested in anything casual. I want the real thing. The forever thing.” I was laying everything in my heart in his hands, encouraged by the emotions playing over Sawyer’s face. I cupped his cheek. “What do you say, baby? Want to see where this could go?”

Tears sprang in his eyes. “Yes,” he said hoarsely. “Yes, I do.”

Telling our kids was scary, but they took it well once we explained we hadn’t known each other’s identity when we’d metand that nothing about us getting together had been planned. But Romero—who looked as pale as a sheet—had questions. Questions he didn’t want to ask in public, so I asked Sawyer and Lucas to go back to Sawyer’s room so my son and I could talk in private.

“Are you okay with this, buddy?” I asked when they had left.

Romero slowly nodded. “It’s not that I have issues with Sawyer, with him being Lucas’s dad, I mean. But I don’t understand how you thought you were straight for so long.”

That made two of us. “I wish I had an explanation for you, but I don’t. All I know is that the second I met Sawyer, something sizzled between us, and I was drawn to him. It had nothing to do with him being a man. I just…connected with him.”

My son let out a dry chuckle. “Considering how hard I fell for Lucas, it would be hypocritical to say I don’t understand. Lucas is a lot like his father, so…”

“I’m serious about him,” I said softly. “I need you to know that. This isn’t some casual fling. Sawyer and I haven’t had a chance to talk about our future, but I want him. I want a future with him.”

He snorted. “You’re not the type for hookups and one-night stands, Dad. I know. I want you to be happy. More than anything, I want you to find love again and be happy. It’s been so long since Mom died, and you’ve been alone all that time.”

My throat grew tight. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. Yes, I’ve been lonely, and I’m so glad you understand.”

Romero’s eyes had grown moist. “I’d ask for a hug, but I don’t want you to get sick.”

I got up and pulled him into my arms. “I don’t care. I’ll always be your dad first, buddy. I love you so, so much, and nothing will ever change that.”

He hugged me tightly. “I know, Dad. You’ve been the best dad ever, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for both ofus…” He let go of me and grinned. “If you guys get married and you take his last name, we’ll still have the same last name, you and me.”

I laughed for a long time, but inside me, hope flared. I wouldn’t mind that. I wouldn’t mind that at all.

EPILOGUE

JACK

Six Months Later

“Is that the last of it?” I asked as I hauled a box out of my truck, prepared to schlepp it into our house. “We’re done?”

Sawyer nodded. “That’s it. Other than the stuff I have in storage, obviously.”

He followed me as I carried the box inside and shut the door behind me. “I love seeing you all sweaty,” he said with an appreciative glance at me.

“Is that why you kept telling me to put on a coat, even though I was sweating my ass off?”

“Honey, there’s snow outside. It’s freezing. I don’t want you to get sick.”

I snorted. “It’s thirty-nine degrees, which is not freezing, and that snow is barely more than a dusting. Dramatic much?”

But I understood. For someone from San Diego, the climate here was quite the change, especially since we were in the dead of winter. It was one of the reasons I hadn’t assumed Sawyer would be willing to move here, but he had. He’d passedthe Washington state bar with flying colors and been instantly hired by a prestigious law firm. He’d work partly remotely and commute to Seattle for the rest. I was so proud of him…and grateful he’d been willing to make the move.