“Okay.” Liam leaned heavily against him.
“I brought over some tea that I think you’ll like. It’s very soothing,” Jude told him. “And I checked last night. There’s plenty of food to make you a good breakfast. Even lunch.”
“Thanks.” Liam didn’t try to move away though. “I’m not hungry yet.”
Jude wasn’t surprised. Liam wasn’t really a morning person. He turned his head at a hiss close to his side. “Your fat cat is hissing at me.”
“You keep calling him fat,” Liam reminded him. He rubbed his face against Jude’s chest.
“He’s not small.” Jude eyed the beast. “You aren’t small at all, are you, murder kitty?”
“Hades,” Liam corrected. “His name is Hades.”
“Murder kitty,” Jude hissed back at the cat.
The murder kitty huffed then flopped onto his back. Huh, the little beast was kind of cute.
“He only likes Nicky,” Liam told him. “He’s a traitor.”
Jude chuckled. “I’m sure he loves you just as much.”
“Only because I give him the best treats.”
Which explained why Hades was a big boy. Jude knew better than saying anything out loud. “If you’re not hungry now, I thought it might make you feel better if we spent some time in your playroom. That is, if you want?”
That got Liam’s attention. “Play?”
Jude drew Liam over to the couch so they could sit together. “I’m not going to pretend that I have all the answers.” It was important to be honest from the start. Jude owed Liam that. “I do know that I am very interested in a relationship with you. A Daddy and boy relationship.”
“Really?” Liam sounded so hopeful.
“I want to try again. With you. Only with you.”
Liam smiled wide. His poor chapped lips cracking. They had gotten worse overnight. “I want that too.”
“You aren’t a replacement for Sam,” Jude explained quietly. Well, he hoped he was explaining. “You are nothing like Sam for one. You are unique. Sweet. Wonderful. I want you, Liam. It’s important that you know that.”
“Thank you for telling me that. I might have wondered.”
“You can ask me questions,” Jude said. “Ask me anything. At any time.”
“Will you still talk about Sam?” Liam questioned. “Tell me about the two of you? If it doesn’t hurt too much. I would like to hear more about him.”
That surprised Jude. Made all the pieces inside him click together in the right order. He’d never wanted to go afteranother relationship because he didn’t want to forget Sam. To have to shove down the memories of Sam to make someone else more comfortable. “Do you really mean it?” He had to make sure.
“I do.” Liam clung to Jude’s hand. “You loved him. I don’t want to take that away from you. You can share him with me. I want you to share him with me. We can keep his memory alive together.”
Jude once again drew Liam closer. “Law wants to meet you.”
Liam giggled. “Really?”
“He’s quite insistent on it, actually. I told him that I’d ask if you wanted to join us for dinner this week,” Jude told him.
“I would love to!”
Jude knew that Liam was dying to meet Law. The two of them together? That was a recipe for trouble. He’d known that they were going to meet eventually, but maybe if he got ahead of it then he could pretend he had any sort of control.
Control was important to Jude.
