AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leo reached for my hand again. “Thanks, hon,” he whispered. He turned away but not before I saw the tears in his eyes.
“We’re home!” Ford exclaimed as he and Felix walked into the kitchen, only to frown when he noticed Leo. “For fuck’s sake, really?”
Pop shot him a look. “Language.”
“I am twenty-one years old now. I’m an adult,” Ford reminded him “And a huge rockstar. I can swear all I want.”
Dad stood up. “And you’re still living in our home, so you’ll be respectful of us while you’re here. You can swear all you want when you’re alone or with your friends, but there could be little ears in this house.”
“Are you fostering more kids?” Lucas asked, shoving a piece of pizza into his mouth. He moaned softly and reached for a second one. “Shit, this is good.”
Ford scowled as he narrowed his eyes at Lucas. “No warning for your golden boy?”
“You love me.” Lucas wiggled his brows, and Ford’s face flashed with anger. The two of them had butted heads in the beginning, but I thought we were over that.
Felix stepped forward. “Are you? Fostering more kids?” He glanced around the room before he gave a small smile to Leo. “I think that would be great. Ford and I will probably get our own place soon. You’ll have the extra space.”
“There’s no rush for the two of you moving on,” Dad assured him and reached out to pull him closer. “I want all my kids at home as long as possible. We have two rooms available. Your father and I met with the agency a couple of days ago. There are two boys who need a home. Brothers.”
I coughed softly. “I could move into the guesthouse.”
We had talked about that briefly before the band blew up. Of course, Leo was supposed to move in with me. I could feel himstaring at me, and when I finally turned to look at him, I saw sadness written all over his face.
“Ricky, I—”
“It’s fine.” He held up his palm. “You can do whatever you want now. We’re not together.”
And it broke my heart all over again just to hear him say that. Because it was all my fault.
I opened and closed my mouth several times as I tried to come up with the right thing to say. But maybe that was something I should have done instead of breaking up with Leo. I wanted to gather him in my arms, kiss the frown from his face, and tell him how much I loved him. How much he still meant to me. But it was like my arms didn’t work or my brain couldn’t get them to move. I just stared at him, hoping he could see it on my face. Or read my mind. Or both.
Leo gave me a small smile as he picked at his pizza, pulled the pepperoni off, and ate it. “I was thinking of getting my own place myself. I love living with Noel, but he has Wyatt and Seth now. It’s their house. I’m just living there. If I had a house, I could decorate it any way I wanted. Do whatever I wanted.”
“Nonsense.” Dad waved a hand in the air. “You know they all love having you there.”
Over my dead body was Leo getting his own place. That meant he could bring whoever he wanted there, into his bed and...
“Move in with me in the guesthouse.” I heard the words as they escaped from my lips. Like vomit.
“Oh, shit,” Lucas murmured.
Ford smacked the back of his head with the palm of his hand.
Pop sighed as he shook his head. “Ford, don’t hit your brother.”
“And don’t swear,” Dad added, which earned him a kiss from Pops. Still gross, but at least they were still madly in love with one another. It was sort of cute.
“Please, I like it rough.” Lucas didn’t even flinch when he said it. He only grinned like an idiot.
Our parents simply ignored what he said. Sometimes the fact that he had no filter was a bit much. Especially right now.
Leo was staring at me with surprise and shock in his blue eyes. “That’s a terrible idea,” he whispered, but his ears burned pink, and hope began to bloom inside of me.
Give me an inch, baby, because I will take a mile.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea.” Dad clapped his hands together. “To have all my boys back home again will be so amazing. I mean, you and Andy will have your own house basically, but you can still come over for dinner, and we can hang out. Oh, Leo, boo, don’t say no yet. Just think about it before you answer. We can redecorate the entire place any way you want.”
If there was one thing Leo hated, it was disappointing my father, and Dad was laying it on thick today. I was sort of proud of him. I knew he was on my side.
