Page 171 of Contentious

“Luckily, I have no such fears.”

“He’s never seen me kiss a man before.”

“Never?”

“Not once ever.”

“Oh. Well…”

“Under normal circumstances, you wouldn’t even know him yet.”

“Nothing about this has been normal for either of us.”

“What’s normal look like for you?” she asked.

“Um, well…”

“Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am?”

Laughing, Carson said, “Not quite that bad, but close.”

“For me, too. Only the ‘ma’am’ was ‘sir.’”

“Tell me more.”

“That’s enough for now.” She kissed the top of his head and disentangled from his embrace.

“Where’re you going? It was just getting interesting around here.”

“To be continued.”

Carson’s phone rang with a call from the office. Shit. The meeting. He took the call. “I’m here. Sorry. Got sidetracked.”

“By your model girlfriend?” Jackson said.

Carson glanced at her. “Something like that.”

“Lucky bastard.”

“Enough about me. What’s going on there?”

“How are you feeling this morning, son?” Corbin asked.

“Just dandy.”

“He’s shacked up with a famous model,” Jackson reminded their father. “Of course he’s just dandy.”

“We’re very thankful the three of you are safe,” Corbin said.

“We are, too. Thank you.”

“It’s been… sobering… to realize how quickly we could lose one of you. Your, um… Your mother and I have been very upset about what happened to you, Carson. We hope you know, that you all know… how much we love you and want only the best of everything for you.”

Carson wished he could see his brothers’ faces. He was sure they must be as shocked as he was to hear their father get emotional about his children.

“Since you’ve joined our firms, we’ve become all business all the time, and the family connection has taken a back seat to the work. We’ve failed to tell you how proud we are of each of you for the men, women and attorneys you’ve grown up to be, and Carson, the best legal investigator in the business. We’re very proud, but we’re also incredibly sorry for everything we put you through after our divorce and how it’s affected your feelings about love and romance.”

“Dad…” Griffin said. “It’s fine. We’re fine.”