Played: Manhattan Ruthless - 2

Chapter

One

L uke’s excited squeals echo around the den, making Maddox and me laugh. I guide our nephew to the sofa, my hands around his waist as I make the sounds of an engine stalling. I jerk him, making him the plane that’s about to crash-land, and his shrieks grow louder.

“Now, Unca Mase, now!”

I bring us both crashing to the sofa, and his resulting giggles are loud and infectious.

“Mel is going to kick your ass getting him this worked up before bedtime,” Nathan says, eyeing me and his son with amusement. He’s already dressed in his tux for the second stage of Drake’s wedding celebrations this evening. Like our two oldest brothers and their wives, Drake and Amelia decided to get married at our family home in an intimate ceremony. Now they’re on a brief hiatus to decompress—which we all know is code for fucking—while an army of caterers and people with checklists on clipboards get the house ready for over two hundred guests.

Mel is Nathan’s wife and the only person in the entire world he’s afraid of. Much like Drake and Amelia, the two of them are sickeningly in love, and I’m sickeningly happy for all of them. Mel and Amelia are amazing women, and they keep my pain-in-the-ass older brothers on their toes. Safe to say I love them almost as much as I love my brothers.

“Again! Again!” Luke demands, already a pint-sized tyrant—he definitely gets the tyrant part from his dad.

“Can’t help it if I’m the fun uncle,” I tell Nathan with a shrug. “Besides, it’s a special occasion. Surely he can stay up a little later?”

“Yeah!” Luke proclaims, not understanding what he’s agreeing to given that he’s not yet two, but I admire his loyalty.

“Wrong, buddy.” Nathan picks up his overactive toddler, and my nephew protests loudly for a few seconds, but then Nathan chucks him beneath his chin, and Luke cuddles into his dad’s shoulder. “Special occasion or not, bedtime is nonnegotiable unless we want to deal with some epic overtired toddler tantrums.”

Having looked after Luke overnight on a number of occasions, I can confirm that him becoming overtired is no fun at all. I learned that lesson the hard way and haven’t strayed from his bedtime routine again. Nathan expertly manages his excitable son while Luke kisses Maddox and me goodnight.

The sounds of the wedding party being set up and our family in various stages of getting ready for tonight’s event filter through the house, and I sit on the sofa, wishing Luke could have hung around a little longer. I feel Maddox’s eyes on me, and when I glance at him, he’s staring at me with a curious look on his face.

“What?” I ask him.

“You’re really good with kids” is all he says, but it seems like he’s saying something more.

“Why, because I’m on their wavelength?” I default to our usual brotherly teasing, trying to avoid the deep conversation it feels like he wants to have. Maddox gets that look on his face when he’s about to say something profound. Where he’s deep as the Pacific, my emotional range is more akin to a puddle.

He shakes his head. “No, you’re just really good with Luke.”

That’s because he’s fucking adorable. I could sit and listen to Luke’s chatter all day. For a little guy with incredibly limited communication skills, he’s a whole lot of fun. I shrug. “I’m his uncle.”

“Yeah, but it’s just …” He rubs a hand through this thick beard. “You instinctively know what to do and how to make him calm, or laugh until he bursts.”

“Same as you, Drake, and Elijah can,” I remind him.

“Of course we can. But I’m not talking about being a good uncle. I’m talking about something more.”

I have no idea what he’s trying to say, but I’m ready to be done with the conversation. “Well, that’s because I’m the fun one, remember?”

“You’re so much more than that, Mase.” His intense brown eyes are locked on my face, and I can’t look away. “You ever thought about having kids?”

Damn, I wish I had a drink. “Are you fucking serious? Me? Kids?”

He leans forward in his chair, hands clasped between his thighs. “Why wouldn’t I be? You love kids. You’re amazing with them.”

I snort. “I’m also severely allergic to commitment.”

“That could change though. With the right circumstances. And technically, you don’t need to be in a relationship to have kids. Especially⁠—”

I interrupt. “Because I’m gay?”

He frowns. “Especially in the times we live in, and with the support and resources available to you, asswipe.”

I never should have made the gay comment, and I honestly don’t know where that came from. “What about you? Have you ever thought about having kids?”

He nods. “All the time, especially since Nathan and Mel had Luke, and then when she got pregnant with their second. Today made me think about whether I’d ever get married. It’s only natural to reevaluate your life choices when people close to you go through a huge life change.”

“Kind of hard to have kids when you’re celibate.”

He arches an eyebrow. “You’re really going to take a shot at my celibacy after you jumped down my throat?”

I wince. “Sorry. It’s what I do. Inappropriate humor is my thing.”

He hums, deep in thought, wise sage that he is. “Often the most sensitive souls hide behind humor.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t hide behind humor, Mad.”

“Never said you did,” he says. “I was talking about sensitive souls, which we both know you’re not.”

Now that’s more like it. He winks at me and stands. On his way toward the door, he passes by me and places his hand on my shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think you’d be an amazing dad, Mase. Or an amazing partner or husband for that matter. Maybe you could have everything you’ve ever wanted.”

He walks out of the room, and I stare after him, wondering how the hell we ended up here. Marriage? Kids? Me? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous. So what if I love spending time with my nephew? And I may have the occasional thought about what it would be like to have another person depend on me and how nice it might be to feel needed in that way—maybe by a kid or perhaps a partner or even a dog.

That doesn’t mean I’m not happy with my lifestyle. I do what I want when I want, and I don’t have to worry about upsetting or inconveniencing anyone else. My life is fast-paced, fun, and most importantly, easy. It’s exactly how I like it. I tried the whole deep and meaningful shit a long time ago, and it didn’t end well. I have no desire to ever go there again.

“That’s another James brother off the market,” Tyler says with a mischievous grin. “I can hear the hearts breaking all over New York tonight.”

I hand him another Scotch. “I think Drake has been off the market from the moment he set eyes on Amelia. But yeah, it was good to officially welcome her into the family.” I was shocked as hell when Drake fell for his secretary considering what a workaholic and commitment-phobe he was. But when I see the two of them dancing together on the balcony where he proposed to her on New Year’s, it all makes sense. A little over five months later, they’re married. New York in June makes for a beautiful wedding. Romantic bastard.

Tyler stands beside me, his arm bumping against mine, and we stare out at the New York skyline. “So that’s Nathan, Drake, and Elijah all happily married now. That only leaves …” He lets the unfinished sentence hang in the air. My oldest brother also got married this year—or rather remarried. He and his wife divorced because they made each other miserable as sin, then both realized they were more miserable without each other. Now, they’re two of the happiest people I’ve ever seen. Another of my brothers I’m undeniably happy for. Whatever broke, Elijah and Amber definitely fixed it. “I wonder who’ll be off the market next.”

I take a swig of my Scotch. “Well, given the choice between me and my celibate, Buddhist monk little brother, my money’s on him.”

Tyler laughs. “Mine too. I can’t imagine anyone ever being man enough to pin you down.”

I sigh and take another swig. “Although many have tried.”

He laughs again, his huge shoulders shaking with the force. “Like the bartender from that sex club.”

I roll my eyes. “Jesus fucking Christ, I forgot about him.” He wasn’t my usual type, but when a member of the Irish mob wants to set you up with someone, it’s not the kind of offer you turn down. Mikey Ryan told me about a guy who works at his club, Ben, who’s around my age, hot, and also gay, and assumed we’d be compatible.

The guy was hot, but we went on one date, and it was a disaster. It’s like with Tyler and me. He’s Mel’s cousin, and he’s become as much a part of our family as she is. I’m sure most of them keep expecting us to hook up at some point, and I get why. We’re both single, both into dick, and we get along great. What more could we want?

Tyler grins at me. “He didn’t seem your type though. Way too alpha and very up his own ass.”

I hum my agreement. “Yeah, but it was the fact he wanted to be up my ass that was the real problem.”

Tyler spits out a mouthful of Scotch and doubles over, coughing and laughing, while declaring his inability to breathe.

I slap him on the back. “Jeez, buddy. You used to be able to handle your liquor.”

He stands straight and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. “Fuck!” He lets out another chuckle. “Your dating stories never fail to entertain. I swear you have the most colorful love life of anyone I’ve ever known.”

That’s probably true, although lately it’s been decidedly less so. More like beige. The dating scene in Manhattan is growing old—or maybe I am. Or maybe I’ve already dated every unattached gay guy in the state. “Colorful? Is that a polite way of saying …?”

“That you’re a man-whore,” he replies, deadpan, folding his tattooed forearms across his chest. “Have you ever bottomed though? For anyone?”

Fuck, I do not want to open that can of worms. Not even with him. And besides, it was a different life, so it’s not exactly a lie when I shake my head and tell him no. “You?”

He shrugs and flashes me that grin that makes his dimples pop. “Occasionally. For the right guy.”

Well, that’s an interesting development. Tyler is all top energy, and I never considered that he could be a switch. On paper, he’s exactly my type. Tall, broad, tattooed, sparkling blue eyes. Funny as hell. “For the right guy, huh?”

He tilts his head to the side and rakes his eyes down my body. Fuck. We have had way too much Scotch and are far too alone in this room to be having this conversation. “That’s what I said.”

“And how does someone find themselves lucky enough to be that guy?”

He arches an eyebrow in challenge. “Keep smiling at me like that, Mase, and you might find out.”

As tempting as that offer is, and it is really fucking tempting, we can’t. Tyler is hot as fuck, and those dimples could bring a man to his knees. And maybe all this talk of weddings and kids is making me sensitive. But it’s his quick wit, his sharp mind, and his huge fucking heart that I love most about him, and for that reason, I would never risk losing him from my life—not even for the promise of a decent fuck, which I could definitely do with about now. He’s my best friend, and that’s all he’ll ever be.

I step closer and take his face in my hands. He doesn’t back down, instead holding my gaze. “You know I love you, don’t you?” That’s partly the Scotch talking, but it’s also the fucking truth.

He winks at me. “Yeah, I do.”

He’s such a goddamn flirt. I press a kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, handsome.”

He lets out a low but exaggerated sigh as I walk away from him. “G’night, Mase.”

After I go to bed, the conversation I had with Maddox replays over and over in my head. What if I could have everything I ever wanted? What would that look like? There was a time when I knew exactly how I wanted my future to pan out—and who I wanted to be in it. But like I told myself earlier when Tyler was asking me if I ever bottomed, that was a lifetime ago.