“You think?”
Rick chuckled. “Call it a hunch.” Sobering, he took my hand. “Listen, I would never try to talk you out of that because I know it’s who you are.” He held my gaze, brow pinching slightly. “But there’s something I want to do for you. And yes, it’s financial, but if you’ll accept it—and I’ll understand if you won’t—I think it’ll take some stress off you, whether you stay with the firm or not.”
I drew back, eyeing him uncertainly.
He swallowed. “Will you accept it at face value? That I want to do this for you and not because I’m trying to buy you or anything like that?”
The thought of taking money from him didn’t sit well with my pride, but I couldn’t help being moved by the sentiment of the gesture. I cleared my throat. “Okay. Yeah. I can accept that.” I chewed my lip. “What exactly am I accepting?”
He ran his thumb along the back of mine. “I want to pay off your kids’ college.”
I blinked. “Come again?”
“Tuition. Books. Housing.” He waved his free hand. “Whatever they need. That way they can focus on their studies without sweating over money, and you don’t have to work yourself into the ground either.”
My pride wanted me to jump up and refuse his offer, but I just stared at him, disbelieving. Not that he was willing to part with some money—God knew it would be a drop in the bucket for him—but that he cared enough about my kids and me to do that.
“I don’t… I have no idea what to say.”
“Just say yes or no,” he whispered. “I haven’t met them, but I know they’re your world, and they’re a huge part of why you’re killing yourself for Mitchell & Forsythe. It’s not a judgment of your ability to take care of them and provide for them. I know damn well you can and will pay their way, whatever it takes. This is a gift from me to you. Because I love you.”
“I love you too, and I…” I shook my head. “My God, Rick. I just can’t believe you’d…”
“Jon.” He kissed me gently. “I don’t just want to make you happy in the bedroom. And I’ve seen how much of a toll it’s taken on you to finance their education. What kind of partner would I be if I stood back and let that keep eating away at you and them when I could do something about it?”
I searched his eyes. “Are you sure about this?”
“Absolutely.”
If it had been anything else—paying off my mortgage, buying me a car, putting a Rolex on my wrist—I’d have balked, but this went so far above any kind of gift he ever could have given me. There was nothing more important to me than my children, and he was willing to give them their education. He was willing to make sure they didn’t graduate college with the heavy burden of student loans.
“Thank you,” I whispered, drawing him in for another kiss. “I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for that.”
“You already have.”
I pressed my lips to his, and then I pulled him even closer.
As we wound each other up again and turned each other on, hands running all over skin and cocks hardening between us, our conversation was never far from my mind. Even as he melted away my ability to form a coherent thought, one last thing remained in my mind, clear as day:
That I’d been the stupidest man alive to let him go for anything, and I was the luckiest man alive to have him back.
Epilogue
A couple of years later.
From the passenger seat, Rick smiled at me. “So how does it feel to be the dad of a college graduate?”
“Pretty amazing.” I grinned as I pulled the car into a parking space. As I put the car in Park, I added, “Kind of old, but amazing.”
He laughed, patting my leg. “Just wait and see how old you feel when you’re walking her down the aisle.”
“I am so not ready for that.”
“You have plenty of time to get ready for it.” He leaned across the console and kissed my cheek. “I mean, three months is enough time, right?”
I tried to glare at him, but we both laughed. I slid my arm around his shoulders and kissed him.
We exchanged glances. Oh, he knew he was in for it tonight. That little smartass comment had earned him a cock cage tomorrow unless he redeemed himself after we got home. Knowing him, he’d try his damnedest. I couldn’t wait.
But that would come later. Assuming either of us had any energy left after Kelsey’s graduation this afternoon, and the celebratory dinner we were about to have with the whole clan.
I shut off the engine, and we headed into the restaurant.
This place didn’t take reservations, and we had a large group since Karen, the kids, and all of their respective partners would be here, so Rick and I had come in early to make sure we got a table. The employees rearranged some tables in the back to make one big one, and the hostess seated us. The whole process hadn’t taken long at all, so we had the table to ourselves for the next twenty minutes or so.
I sat down and set Kelsey’s gifts on the chair beside me.
Rick stayed on his feet. “Budweiser, or see what’s on tap?”