He gave her his most winning smile. “If you schedule it, there’s less chance of me screwing it up again.”
She pursed her lips. “All right, give me this doctor’s name and number.” A few minutes later she called through his office door. “Dr. Palmer says she can see you the day after Thanksgiving at 11 a.m.”
“Sounds good to me.” It was only a few days’ wait. Under normal circumstances, he might have taken any flimsy excuse to skip the appointment, but he’d really intended to go see the therapist. He had questions that needed answers. Except . . . this way he’d have a little longer to figure things out before he had to face any major decisions about Dalton.
They fell into a pattern. Sometime in the evening, Tierney would call Dalton or text, and sooner or later one of them would suggest a sleepover—always at Tierney’s place, because of the cat.
Truthfully, that was fine with Dalton. He liked the condo—the size and airiness of it. The furniture was ugly, but he could overlook that. He was mostly focused on the guy who owned it.
Thanksgiving morning, Tierney was still in bed, half-asleep when Dalton was out of the shower, dressed, and about to leave to meet his brother and sister. “It’s nearly noon.” He sat on the edge of the mattress.
“I’m being lazy.” Tierney took Dalton’s hand and tugged on it, trying to get him to lie down again. “Are you sure you have to go? If you blow off your family, I’ll ignore mine.” He grinned like a kid, the side of his face smashed into a pillow, and hair sticking out all over.
Scratching fingernails lightly down Tierney’s back made his eyes shut, and elicited a sigh from him. “I have to meet them. They all take turns skipping holidays with our parents so I won’t be alone. I can’t really blow them off when they make that kind of sacrifice.” Although, if it was left up to him, Dalton would ignore the existence of the holidays altogether. No matter how many times Andrea rolled her eyes and insisted, “It’s not a sacrifice to avoid Mom’s questions about my love life, and speculations on whether I’ll die alone,” he still felt guilty for taking them away from the rest of the family.
“Wish not being with my family on holidays was a sacrifice,” Tierney muttered, then he pushed up onto his elbow and leaned close for a kiss. “See you tonight?”
“Yeah.” At the club for Sam’s Thanksgiving extravaganza and machination. As if he needed to machinate to get them together at this point, but Dalton hadn’t told his friend just how much time he was spending with Tierney now. “You’re sure you’re up for that?” He didn’t add the obvious comment about there being alcohol.
“If I can’t hack it, I’ll leave.” He shrugged. “Besides, Ian will be there.”
Ian again. Dalton stood, but was still tethered by Tierney’s hand, fingers wrapped around his. “I should go, or I’ll be late.” Not true, he had plenty of time, but better to flee than to ask about Ian. He couldn’t deal with Tierney’s feelings for another guy right now, “just friends” or not.
“You okay?” Tierney’s brow was folding into his confused V.
“Totally.” Bending to give him a quick kiss, Dalton managed to free his hand when he straightened up again. “I’ll see you later. Have a good day.”
Tierney snorted. “With my family? Sure.”
Even worried about how Tierney would handle the club, Dalton was more pleased than annoyed to be going out Thanksgiving night. It gave him his own thing to do for the holiday; something removed from his family, that didn’t remind him his own mother and father would rather pretend he didn’t exist.
Andrea and Luke were waiting out in front of the Kok Won Dim Sum Restaurant, along with a crowd of mostly Asian people. The place was cavernous and the decor reminded him of his high school cafeteria, but all the dim sum restaurants in the area had the same vibe.
“How long is the wait?” Dalton asked after hugging his brother and sister. Kok Won was always packed, and they usually had to hang out over an hour whenever they came here.
“Only a few more minutes,” Luke responded, jerking his head at Andrea. “She got here really early and put our names on the list.”
Andy smiled. “It’s my Christmas present to you both. Don’t expect any other gifts.”
After they were seated and had picked out a dozen dishes from the various carts wandering the restaurant, Luke kept the family love rolling, turning to their sister. “So, when are you getting married?”
Her only response was to give him a narrow-eyed, down the nose, you’re so not funny look.
Luke smirked. “I just thought I’d introduce a little taste of the holiday cheer at Mom and Dad’s for you.”
It was amusing, in a way, but . . . “So, Luke, when are you getting married?” Dalton smiled at his brother’s horrified expression.
Andrea snorted laughter.
Unfortunately, Luke recovered fast. “The only one of the three of us that has a boyfriend is you.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” Oh, he’d said that far too quickly to be believed. But still. “I told you, we’re just friends.”
“Who is it?” Andy demanded, pointing her chopsticks at him.
“That’s considered very rude in China,” Dalton informed her, adjusting the napkin in his lap. Not that he actually knew, but it seemed rude.
She rolled her eyes but lowered the utensils. “How come I don’t know about this but Luke does?”
Luke grinned evilly, in contrast to the fake innocence of his voice. “Oh, he didn’t tell you about Tierney?”
“Tierney?” Andy shrieked, then clamped her lips shut as people turned to look at her. They didn’t stay that way long, though. “You’re still hanging around with him?” she hissed across the table.
“Yes.” He shrugged, but it was difficult under the weight of both his brother’s and his sister’s scrutiny. “Really, we’re only friends. And I told you, he’s nothing like the way he used to act.”
“‘Used to act’? How do you know he won’t go back to his old ways? What if this is the act, Dalton?”
“It’s not. That was the act.”
“A leopard can’t change his spots.”
“Exactly.”
She glowered, and opened her mouth to say more. So Dalton threw his brother under the bus. “How long have you been looking for a boyfriend, Luke?”