Page 17 of Mate Matched: Xavier & Brady
I only calmed down when I got his text.
Brady
My heat is next week. You ready?
Another heat with Brady? Was this a sign? With my divorce nearly final, could we be something more at last?
Xavier
I’m in.
Eight
Brady
“Yousureyou’reokay?”Jae’s keen gaze was locked on me while I cradled his newborn, Leo, and fed him his bottle.
Avoiding his scrutiny was impossible. Jae had let it go last week when I’d dropped by unannounced and taken over baby duties so the new dad could get a shower. This time I knew I wasn’t going to be so lucky. I tried to keep my focus on Leo and his bottle, ensuring he didn’t guzzle the entire bottle in one go.
“Yeah, I’m good. How’s Marty getting on with his dating profile?” I aimed for nonchalance. Judging by Jae’s frown, I failed. Still, his manners allowed me to get him off topic for a moment.
“He’s being pretty tight-lipped over it, but I know he’s had a couple of high rated matches in only a week!” Jae fixed me with a glare. “Don’t change the subject. You guard your phone like it’s gold. You don’t want to discuss Xavier, even though I knowyou’ve been seeing him, and your heat is coming up.” He ticked each complaint off on his fingers.
Jae took a seat in the armchair, his butt hovering on the edge, ready to jump into action. “Normally you’re an open book—maybe too open—not this time, or for your last heat either. I know I’ve been busy with Leo, Curtis, the lawsuit, and the book—”
“I think I’ve messed up.”
Jae leaned so far forward I was worried he was going to fall. “How?”
It took me a few minutes, but I explained the last heat with Xavier, how we’d entered into this friends with benefits thing. I told him how I’d ghosted Xavier for a couple of weeks, when it all got too real. Then I voiced my worries about Gio and his looming presence in Xavier’s life. I even went as far as showing Jae the messages from Gio where he threatened me.
“Brady, you need to tell Xavier about Gio. You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong for him to act this way. If anything, he’s lashing out at you because he knows he’s wrong for what he did to you and Xavier.”
“Yeah, I know. I just don’t want to open that can of worms. The divorce is finally going ahead and most of their ties are cut now with the apartment sold.”
“Okay, so why aren’t you making things official with Xavier? You like him, don’t you? He wouldn’t be going through all this if he didn’t like you back, so what’s the issue?”
“It’s really stupid,” I admitted with a wry grin. Leo had finished his bottle, so I laid him on my shoulder to burp him.
“Here.” Jae held out a cloth for me to put under him. “You are never stupid. Neither are your feelings.”
“I’m recessive.” Jae jolted. I’d never told him because it hadn’t been important. “If Xavier went back to Gio, he could have thefamily he wants. With me, there’s a strong chance that won’t happen.”
“Are you sure he wants kids?”
“He’s said so before. It’s why we didn’t use anything for my heat.”
Jae’s face grew extra serious. “No. Has he said they’re a deal breaker for him? Would he leave you if he couldn’t have them with you?”
His words stayed with me throughout the rest of my visit and even into the following day, mainly because I couldn’t answer him. Had I ever asked Xavier if kids were a deal breaker? No, I hadn’t. I knew how hard Malik and Chen had fought to have their own baby, so I knew if Xavier was serious about me, he’d put the same dedication into it as they had.
How important were biological kids to an alpha? I didn’t have many alpha friends I could ask. Curtis would have given a cutesy response about love being more important than biology. There were three men in my life I could ask: my alpha dad and my alpha brothers.
Seth and Noah, the twins, were the easiest to get in touch with. They had a security firm together. I’d asked them once if they ever got sick of each other, not fully expecting an honest answer. Noah had told me they fought sometimes, though it was rare. They knew the tells better than anyone else and could fix things before they got out of hand.
They’d always been together, lived in the same house still, even though they earned enough to have their own places. I envied their bond, always feeling like there wasn’t enough room for me between them. I couldn’t imagine them both mated. Their mates would have to be really close, too. I didn’t think they could handle being apart for long.
I pitched my question to Seth first. “If your omega couldn’t give you kids, would that bother you?”
