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door. Watching him go, Brandon spoke softly. "I hope
you're right, man. I hope you're right."
Smiling briefly, he quickly shook hands and took off
after the boy.
The Trouble with Angel - 56
Chapter 8
Upstairs in the penthouse, Brandon directed Trey out
to the terrace. "Let's sit out here for a minute, okay?"
They walked by the wide-eyed Marisa and pouty
Angel, who were sitting together at the breakfast bar,
munching on cereal. His fashionista was dressed in just
a tank T-shirt and dress pants, bare feet curled around
the stool rail. The luscious black hair was tousled. He'd
never seen Angel looking rumpled. It was kind of
delicious.
Angel's lip was curled around the spoon, which was a
trick, Brandon thought with a chuckle. Despite the
seriousness of the morning's activities, he had to laugh at
the snarly, gorgeous face watching him as he and Trey
moved through the suite.
"Sugar, we're going to talk for a few minutes, 'kay?"
Without giving the pretty-boy a chance to snipe at him,
he swiftly followed Trey outside.
Trey parked in a chair at the table, refusing to look at
Brandon. Brandon pulled out the flanking chair and sat
down, propping one foot on the other knee.
He tried a friendly tack. "Trey, I figure you and your
sister got a rotten deal -- no two ways about it. There's
no way I can understand all your pain, no way I can
know exactly what you're going through." He sighed.
"I... can tell you that, well, I lost my family when I was
eighteen." It was technically true. His parents had kicked
him out of their lives when he'd told them he thought he
was gay -- or at least, bi.
It was the first time he'd admitted that aloud for quite
a while.
Brandon paused as Trey briefly raised sad eyes at that
statement. "Trey, what happened to your parents
absolutely sucks. But..." He hesitated, then plunged. "It
The Trouble with Angel - 57
happened. There's no going back." He sighed again.
Trey eyed Brandon, then focused on his own fingers,
which were rubbing the edge of the table. He shrugged.
A non-answer.
"Here's the deal." Here goes nothing, Brandon
thought. "Legally, you and Marisa are supposed to live
with me. My lawyer has already gotten the court's
approval. That means that I'm going to provide a home
for you both... and... and, we're going to get to know
each other, all of us." He rubbed his jaw, nerves making
his foot bounce. "Your grandpa and I were, well, family.
He wanted to know you, but he never got the chance.
So, I guess... I'm his do-over."
Trey eyed him askance at that. The boy's green eyes
were suspiciously bright in the morning sunlight, and
Brandon thought he heard a sniffle as well. His chest
tightened at the sound.
"Look, kid, it's just going to take some time. We've
got to all give ourselves some time." Sighing again,
wishing he knew what the hell to say, he reached out to
the little boy, his hand grazing the short curls.
Inspiration struck as he heard Angel arguing with
Marisa in the kitchen. The two of them appeared to be
discussing the latest Shrek movie, with Angel loving it
and Marisa giving it a thumbs down. Despite the
seriousness of his situation out on the terrace, Brandon
had to admit the little girl tickled his funny bone.
"Hey, Trey, I'm going to need your help." He looked
over his shoulder, spotting Angel and Marisa almost
nose-to-nose over the breakfast bar. Angel was grabbing
her cereal bowl and slapping it down on the counter next
to the sink. Marisa was waving her spoon at his
fashionista, the five-year-old looking for all the world
like a schoolteacher chastising a student.
"See those two in there?" He jerked his head toward
The Trouble with Angel - 58
the quarreling twosome. "Those two are going to keep
us busy. And, on top of that, Angel's not going to want
to stay with us."
Trey looked at Brandon oddly. "Why?" He wiped his
nose with the back of his hand.
Knowing he needed Angel's help, Brandon was
prepared to do or say whatever it took to get CeCe's
gorgeous assistant locked into his plans. "See, the thing
is, Angel's going to be afraid, and nervous, and not
going to want to help me. We're going to have to gang
up on him. We can't let him take off on us."
The boy tilted his head, curiosity beginning to replace
the sadness. "What's he afraid of?" he scoffed.
"You'd be surprised, Trey." He snuck another glance
over his shoulder. Angel was watching him suspiciously
while Marisa grabbed one hand and began tugging
Angel toward the computer in the living room.
"See that look?" Watching Trey nod, Brandon knew
he'd hooked his interest. "Well, that's the look he gives
me when he's going to tell me no." That was not a lie.
Brandon had seen that look way too many times in
CeCe's office. "Anyway -- he's still a little sensitive
about anybody knowing about us."
The boy held up his hands with a shrug. "How
come?"
"Well, with me playing in the majors, I haven't been
able to be completely honest... about who I... who I am."
It had been vital to his career to keep his private life
quiet.
Green eyes that looked as though they could see
through him stared at him steadily. "You're always
supposed to be honest. My mom said so."
He should feel ashamed for manipulating this child.
And he was. A little. "I know. I know. But it's not
always that simple." He shook his head. "Anyway, I
The Trouble with Angel - 59
wasn't lying... exactly. I was... just not telling everybody
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