Chapter Twenty-six

When Bram rolled over, he was surprised to see that Devon was up before him and hadn’t bothered to wake him as he crawled out of bed. Even more surprising was when he turned to look at the clock, it was after 8 am. The door was closed, and it was quiet on the other side. Getting out of bed, he went to the door silently, listening to see if they were still here. At the moment, he wore nothing but his boxers.

“I’m telling you, dad never sleeps in because he hates it. Just make the eggs now that everything else is done, and I’ll go wake him up as you finish.” Devon laughed.

He heard a few pan clinking from the kitchen and her hushed response. “Yeah, but like you said, he never gets to sleep in. Let’s let him have this morning. He had a long hard day yesterday buddy, it might be nice for him to lay back and relax. Let his body tell him when to wake up.”

“The bacon and sausage will get cold.”

“Stop worrying. The meat heats up well, I just want to wait on the eggs.”

He stared at the door. Who makes breakfast in the suite kitchen when there’s room service they can call and order from? Chuckling he decided to surprise them. Opening the door, he stretched, yawning. “What the heck, guys? It’s almost eight o’clock, were you just going to let me sleep the day away.” Izabella’s green eyes were large as saucers, staring at him the moment he walked through the door. Devon glared at him.

“Dad, you could put some clothes on.” He ran to the couch and threw a blanket at him.

“Oh, sorry. Does it bother you when I walk around in my boxers? I always figured it’s like a swim suite anyway. No one else ever seemed to care.” His eyes met hers, and it was clear she was uncomfortable.

“I mean, wouldn’t you find it distracting if I was walking around in my underwear all day?” She made a face at him, “Anyway, would you like some eggs?” She asked, cracking some into a bowl. “I’m making Devon scrambled eggs, but I do make a mean sunny-side-up if you don’t mind me tooting my own horn.” She was already handing him a cup of black coffee before he invaded her kitchen.

“Well, with a toot like that, I’ll take the sunny eggs. And, though I might find you distracting walking around in your underwear, I wouldn’t complain.” He winked at her.

“Yeah?” She put her fists on her hips, “You would be perfectly fine with your son walking around with a nanny who only wears underwear?” She raised a brow at him.

His smile faded a little as he looked over at Devon, who was now giggling. “Ugh, fine. I’ll go get dressed. Certainly don’t want to distract you.” He said over his shoulder.

He could tell she was sticking her tongue out at him behind his back, and as he closed the door he heard her whisper, “How is that Greek god-like body not supposed to be distracting. Acting like I’m being crazy for wanting him to get dressed.” There was a pause, and he listened more carefully. “Ugh, maybe I am crazy. I want to watch him walk around in his damn underwear.”

That last part made him chuckle as he pulled on his jeans. He thought about leaving the shirt off, but decided he should just do as she asked for now. It would be immensely satisfying if she asked him to take it off. “For crying out loud, Bram. Can’t you think of anything else?” He clicked on his phone, opening his mile long to-do list. He was scrolling through as he sat at the table, pulling his coffee close. She was just putting Devon’s eggs on her plate as he took his seat. “So, top of the list buddy, we need to figure out what the last nanny did with your birthday plans. What did you guys decide on?”

“Deborah called it a gala or something dumb. She said I could invite the kids from the orphanage, but I didn’t. She was making it all fancy and they would have felt real weird.” His son looked at him with sad eyes.

“So, she planned a party for herself?” He felt his shoulders sag a bit. This was why he disliked people in general. He couldn’t even trust these women to plan his son’s birthday part without putting out what they wanted instead. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Devon frowned up at Bram, “You would have gotten mad.” His voice sounded so small and worried.

“Of course I would have.” His voice got hard, he didn’t miss the way Izabella moved to stand behind him.

“Bram.” She said his name softly, running her hands through Devon’s black hair. “He was willing to sacrifice his birthday to keep you from getting mad. Please, what’s done is done. At least we have some time to fix it.” She rubbed Devon’s arm, “Right, kiddo?” Bending his head back, he shared a smile with her.

Even despite the hard time he gave them the day before, they seemed to roll with the punches well together. Devon was also smiling a lot more, though his annoyance with his dad was bigger than it ever had been before. Bram sighed, putting his phone down. “You’re right, Izabella. So, what is it that you would like to do on your birthday, Devon? Remember, it can be anything. We’re celebrating our first year together.”

“I want to see my friends from the orphanage. I don’t really need anything else, so I want to bring them stuff. And I want lots of pizza and cake!” He didn’t miss the proud gleam in Izabella’s eyes. Had she tried to sway him with this desire?

“That is a really sweet idea, you sure you don’t want to invite them on an outing instead? I bet they’ve never been to the zoo, or an amusement park. That could be fun.” She turned back to the stove and pulled off the eggs, placing them on a plate and placing it in front of Bram. A moment later she had broken two more into the same pan and started cooking her own breakfast.

“Can we do that too?” Devon looked over at him, his eyes wide and excited. When Bram had first mentioned celebrating his birthday on the day he was adopted, he’d been this excited, but that had faded quickly. Probably because he wasn’t allowed to choose what he actually wanted, but what that other stupid nanny was forcing on him.

“We’ll do whatever makes you happy, buddy.” Bram smiled at him. “We can take them out for the day… then go back to the orphanage and shower them with as many presents as you want. Cake and pizza too.” He was making notes in his phone. “I’ll have to figure out how to make plans with the whole orphanage though. That’s going to take some planning. Is it okay if we don’t have the party on the day we decided is your actual birthday?”

“Yeah. As long as I can have my friends with me, I can wait.” Devon was suddenly shoveling food into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks.

“I actually know many of the women that run the orphanages in the area. I may be able to get something together if I can call and talk with them?”

Bram’s eyes went up, staring at her back. “How do you know them again?”

“Oh, I was an orphan. And my dad was a pastor, so we continued our relationship beyond the adoption. We gave to them regularly from what the parish brought in, and I volunteered with them after he passed away and had nowhere to go. So, I’ve been in touch recently. Getting permission shouldn’t be too hard, though we’ll need a signed release. Do you have a computer I could use to write up a request to hand out for each of the children?” She looked over her shoulder, lifting the pan from the stove.

“I do. But, I’d be happy to get you your own. By the way, I should get your cell phone number too. Incase I ever need to contact you and you’re out with Devon.” She made a plate, staying quiet as she settled in next to Devon.

“I’m sorry, I don’t have a phone. I’ll get one with my first paycheck if I can though.”