Free Flare by Posy Roberts

even.”
    “What’s going on?” Hugo asked, easily reading beyond the surface flirting. It was unusual for Kevin to get this way, for him to be sentimental while Hugo was away on a job. He had always been more pragmatic about work-related separations, which was one reason Hugo felt supported in taking the jobs he did. Kevin encouraged him to focus on roles that would be career advancing so he could work less for more money rather than working several piddly jobs that required months of work for a measly paycheck.
    In the past, Hugo had teased Kevin that he just wanted to make Hugo his housewife, not really believing a word that came out of his own mouth or even being able to get the accusations out without smiling around them. A few days after that conversation, Kevin had first brought up hiring a nanny, saying Hugo had already put aside his career long enough to care for Kevin’s family, and now it was time Hugo focused on his work.
    As the months passed after Erin’s death and Hugo eventually came up for air, he realized how stagnant his career had become. He’d readily jumped into the role of caregiver to the kids and then Erin. He liked that he was needed there. It didn’t hurt that being a caregiver fit really nicely with what he was good at. Years of being a theater director had taught him to manage fifty things at once, solve problems on the spot, and make sure everyone around him had what they needed to perform. As a director, that worked well. He could eventually come home and just be. But living on the edge like that for months and months without a break was a lot harder.
    These ten days of acting, even if they were exhausting, were still quite rejuvenating. He could come back to his hotel room and do nothing at all. He could order from room service or soak in the pool or even work out. Or he could go to bed early and not think twice about anyone but himself. He missed Brooke and Finn like crazy, but it had been a welcome break too. It would all be different when he went home now, but Hugo was grateful for Rowan and happy to hear she was doing so well with the kids.
    Luckily, Kevin had the money to pay for a highly recommended nanny, and from what he’d said, she was doing a great job. Hugo didn’t want to admit aloud how much of a relief it was to let go even a little of that responsibility, because he loved Brooke and Finn very much, but it was hard work being their… dad. He’d never planned on being a father figure of any sort, only on being an actor, a director, and a drag queen—possibly a drag mother someday, but that was it. Being a dad was harder by far.
    For all intents and purposes, that was how the kids saw Hugo, Finn even saying Papa from time to time. Brooke never did. He was just Hugo or her friend . My dad’s boyfriend was uttered on occasion when she was talking to her closest friends on the phone, like Serena, her BFF.
    “Seriously, Kevin. What’s going on?” Hugo asked again when he didn’t answer. Kevin leaned forward and Hugo could see the light reflecting off tears in his eyes.
    “It’s just strange to see them with Rowan. That short red hair is probably about the length Erin’s would’ve been if she were still alive. It might have grown back that dark even.”
    Hugo tilted his head in empathy and pressed his lips together, emotion quickly filling his own eyes. He lay down, pulling his laptop closer so he could talk more comfortably. “It comes out of the blue sometimes, doesn’t it?” he asked.
    “Yeah,” Kevin said with a nod, the motion setting a tear free to trail down his cheek. “I miss her and wonder how things would’ve been, you know?”
    “Yep. I know exactly what you mean.” No jealousy. Hugo knew where Kevin was coming from, and despite Hugo’s past experiences with boyfriends, he knew Kevin loved him, even if Kevin was missing Erin at the moment. Hell, so was he.
    “We’d probably be fighting over whose weekend it was to have the kids by this point,