by Cara Dee
That was…quite the impressive rant.
I exchanged a brief look with Nicky, who had a pinch of amusement in his eyes and said, “If we don’t agree with him, we only have two deep-fried brain cells.”
“Correct,” Gideon agreed. Then he chewed on the inside of his cheek and clasped his hands in his lap. “Now I’m in the mood for fries. I told you we should get a fryer at home.”
“Then you’d be having fries every day.” Nicky reached up and kissed his cheek. “We talked about this.”
“I fail to see the problem,” Gideon muttered. He let out a breath and gathered the printouts of his proposal. “Do I have your agreement, gentlemen?”
Nicky flicked me a glance and nodded. “Yeah.”
I inclined my head too. I didn’t have it in me to put up a fight I had no interest in winning. Gideon would make it possible for us to take the Initiative several steps further. “You have it. And thank you, Gideon. For everything. I can’t describe what this means to me.”
“It means a lot to me too.” He smiled politely. “Your work is personal for me. I wish this type of assistance existed when I grew up.”
I hadn’t considered that perspective, and I should have.
Before I could respond, he side-eyed Nicky.
“I truly want fries.”
“Give the man his fries, bambino,” I blurted out. “In fact, make that my housewarming gift. Get yourself a fryer.”
For a quick second, it looked like Gideon was actually gonna fist-pump the air, which would’ve been an incredible sight.
“It’s rude to turn down a gift,” he replied smoothly. And the eyebrow went up, daring Nicky to defy him.
My brother just snorted and shook his head. “You’re the one who asked me to put a lid on your cravings, papi. But by all means, we’ll get a fryer.”
“Excellent.” Gideon looked ridiculously pleased.
It was nearing midnight when I decided to move my work upstairs and do some production research in bed on my laptop. I checked my phone as I flicked off the lights downstairs, and I hesitated to call Camden back now. Even though it was an hour earlier in Nashville, he was probably asleep.
I sent him a text instead.
I didn’t want to interrupt in case you’ve already gone to bed. Think about you all the time, and I miss you so much. Hope we can talk tomorrow instead. Sweet dreams.
Not ten seconds passed before his goofy grin appeared on my screen with his incoming call.
I smiled to myself and answered. “Isn’t it a bit late for you to be up, ragazzo?”
“Nuh-uh! Tonight is an exception, and I’m glad you texted because we need your help in approximately five seconds.”
“Oh yeah? What can I do for you?”
“You can buzz us in! Daddy’s paying the cab right now.”
I tensed up right there, with one foot on the first step on the stairs, and I swallowed hard. My body was evidently a lot quicker to catch the drift than my brain was.
“What do you mean, love?” I asked quietly.
“We’re here to see you,” Camden sang. A door was slammed shut in the background. “Okay, we’re coming! I have my bags. Buzz, buzz, buzz us in, pretty please.” He disconnected the call.
Was he serious?
With my heart in my throat, I stalked across the kitchen and the living room and into the entryway, where I pressed the buzzer and waited. If this was some joke, I didn’t know what I’d do with myself. Or how severely I’d punish Camden the next time we saw each other.
Moments later, I heard the unmistakable sound of our rickety elevator running.
Holy shit, were they here? Right fucking now?
I released a nervous breath and switched on the light in the living room again.
Then I heard them. I heard Camden snarl at something, and August said, “Easy, boy. I’ll grab your bags before you tear off the handle.”
“That’s the smallest elevator in the galaxy,” Camden huffed.
I grinned and felt my eyes sting with tears, so I sniffled and blinked back my emotions before I opened the door and saw them. My God, they were in New York. And they’d seemingly brought all of Nashville with them. I counted two rollaboard bags, two smaller pieces of luggage, and two backpacks.
“What on earth are you two doing here?” I asked.
Camden turned to me and beamed, and then he was running straight into my arms. “Hi! We’ve come to visit! Are you surprised?”
I couldn’t begin to describe just how surprised I was.
I hugged him tightly and couldn’t stop smiling against the beanie on his head.
“I hope it’s not a bad time, darlin’, but we couldn’t wait.” August’s voice—how I’d fucking missed it.
As soon as he was within reach, I pulled him to me too. “In my opinion, it’s been long enough.”
He cupped my cheek and kissed me, and the sheer happiness that bubbled up within me was goddamn surreal. Suddenly, I was alive again. Then it was as if someone lit a fire under me, and I wanted them to make themselves comfortable in my home.
“Let’s get youse settled.” I bent down and grabbed two bags, and Camden stayed plastered to me as I tried to get everything into the entryway. “I’ll take your jacket, ciccio.”
Camden felt that was the best time to start rambling. “I bet you’re wondering why we’re here, and it’s because Daddy finally understood that I know what’s best for us, and it’s to be together,” he said. “I know you have lots of work, and so do we, but we can work from anywhere right now. So, I was like, we should go to Anthony in New York and live with him and continue to fall in love and so I can call him Daddy too, cuz I really want to. And Daddy hesitated at first—he said we should give you space and not crowd you, but I told him he was wrong and that this was what we needed. This is what I’ve been dreaming about for so long, and, I mean, yeah, my original plan was to just see where things went and hope for playtime with a third partner, so Daddy could get used to the idea, but you turned out so perfect for us, you know, and—”
“Jesus Christ, breathe, my sweet goofball.” I cupped his face in my hands and grinned down at him.
He took a long breath. “This is important stuff! I have to continue.” He didn’t waste any time. He went on as he shrugged out of his windbreaker. “I was so focused on finding a good partner for Daddy that I forgot my own feelings at first. I just knew it said click, click, click, and everything was perfect. But then you left, and it kinda broke me. I couldn’t stop crying. Something was suddenly missing. And Daddy was sad too, but he mostly gets quiet and broody and worried—”
I silenced him with a kiss, because I couldn’t hear another word right now. It was too much—in the best way, and I wanted to savor the moment. The bliss that rolled over me was something I’d never felt before. It spread warmth through me and gave my future color.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” I kissed him again, softly, then shifted my attention to August.
He was a lot more patient than his boy. Our boy.
“We’re done thinkin’,” he murmured. “You belong with us, Anthony. I’m not sure there was ever an alternative. And we flew out because we’re hoping we can figure things out—together. Not apart. Not with us in Nashville and you here.”
My throat closed up, and he must’ve noticed I’d become too overwhelmed, because then he was right there, hugging me to him, and I screwed my eyes shut.
Deep breaths. Deep, unsteady breaths. There was something I had to get out.
“I’ve spent every waking hour since I left Nashville trying to make my work more flexible.” I had to clear my throat. “I can’t leave New York altogether, but I’m gonna free up some time.”
“We wouldn’t ask you to leave, sweetheart.” He inched away and palmed my cheek, and he brushed his thumb under my eye. “Flexible is nice—but we happen to like New York too. I hope we can find a way to split our time in both places.”
That would be the dream. “I’ve worke
d things out with Nicky a little already. He told me to cut my summer classes—leave them for other instructors. And just a few hours ago, Gideon… Actually—” I exhaled a breathy laugh, getting ahead of myself. “We’ll work it out. We can talk about this whenever.”
“We have time,” August agreed with a warm smile. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too.” I kissed him chastely, then peered down at Camden, who was sort of trapped between us. He wore a happy but sleepy smile, and it made me think of my wandering thoughts from earlier. Now it might actually become my reality. We could turn the second bedroom into another Star Wars and Marvel haven for him.
We were done counting down till Monday.
Like August said, we had time.
Epilogue
A few hours later
I was gonna be dead on my feet tomorrow. I just couldn’t find it in me to care.
At four AM, Camden was asleep in my bed, wearing a pair of Deadpool pajama bottoms and one of my T-shirts, and I was showing August my rooftop terrace.
“We could make cooking tutorials up here in the summer.” He eyed the plants I’d killed.
I didn’t have much space up here. In fact, it was tiny. There was just enough room for a small seating area and a grill. I’d tried but failed miserably at keeping avocado, tomatoes, herbs, and lemon alive. I thought I’d been smart; I’d made my own concrete flower beds, solid and heavy, thinking they could stand on the brick edge where they’d get more sunlight, but maybe it was too windy there.
“This would make a beautiful little garden,” August murmured to himself.
“Consider it yours,” I replied. “I always wanted a bunch of plants up here, but I might be better at cooking than gardening.” I continued, telling him about the concrete pots and installing the heater above the creaking wicker sofa I’d found at a yard sale. I guessed my vision was bigger than my abilities.
“You’re a handyman,” he noted. “Nicky told me you’re always runnin’ around fixing things. If something breaks at the Initiative, you try to repair it yourself first. Apparently, you’re often fixin’ your father’s radiator and the sink at your grandmother’s place.”
I chuckled. “Exactly how much did my brother tell you about me?”
He grinned faintly and pulled me close. “He’s been keepin’ tabs for me. He told me you had a damn Twizzler for lunch.”
For fuck’s sake.
“That’s not what we agreed upon, darlin’,” he whispered, his lips ghosting so close to mine.
I wet my bottom lip and waited for him to kiss me. “I guess it’s good you’re here. You can keep me in line.”
“You can count on it.”
I shuddered with want and finally felt his lips claim mine in a slow, deep, hungry kiss. I locked my arms around his neck and pressed myself closer, and I angled my head to go deeper. To taste him properly.
“I don’t wanna be apart from you,” I admitted. “It hurt.”
“We’ll find a way. I promise.” He rested his forehead against mine and just held me. “I foresee an everyday life right here, with weekend getaways and holiday breaks at the ranch.”
“I want more time than that in Nashville.” I brushed my fingers across his silver scruff, then back into his hair. “We’re gonna make changes to our schedule. Here and there, I’ll have a couple months away from the school to produce online material for an expansion.”
He smiled and tilted his head, curious. “I’m lookin’ forward to learning everything about your work. And hopefully, there will be more concerts.”
Fucking hell, he made me happy.
A few weeks later
“You really don’t like Manhattan, do you?” August was thoroughly amused.
I was mildly annoyed by all the people. Fucking Times Square, of all places. Or rather, the M&M Store right next to the square. But most of all, I was ready to cut a fucker if they crowded Camden again.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I avoid coming into the city.” I eyed the man nearby who was here with his son and daughter. Camden was there too, looking through the coloring books, and the man had already acted like his kids deserved more access than anyone else.
It was possible I was being slightly overprotective, but it was rare for Camden to even wanna leave the house when he was in a regressive period, and I didn’t want him to regret it. There was no role-playing or costumes today. It was just us.
After another moment, Camden looked up and waved me over.
I was there in a second, and I wove my fingers through his hair. “Did you find something fun, ragazzo?”
“This one.” He stayed close to me, self-conscious about who might overhear, and extended a coloring book to me.
“I can hold it for you. Did you wanna go upstairs and look at the stuffies?”
He nodded hesitantly and grasped my hand. “I saw M&M stuffies holding candy tubes.”
“You did? Well, if it comes with the stuffie, then I guess we have no choice but to get you the candy too.”
That made him grin.
These little outings were important to me. Slowly but surely, he was filling his new room with toys, stuffies, clothes, posters, and movies. He slept with the bunny I’d given him at the food festival every night.
According to Camden, the bunny loved New York very much.
Last weekend, the boy bought a new entertainment unit, a TV, and a PlayStation. His plans were to spend the evening playing video games with an online friend while August and I had dinner at Nonna’s.
And bless that woman. While Pop had gone out of his way to let me know he was on board with me having two partners, he was still part of a more conservative generation, and I could tell he found it a bit weird. Nonna, though, despite that she probably didn’t understand everything herself, dove right in with acceptance. She also adored Camden an absurd amount. She liked August very much too, but he was a professional chef, and she was an Italian woman. She was a little careful at Sunday dinner, torn between laying down the law in the kitchen and hoping this famous chef liked her cooking.
He did, for the record. He was a gentleman through and through.
She’d probably be disappointed Camden didn’t show up tonight, but he needed a night off. He’d worked his ass off all week and wanted a weekend to unwind, regress, and have fun without worrying about filters and social standards.
On the second floor, I took a step back again while Camden browsed for stuffies, and August came up behind me and threaded our fingers together.
“I never thought I’d trust anyone with Camden,” he murmured. “That was before I met you and discovered what a protective Daddy you are.”
I smiled and kissed his jaw. “I love you.”
“Beyond words.” He squeezed my hand and grinned at Camden, who was clearly struggling to choose between an orange and a green M&M stuffie. “You know what he asked me yesterday when you were at work?”
I shook my head.
“When I was going to ask you to marry me. Because Daddies should be married, he said.”
Cazzo. I took a breath, my stomach suddenly a tight mess, and side-eyed him. “Seriously?”
He nodded.
I cleared my throat. “So, uh…what did you tell him?”
He flashed me a charming smirk and took the first step toward where Camden was. “When the time is right. But that I’d be surprised if I could wait more than a few months.”
The bastard left me standing there alone to process that little tidbit while he helped Camden decide on a toy.
All I could blurt out was, “Give him both stuffies! And all the candy he wants.”
A few months later
“When’re you coming home?” Pop demanded to know. “Nonna’s actin’ like it’s a sin for youse not to celebrate your engagement where she can participate, and it’s me she’s complainin’ to all day!”
I chuckled into my phone and closed the door to my recording room. “I made sure Nicky put the dates on your fridge
, Pop. We fly back in two weeks before the new semester starts, and we’ll host an engagement dinner the weekend after.”
He made an unhappy sound and started muttering. “Still don’t see what’s so fuckin’ great about Nashville. Families belong together, Anthony. You’re breakin’ our hearts ova’ hea’.”
Jesus Christ. I trailed into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. “I’m so glad you’re one of those chill old men who never exaggerates.”
“Stai zitto!” He told me to shut up. “Don’t get cute. You give me shit for tryna keep the family together—that’s the thanks I get.” He scoffed.
