Peach Tree Manny: Gay Romance

by Trina Solet

  "You aren't," Rob said, not sure what he was getting at.

  "I think Danny is right about dating, about making this official," Julian said kind of stiffly.

  "Official?"

  "Sorry. I don't know how to do this." Julian slumped down and got that helpless look that always touched Rob's heart.

  "Wanna go out?" Rob said to show him how easy it was.

  Julian laughed. "Yes. I'd love to go out with you."

  Taking him in his arms, Rob kissed him. "This isn't complicated. It's just you and me."

  "Right," Julian said and lowered his eyes for a moment before he squared his shoulders and gazed at Rob again. "I've lived more than half my life hiding my emotions. For Danny's sake, I can't afford to be that way any more. I want to do better for you and for Danny. Be a better man."

  Rob didn't see it that way. He felt like Julian was more open and closer to him than anyone had ever been. "You're wonderful," Rob told him, running his thumb over his lips. At those words, Rob watched Julian's eyes shine and his face light up with a big smile. Rob kissed that smile and felt it go all through him like his whole world opening up.

  Chapter 24

  It was their last day of volunteering, unfortunately Julian was working alone, taking inventory. There was some talk of having him help hang up banners, but then Lara decided he was better suited for counting the cardboard leaves, and acorn and pumpkin shaped lanterns that were going up on the morning of the festival. While he was noting down what they had in stock and missing Rob, he saw Sam and Rico coming over. They told him they had just finished a shift at the café, and it fell to Julian to tell Rico why he was there working by himself.

  "Rob was recruited to help Mitch."

  Of course this set Rico off. "Excuse me. I have to go kill something blond."

  Luckily Sam restrained and then distracted him with talk about Thanksgiving at his grandmother's.

  "I was looking forward to a real, family Thanksgiving, but this will be more fun for the kids," Sam said.

  Agreeing with that, Julian nodded. He had pictured just him, Rob and Danny. Now Rob's sister would be joining them, so why not go where the rest of the town was gathering.

  "Kids are sure to love the turkey jamboree." Off Julian's look, Rico denied responsibility. "That's what Grandma calls it. My parents are going to be there. They already know and love Mitch, now the rest of you guys need to show them what awesome friends I have. Don't let me down." He looked sternly at both Sam and Julian.

  "Speaking of impressing people. Rob and I are going out on a date, but I'm not sure where. I would love to whisk him away, but I want to stay close by in case Danny has a bad night," Julian told them. It felt strange to discuss something like that. Being so closed off until now, he didn't have anyone he wanted to date or anyone to talk to about things like that.

  "I'm on the case," Rico said stepping up. "This is a beautiful thing between a man and his manny, and I want to make it happen."

  "Can you be serious?" Sam asked him. He looked like he might have a suggestion, but Rico jumped in ahead of him.

  "What about Raffinger's?" Rico asked.

  "That's a bar and grill, right?" Julian said. That wasn't really his kind of thing.

  Rico objected to his tone. "Don't say it like that. Mitch and I had our first date there."

  "Sorry," Julian said, then he realized he shouldn't be so negative in case Rob would want to go there. For Rob's sake, he changed his tune. "I'll consider it."

  In truth, no place seemed good enough to him. He had the urge to take Danny along and fly Rob somewhere exclusive and expensive, but he knew it wasn't about that. What Julian wanted was to show him that he was serious and to find out just how serious Rob was about him.

  "The place isn't that important, really," Sam said echoing his thoughts. "You don't have to be doing anything special. It's just about being together."

  "What BS is this?" Rico snapped at them. "You need to step up your game, woo that man."

  "Like you're not happy just to get to sit in Mitch's lap," Sam accused him.

  "You're getting indecent," Rico said wickedly.

  "That is not what I meant," Sam claimed then he changed his mind. "Or maybe I did."

  "You guys are being really helpful," Julian said to them.

  "You wanted helpful? You're talking to the wrong guys," Rico said while Sam gave him a speak for yourself look.

  "So you'll need babysitting when you go on your date, right?" Sam said.

  "Rob's sister will be here. She offered to babysit," Julian told him.

  "Your place isn't ready to be shown to the in-laws yet," Rico said jumping way ahead. "But it is looking more like a hillside villa and less like the house of the undead. Just picture it in the spring with everything green and the peach trees in bloom, and you with your man by your side."

  Julian had to smile at that image. "Sounds good."

  "Aha, don't screw up this date," Rico said.

  "Stop pressuring him," Sam told him then he had some advice for Julian too. "Just have fun on this date. That's all you need to do."

  That was a lot like the attitude Rob had about it, but Julian felt that there was a lot more to it. He needed to win Rob, make him never want to leave.

  "I'm in the killing mood again," Rico announced in a dark voice as he glared at something over Julian shoulder.

  Turning in the direction of Rico's glare, Julian saw that Rob was on his way back in the company of Wyatt and Mitch.

  "You two blond bookends get away from my man," Rico demanded.

  "Did he just call us blond bookends?" Rob asked Wyatt, but he was busy throwing his arm over Mitch's shoulder to mess with Rico.

  Rico scoffed at him. "Nice try. Mitch would never cheat on me. You hussies don't stand a chance."

  "Now he's calling us hussies," Rob said while Wyatt and Sam kissed hello.

  "Let's go get our assignments. It looks like Lara is getting ready to leave," Mitch told Rico after quieting him with a kiss.

  Lara didn't have the clipboard she always carried, but she told the guys what was left to be done. "If you need anything else, ask Mr. Florez. My sister, Stella, took my car to go shopping. I'm waiting for her to pick me up. My family all got scattered and I got stuck with her for Thanksgiving."

  "Stella. Yay." Rico said sarcastically.

  "He's not a fan. They tussled a bit over Mitch," Lara said to Julian and Rob.

  "And who won?" Rico asked her. "Come on. Don't keep us in suspense."

  Lara only laughed.

  Julian and Rob were done for the day and ready to pick up Danny. Julian heard his phone chime and saw that it was Mr. Upton, who wanted to FaceTime for some reason. "Sorry. I have to take this," he said to Rob and stepped away.

  The way Mr. Upton was calling him made Julian wonder if he was about to be fired. "You look well, sir," he said to Upton when he showed up on his phone screen.

  "I'm almost a hundred percent, and you look well too, Brenner. That's a relief."

  "It is?" Julian said, a little bit confused.

  "Talk was going around that you weren't doing well," Mr. Upton told him.

  "I'm fine. I was just volunteering for the local Thanksgiving festival, actually," Julian told him as if that was proof of his fitness.

  "Is that so? Hmm. It looks inviting. I wouldn't mind dropping by for that," Mr. Upton said unexpectedly, making Julian wonder if he wanted to check up on him.

  "You're more than welcome to," he said.

  "Don't worry," Mr. Upton assured him. "I won't interfere with your Thanksgiving dinner plans. I'll be there probably around noon."

  "I'll be looking forward to seeing you, sir," Julian told him.

  "Likewise. Take care of yourself, Brenner."

  Setting his phone aside, Julian couldn't help but frown. Then Rob was at his side, looking at him questioningly.

  "That was Mr. Upton. It sounds like Thayer has been maneuvering against me with him. Upton thought there might be something wron
g with me. God knows what Thayer told him. I was relieved not to get fired, but I still think it might happen. Mr. Upton is coming here for the festival."

  Rob was surprised. "You think that's a bad sign?"

  "I think he might be coming to check up on me or fire me in person," Julian said gloomily.

  "What did he say exactly?" Rob wanted to know.

  "That I looked surprisingly well and that this place looked 'inviting'." Julian looked around. "Maybe he caught sight of the hill."

  "Or maybe that's what he saw." Rob pointed directly behind Julian, where Lara and a very attractive blonde just happen to be standing. "Could that be the view that has your boss running over here?"

  "Oh, I wasn't thinking like a heterosexual. Lara said her sister was picking her up. That must be her," Julian said seeing the curvy blonde who was standing by Lara's car. He didn't recognize her from his younger days, but maybe she didn't used to be a blonde. "That view might be to his liking, but it's not his only reason for coming here. This is because of Thayer's backstabbing. Word from the office is that he's finding fault with my work, and of course I'm not there to correct the record."

  "This will be your chance. It's better to do that when you're face to face with Upton," Rob said, looking on the bright side.

  Julian smiled. "I'll do that. If he gives me a chance. Then there's your sister's visit. I want to make a good impression on her too."

  "Leave that to Danny and Lenny. She already loves those guys," Rob told him and threw an arm around him.

  Julian couldn't be easygoing about it though. There was so much happening, but the biggest thing to him was the date he had to arrange on short notice and everything he wanted to say to Rob.

  Chapter 25

  To Rob it was just a visit from his sister, but Danny had been keyed up since he got up that morning, and Julian made sure everything was perfect for the lunch they were serving her, down to the last detail. Rob was getting regular updates from Christie on her trip over, even a picture of the car and driver that Julian sent to pick her up. In return, Rob sent her a picture of Danny and Lenny impatiently waiting for her.

  "Christie is coming," Danny said, bouncing on his toes as he kept looking out the front window for her.

  "You know, she's our first guest here," Julian told him, coming out of his office to join them.

  "That's a special honor. I'll let Christie know," Rob said. Then a little later, he let them know that she was only a few minutes away.

  That's when Danny and Lenny took a position right by the front doors. They were the first thing Christie saw when Rob opened the door to her.

  "I know you. You're Christie!" Danny said, then he got shy and tried to hide behind Rob.

  "I know you too, Danny. And I know Lenny," she said and got down to pet him. "What a good dog you are."

  "He is," Danny confirmed.

  It didn't take Danny as long to warm up to her as it did with other people when he first met them. Rob had them talk on the phone and Skype, so Christie wasn't a complete stranger.

  After introductions, Rob picked up her bag from the foyer and took her upstairs so they could have a minute alone. "Check out your room."

  "Wow. It's amazing," she said going straight to the window. "And the view of the river is incredible."

  "Mine has the view of the orchard," Rob told her and pointed across the hall."

  "You seem so different," Christie said while she took a seat on the windowsill and stared up at him.

  "Me? No way. I'm the same old Rob."

  "You're more..." She had to stop and think. "I don't know. More you."

  "What? You're not making sense," Rob told her and set down her bag by the bed.

  "I know. I mean you're more the way you used to be before Mom died." As always there was a catch in her voice when she mentioned Mom. "You look like you're ready to take charge of the whole world."

  "I'm only in charge of Danny and Lenny," Rob told her.

  "I can't believe I get those two cuties all to myself tonight," she said and rubbed her hands together.

  "Danny will be asleep, hopefully," Rob told her.

  "I guess he will, and I still can't get over you being a manny," she said.

  "It just kind of happened."

  "You know, I was sure you took this job because you were giving up, backsliding. Another dead end job so you don't have to face the future," she said with a sad smile while Rob glared at her.

  "But now you see you were wrong," he told her.

  "I see you're coming to life more, but I'm still not sure all of this is right for you," she said and pointed all around. "The big house, the small town, a job with no future."

  "Christie," Rob said with a heavy sigh. "I get that you're trying to be a good big sister, but knock it off. I'm where I want to be." To Rob this wasn't just a job, this was Julian and Danny right there every day together with him.

  "Fine," she huffed, giving up for now.

  "Lunch is ready for you. Let's go eat. We'll see if Danny and Lenny will let you boss them around."

  Christie didn't try to boss anyone around. Danny and Lenny disarmed her. She was putty in their hands and pretty good company as they all spent time together for the rest of the day.

  Danny was excited about her visit and the festival tomorrow. Rob was anticipating his date with Julian that very night. Time stretched on for him, and he was ready to drag Julian off somewhere right now, but first they had to put Danny to bed.

  Once Danny was asleep, Julian went to get ready then he and Rob met up at the top of the stairs. As soon as he laid eyes on Julian, Rob had to get his hands on him.

  "Looking like that, you won't even make it to the car in one piece," Rob said as he came up behind Julian and nuzzled his neck. "Hell, you might not make it downstairs."

  Julian turned around to face him. He was like a vision of sexy elegance in a dark gray suit that was more fitted than the ones he had seen him wear to work. Rob didn't have anything like that. He put on a soft, beige V-neck sweater. With a buttoned down shirt under it, it didn't look half bad.

  Julian took a long look at him and smiled. That was all the approval Rob needed.

  "I don't know how I'll restrain myself either," Julian said with a grin as he ran his hands over Rob's chest.

  They did make it downstairs after some kissing, and Christie was there to see them off. "You two have fun, and I'll keep a close eye on those guys," she promised them as she walked them to the door.

  "Don't hesitate to call or text for any reason even if Danny wakes up and just wants to talk to us," Julian told her.

  "OK. I won't hesitate," she promised Julian. Rob could tell that she didn't disapprove of how attentive he was to his little brother.

  Julian had arranged for them to have dinner at the Stone Creek Inn, which was halfway between Peach Tree and Ashbury. The inn was in a beautiful old, building, and the grounds were even better with archways and trellised walkways. The gold and copper of autumn leaves was on display, but there was every sign that in spring and summer this place would become ridiculously lush.

  "This is really nice. I didn't know a fancy place like this was out here," Rob said as the two of them walked the grounds.

  Julian looked around like he didn't know what Rob was talking about. "Fancy?"

  "I guess not fancy to you," Rob teased him. "I think it's perfect. Heck I'd be happy if we just had a picnic right out here."

  Julian raised a eyebrow at that. "I'm glad you like it. You'll have a good view of all this from up there." Julian pointed out one of the balconies on the second floor of the inn.

  "You booked us a room?" Rob guessed.

  "Not only that. That table they're setting is for us."

  Rob saw two people on one of the balconies, looking busy though he couldn't see the table from where he and Julian were standing. He was flattered that Julian was doing all this for him.

  Since the staff was still setting up upstairs, they took their time strolling the inn garden
. The sun was halfway behind the horizon, and the air was cooling so Rob put his arm around Julian as they walked. Other people were meandering down the paths too, but Rob hardly noticed them. Julian was everything to him as he held him close against his side.

  Julian got a text that everything was ready for their date and they went up. Going through the double doors of their room, Rob took in the large, stone fireplace and the French windows leading to the balcony. A four-poster bed with crisp white linens dominated one side of the room and made Rob think of what might be happening there later.

  But first Julian led him out to the balcony. The waiters, who had been there before, were gone now. The table was set and a cart next to it held covered dishes.

  "The balcony is our private dining room," Julian said.

  "Wow, and it's heated," Rob noticed.

  "Did you think I would let you freeze?" Julian asked as they kissed then took their seats at the table.

  "I figured you'd find some other way to keep me warm," Rob said with a chuckle.

  "I'll do that anyway," Julian told him, a sweet smile on his lips. Damn, Rob loved it when that man smiled.

  "You know how to woo a guy," Rob said as Julian uncorked the wine.

  "I'm glad you think so. You're the only guy I've ever tried to woo." Julian looked down shyly and his pouring wasn't a hundred percent steady.

  Just as promised, the balcony gave them a great view of the grounds, which were growing shadowy this late in the evening. But as they watched, lanterns started to come on and illuminate the paths.

  "Nice," Rob said.

  The view was great, but his eyes stayed on Julian most of the time. He was beyond gorgeous. Rob couldn't believe he was sitting across a table from him, sipping expensive wine, eating incredible food, all chosen by Julian.

  They started their dinner with a kabocha squash soup garnished with fried sage leaves. The main course was roast duck with mustard greens and a sour cherry vinaigrette. It was followed by brandy quince compote served with spiced shortbread triangles.