“No!”
“Bail?”
“Technically that’s money, and no, it’s not.” Her charming laugh filled the line, and seriously—Matt was reaching for his wallet anyway.
“What’s up, Number Two?”
“Just making plans to come home for Thanksgiving break, and I think I can hitch a ride with Naomi, but then Miranda called and she’s bringing a boy! What the hell, man?”
“Kent. And his parents. And Helena and Shane.”
“Hoo boy. How’s Dad’s blood pressure?” She whistled.
“Almost as high as mine.”
“This is going to be the best holiday ever. Can I take video?”
“Sure. We can use it as evidence later at the trial.”
Katie laughed happily. She loved melodrama in the form of her older sister. If Matt knew her—and he did—at some point during the weekend, she would probably pop some corn and settle down to watch Miranda like she was a monster double feature.
“I’m gonna need you on my side.”
“Aww, Matt—always!” Someone screeched her name in the background, and she responded with a “Shut up! I’m talking to my dad’s boyfriend. Jesus.”
He wasn’t going to lie—that felt good in a weird way.
“Ugh, dorms are hell. I can’t wait until I can get an apartment off campus.” Katie came back on the line.
“We’ll talk about that in two years.”
“I’m just saying—I’m the good child. I deserve a condo.”
“Duly noted.”
They chatted all the way back into the city: family gossip, Katie’s first-semester classes and roommate antics. By the time the limo stopped in front of the house, Matt couldn’t get the smile off his face if he tried.
“You let me know if you need to be picked up, okay?” Matt gave the driver a wave as he walked up the driveway.
“Yes, Matt.” Katie blew kisses through the phone. “Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He switched off the phone and deposited it in his pocket as he reached for his house key. A warm feeling filled his veins.
Home sweet home.
THE PLEASANT day continued as Matt not only found that the laundry had been started but got a “Dad’s getting dinner” grunt from Danny before the boy disappeared into his room. Elizabeth did her homework at the kitchen table, singing along with a CD in the stereo, her perpetually good-natured self not needing much from Matt except a second glass of juice somewhere in the middle of her pre-algebra.
If every day went like this, he would never get another gray hair.
Matt took a shower and then settled down in the living room with a notebook and pen, deciding to get a head start on the Thanksgiving From Hell list.
Liquor. Yes. A bunch of stuff he could get catered from the grocery down the street. Check. Desserts? Multiple. Green beans and stuffing ingredients for the kids. Were the guest rooms up to snuff? Did he care? Would clean towels suffice?
The couch shook as Danny threw himself against the armrest. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Matt put the pen down. “I’m making a list for Thanksgiving. Anything in particular you want?”
“A bus ticket for someplace else?” Danny shot him a look, and Matt couldn’t contain a snicker.
“Only if you take me with you.” He marked down coconut cream pie because he knew it was Danny’s favorite.
Danny focused on the television, seemingly fascinated by the muted scroll of scores and sports news. “It’s gonna suck. What if these people are, like, boring. Or….”
“Or?” Matt caught the hesitation in Danny’s voice.
“Or like the neighbors at our other house.”
The bigots next door. The ones that irritated Danny enough to make the move desirable.
“Ahh.” He felt stupid for not thinking of this already. They knew nothing about these people except that their son was probably having sex with Miranda, which meant his life was in serious danger from Evan. “Well, I’m guessing Miranda’s already told them about your dad and uh… me… so we should be fine,” he said, his voice chock-full of false bravado.
Danny’s eye roll would have been visible from space. “Or they’re coming with, like, religious pamphlets or something, and it’ll be all tense.” Danny didn’t see the bright side of things very often, and Matt could understand why. He hadn’t had an easy road so far, and he was only twelve.
“People don’t do that,” Matt scoffed, lying again, because of course people did that. Sweat beads popped on his skin. “That’s, like, stuff that happens in movies and TV.”
“Right.”
Matt sighed. “I’ll talk to Dad, and we’ll… we’ll talk to Miranda and….” The plan died quickly. At least the most recent look Danny shot him included sympathy. “Well, shit.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
Chapter 6
“SO, ANY clue on this kid’s parents?”
The question was casual, but something made Evan look up from his beans and rice to give Matt a glance. Danny, sitting to his left, had stopped shoveling food in his mouth for the first time in five minutes, and even Elizabeth looked up from whatever daydream she was ensconced in.
“Uh, no. They’re from Connecticut, and that’s pretty much it.” Evan frowned. He had been so preoccupied thinking about Kent and creating nightmare scenarios of pregnancy and elopement for Miranda he’d forgotten to ask.
“Oh. Okay.” Matt went back to his meal after exchanging a look with Danny.
“I can ask Miranda….”
“No, we’ll let it be a surprise.” The grimace on Matt’s face sent Evan’s stomach plummeting. “To add to the already festive cheer of the holiday.”
“We’re afraid they might be homophobic,” Elizabeth blurted out, resulting in a filmworthy double take from Matt and Danny. She gave them both a pout. “I was listening, okay?”
Evan groaned inwardly. Fuck. Because, good point.
“They’re probably not,” Matt attempted. “Because Miranda must’ve told them about us and they’re still coming, right?”
“Right.” Evan leaned back in his chair, surveying his boyfriend and two kids. These people were walking into a less-than-typical household, and God only knew what their attitude was like. Evan might have issues with his own sexuality and labels, but he was also a bulldog about his family. And if these people were going to walk in and start passing judgment….
“See, this is why we weren’t going to be blunt,” Matt said with a sigh. “Stop thinking. The vein in your forehead is about to burst.”
Evan wiped his mouth on his napkin. “Right.”
Dinner ground to a halt as everyone looked at everyone else and tried to smile. It was horrible.
“Right,” he said again. “Let’s go get ice cream.”
Elizabeth looked faintly scandalized. “It’s November!”
“And a school night. I’ve clearly gone mad, so now is a great time to take advantage of me.” Evan pushed his chair back, then stood up. “Who’s coming?”
Danny and Elizabeth vacated their chairs with sonic booms. Evan glanced across the table at Matt, who was scrutinizing him carefully. “Ice cream?”
“Well, you can’t fuck this away just yet, so we’ll start with forbidden desserts,” he muttered.
Matt cackled with delight. “If these people are homophobes, I’m grabbing your ass every chance I get.”
Evan didn’t doubt it.
TWO WEEKS flew by quickly, and as Miranda was conveniently unavailable for the entire time, except for the occasional text message, Evan had no clue what Kent’s parents were like. He managed to get their names—Blake and Cornelia—and the fact they were not vegans but mostly ate organic and would be bringing the wine.
Matt stocked up on red, white, and beer just in case.
He also found out that they owned a very successful nursery in Danbury, which meant nothing. Their professions told him little about the type of people they would be, and he restrained
himself from running a background check because Elena told him that was a violation of trust, which made him feel guilty enough not to do it.
Of course Matt ran Kent’s background via his connections, and assured Evan he had no priors.
“He just turned twenty-two. Maybe he just hasn’t decided what kind of trouble to get into,” Evan muttered, fiddling with his tie for the fifth time. The mirror reflected a cranky man with more worry lines than he’d had the previous month and gray fuzz creeping into his tight buzz cut. The dress shirt and tie were mandatory according to Miranda’s last text, so of course Matt walked behind him wearing a tight black sweater and jeans.
“Seriously?”
“What?” Matt paused in what looked suspiciously like a model pose.
“You look like you have a hot date.”
“You found me out—I have plans after this with the delivery boy from Hannover’s.” The aforementioned youth had sent both Elizabeth and Katie swooning when he dropped off their Thanksgiving dinner earlier, all muscles and dimples and charm.
Evan went back to his reflection and flipped the tie, manipulating the silver-and-blue striped material until it was a proper Winsor knot. “Classy.”
“You look like you’re going to audit these people’s books. Was that on purpose?” Matt came up behind him, pressing their bodies together as he wrapped his arms around Evan’s middle.
“It seemed more subtle than the shoulder holster.” Evan sighed as he leaned back in Matt’s comforting embrace. “Tell me everything is going to be fine, please.”
“Everything is going to be fine. They’re from Connecticut. They’ll be super polite, we’ll make insubstantial small talk and fall into a turkey coma by seven. In the morning it’s french toast, bacon, and see ya later. Many people have survived meeting the boyfriend’s parents, I swear.”
Evan smiled. “Let’s hope the boyfriend survives meeting the family.”
“Yeah, if we’re going to be honest, I’m legitimately frightened for this boy. He has no idea what he’s in for.” Matt kissed Evan’s cheek, tightening his grip on his body. “I love you. And I’ve got your back today, okay?”
A flare of warmth and love made Evan’s chest ache. He didn’t know how he was lucky enough to have this man as a part of his life. “The nicest part of that is it’s mostly not even meant in a dirty way.”
Matt rubbed against Evan’s ass in a way that was entirely dirty. “I said your back—your ass is totally mine.”
The knocking on the door set them both laughing as Elizabeth’s excited voice came through the wood.
“They’re here!”
Chapter 7
MATT TRIED not to descend the stairs in a dead-man-walking fashion. Evan hurried down ahead of him, Elizabeth at his heels, everyone in a desperate rush to a) get this over with and b) satisfy their curiosity. Even Danny was interested—he had his headphones off, and he was leaning toward the door.
“Hurry up! We need to see the poor sap stuck with Miranda!” Katie whispered as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down the last few steps.
“Be nice.”
“Ugh, nice is boring. I already feel sorry for Ken.”
“Kent.”
“Whatever. By next week he’ll be some other guy, and Miranda will be calling him Ken too.”
Matt wished he had Katie’s optimism.
Evan gave him one last look of mortal terror, then opened the front door. On the step crowded four people—the ever-imperious Miranda, a slender blond boy with wire-rim glasses, and two smiling people weighed down with bags.
“Daddy,” Miranda said primly, stepping over the threshold.
Katie fake shivered next to him, and Matt gave her a glare even as he stifled a smirk.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Evan said, kissing her on the cheek. The smile he pasted on was one part hospitality and three parts “I fucking have a gun,” and when he turned it on Kent, it was Matt’s turn to shiver.
“Kent.” He extended his hand, and the boy shook it, his smile wavering.
“Sir.”
“Call me Mr. Cerelli.”
Katie full-on giggled. “Come in, please,” Evan said, already dismissing the boy and turning his attention to the couple behind him.
“Thank you so much for coming. Happy Thanksgiving,” he said. Blake and Cornelia, in their matching tan coats and big smiles, stepped into the foyer, and for a second everyone just froze in polite stasis. “I’m Evan Cerelli.” Evan launched them back into animation. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Blake Moran. My wife, Cornelia.” Blake’s voice boomed, filling the small space.
“My kids—Danny, Elizabeth, and Katie.” He gestured to each. They responded with a wave, and it got quiet again. “And that’s Matt.”
“Here, lemme get those,” Matt said finally, unable to stand still for another second. He walked a few steps forward, then reached for the myriad white-and-brown shopping bags and froze again.
Because the expressions on both Blake and Cornelia’s faces were those of confusion. A quick check to Kent’s face, and Matt saw the same.
And Miranda? Miranda looked a tiny bit worried. But smug.
Evan narrowed his eyes as he looked at his daughter. “Matt’s my partner. Or boyfriend, if that makes things a little clearer.”
Boom. The entryway suddenly became ground zero. The resulting silence was so loud Matt’s ears were ringing.
Cornelia moved first. She handed Matt her bags, her smile less confused. “So nice to meet you. And thanks—these things are so darn heavy!”
Matt took an actual breath now that he wasn’t being strangled by assumption. “Anything have to go in the fridge?” he asked smoothly.
“Oh yes, a bunch of things—can I just follow you? Blake, give me those.” Cornelia moved in a series of quick gestures, grabbing the bags from her husband, then making a little “go on” motion to Matt with her shoulder.
“Let me take your coats” came Evan’s voice behind Matt’s back, and Matt smiled inwardly at the smooth, smug tones of his voice.
Point one Evan. No points Miranda.
A flurry of sound from the foyer filled their air as the kids descended on Miranda and Kent. Matt said a quick nondenominational prayer for the skinny kid with the glasses—if he wasn’t smart, quick, and witty, Katie was going to eat him for a snack—and proceeded into the kitchen with a chatty Cornelia on his heels.
“And the traffic wasn’t bad, but I am always so nervous about getting places on time. Blake! The overnight bags are in the trunk!”
Matt put everything on the counter.
“You’re so sweet to host us and allow us to spend the night. Houseguests can be so tiresome.”
He watched her remove her coat, revealing a rust-colored sweater dress on a better-than-average figure. Her stylish blonde bob and spangled bracelets reminded him of something one of the interior designers Bennett employed would wear, and said money, class, and an eye for style. But the babbling brook of words said nervous.
“We actually haven’t had houseguests before, so you’re going to have a fill out a card when you leave, let us know how we did,” he said, effortlessly charming as he started unpacking the bags.
Cornelia tittered. “I’m sure it’ll be divine. Our friends Roger and Adam, they own a B and B in Ithaca. We’re up there all the time. I’m sure you’ll rival their efforts.”
Matt was impressed with the way she worked “we like gay people” into the compliment. His opinion of her was firmly on solid ground. “Don’t know about that. Your hosts for this weekend are a cop, a security consultant, and three teenagers. May God have mercy on your soul.”
Halfway into a bag of wine and cheese she was laying out on the counter, Cornelia stopped to flash him a confused look. “Oh, so that’s what you do.” Her tone was strange.
“Uh, yeah.” Matt paused, hands resting on the counter. “Did Miranda tell you guys anything about us?”
Cornelia sagged a little. “No, not re
ally. Kent is crazy about her, and he’s not really been serious about a girl before, so we were a little startled….”
“And you came to check out her and the family?” Matt smiled sympathetically.
“Yes. No offense, but he’s our only child, and we’re a bit protective.”
“Understood. Don’t worry about it.” He went back to unloading the bag, casting a quick glance at the labels. This was a pricey spread, little jars and bottles of fancy things he might find at a dinner with Bennett and Daisy. “We feel the same way.”
A clatter of sound made them both look up. Blake and Evan were passing through, each carrying a small suitcase. Kent—officially locked in a deer-in-headlights expression—followed behind with two bags.
Evan’s face was tight, so Matt did his best to shoot him a loving smile. It worked at least a little bit.
“Wine and cheese when you get back down?” he asked, dry and fancy at the same time.
Evan looked heavenward. “Sounds delightful.”
Matt laughed. “We have some other people coming,” Matt said, half in the fridge and half out, after the party went upstairs. “Friends of ours.”
“Oh, how nice. Another gay couple?”
It sounded so weird the way she said it—no judgment, just… eagerness.
“Uh, no. Evan’s partner and her boyfriend.” Did they know other gay couples? There was Griffin and James, but they were on the West Coast. And a few people from the LGBT “Goal” group at the NYPD, but no one they really socialized with on a regular basis.
“More policemen!” The strange tone was back. It suddenly occurred to Matt that maybe cop bothered her more than gay.
Well, that was going to make things interesting.
They settled down as a group in the living room, with plates of cheese, meats, and bread, and two bottles of wine. The kids perched closest to the food, clutching their sodas, though Katie cast a few longing glances at the wine.
The narrowing of Evan’s eyes stopped that pretty quickly.
“So how long have you two been together?” Cornelia asked just as Matt was attempting to eat a cracker heaped with salami. He tried not to choke.
Cherish & Blessed Page 4
