Model Boyfriend
Page 32
Brendan’s hopeful expression crumbled and his lips quivered.
Anna reached out and held his hands tightly.
“Don’t, Bren. This is your day—yours and Grégoire’s. Don’t let your parents spoil this, too.”
He nodded and tried to force a smile.
“I know. I’m being an idiot. I just thought … I thought, hell, a free holiday. I thought they’d come for that … or maybe sit at the back and heckle.”
He tried to laugh.
“Bren…”
“I’m fine, Annie. Honestly. I didn’t really expect them to come,” and he swiped at the tell-tale moisture under his eyes. “I just … I really, really hoped. But I’m stupid like that.” His voice dropped. “They’ll never accept me, will they? I’m just the queer son that they’re ashamed of and…”
“Bren, stop,” Anna said firmly. “I mean it. Now listen to me. You are loved by so many people. Honey, don’t you get it? You do have family that love you and they’re all here today. My mom has all but adopted you and Grég—you’re the sons she never had: family.”
Brendan blinked furiously, but Anna was on a roll.
“Do you think for one moment that Nick and I would entrust our precious babies to just anyone? There’s a reason that you’re they’re godfather. We know that if anything happened to us,” and she swallowed, “that you’d take care of them. That’s how much you mean to us, Bren.” She cupped Brendan’s cheek with her hand. “And Grég loves you, he adores you and would do anything to make you happy. You guys have found a very precious love. Bren, honey, you are surrounded by love.” Anna dabbed at her own tears. “We love you very, very much. You are wonderful and amazing, Brendan Massey. You are a very special man. I’m so happy I met you.”
Brendan accepted her warm hug, laying his head on her shoulder.
“Baby-mama, stop!” he teased, sounding husky and still tearful.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Not even on my wedding day?”
“Especially not today.”
Brendan stood up straight, pasting on a smile.
“You’re right. I know I’m very lucky. I have you guys and I have Grég. I’m blessed and…”
Nick interrupted, stepping forward, laying his hand on Brendan’s shoulder.
“Grég’s the lucky one—lucky he found you. I saw what he was like before you guys met: he was a loner, trying to fit in with the team but not sure how they’d react when they found out he was gay. But since he’s been with you, he’s come out of his shell and I’ve seen him improve as a player with every game. You’ve given him the confidence to be who he is.”
Brendan’s eyes were wide.
“You … you really think so?”
“I know so,” and Nick turned his intense gaze on Anna. “And when you find someone who does that for you, you never let them go.”
Anna squeezed his hand as Nick continued.
“You’re my friend, Bren, my brother; you’re family, like Anna said.” Then he grinned. “But don’t make me say it all now—I’m saving the good stuff for the Best Man’s Speech.”
Then he pulled Brendan into a hug and whispered something that Anna couldn’t catch.
“Oh my God, don’t make me cry before the service,” Brendan moaned. “Even waterproof mascara isn’t fool-proof.”
Nick laughed and thumped him on the back.
“Come on then, buddy. Time to go and find your groom.”
As they left the room, the melodious vocals of French crooner Charles Trénet began to sing about ‘le chanson d’amour’, a song of love.
“I know it’s a bit naff,” Brendan hissed out of the side of his mouth to Anna, “but it’s Grég’s mum’s favourite song. And he said he’d give me a blowjob tonight if I played it. I’ve chosen something much cooler to play us out at the end.”
Anna got a fit of the giggles and struggled to compose herself, Nick just shook his head in amusement.
They walked up the aisle of chairs, all three of them hand in hand. Ahead stood Grégoire, tall and proud, a huge smile on his face when he saw Brendan. His suit was cream with a pale blue shirt and white neck tie. Nick and Anna could well have been invisible—his eyes were for Brendan only.
When they reached the officiant, Anna kissed Brendan on the cheek and took the empty seat reserved for her; Nick shook hands with Brendan and Grégoire, then stood to one side.
The three men were magnificent together, tall and handsome: Brendan in his reddish-maroon suit, Grégoire in cream and Nick in blue—the colours representing both the French flag, La Tricolore, and the flag of the United Kingdom.
The officiant spoke heavily-accented English in a deep, sonorous voice, talking of love and commitment, responsibility and obligation, kindness and compassion.
When he called for the rings, Nick pulled them out of his pocket and laid them on a velvet cushion. Then he sat down next to Anna and held her hand.
At the end of the service, Anna smiled as Adam Lambert’s Time For Miracles played out the happy couple.
It was a good day, and Anna hoped with all her heart that Brendan was happy and not thinking about his absent parents.
The dinner was magnificent and champagne flowed freely.
“You alright, luv?” Nick asked at the end of the meal as he took in her distant expression.
“Yes, just thinking, you know? I’m going to miss him so much.”
Nick put his arm around her.
“I know, but you’ll see him every couple of weeks.”
Brendan was going to live in Carcassonne with Grégoire in the same house that Nick and Anna had rented. He’d promised that he’d keep working for her, but Anna was realistic—there’d come a time when he wouldn’t want to leave his husband every two weeks to travel to London. God, she understood what that was like, but it would be very hard to give up her best friend, even to a man as wonderful as Grég.
She smiled a little sadly.
“Everything has changed so much in the last couple of years. It’s hard to believe it sometimes.”
Nick nodded.
“I know. It’s been crazy at times. But I think we’ve found a balance, don’t you?”
Anna agreed, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Don’t get too comfy,” he said. “I’ve got to go and give my Best Man’s speech yet.”
She laughed lightly as she sat up straight, and Nick tapped a spoon against his wine glass to get everyone’s attention.
He stood up, drawing every eye to him, and gave a broad smile.
“It’s that time, ladies and gentlemen: the speeches!”
A ragged cheer went up that showed more than a few of the guests had been enjoying the champagne.
“Before I start, I would just like to say how handsome Brendan and Grégoire look today…”
Cheers rang out again in agreement, as well as some more ribald comments. Grégoire and Brendan smiled at each other, then looked over at Nick who was conferring with a member of the hotel’s staff. Behind him, a projector screen was being rolled down.
“Perfect timing,” he said, as the staff member handed him a remote control. “But … neither of these two handsome devils started out that way…”
Brendan looked horrified, but Grégoire just laughed.
Nick had done his research and put together a montage of school and childhood pictures. Grégoire’s parents had cooperated in sending Nick dozens of photos to choose from, showing a skinny boy with freckles, gaps in his teeth, followed by teenage pictures showing braces, bad haircuts, and the time he’d dyed his dark hair blonde, and wore spray-on jeans bleached white.
Grégoire laughed and cringed, and called out to his parents and traitorous brother.
There were fewer pictures of Brendan because his parents hadn’t replied to Anna’s requests for photographs. Despite her repeated attempts, all her messages and calls had been ignored.
She’d still managed to find some images by having access to the private
part of his Facebook pages and stealing his phone when he wasn’t looking. She’d even emailed his old schools, explaining the problem, and had been sent two pictures of a cheeky six year old with huge NHS spectacles, and then a picture of a cool teenager going through an emo phase.
Brendan looked scandalized and pointed an accusing finger at Anna.
“That’s it! I’m telling Nick about your secret stash of chocolate. Bottom left drawer of her desk!”
Anna laughed but realized she needed to find a new hiding place as Nick raised an eyebrow.
“Well,” said Nick, “let’s just say Grég and Bren, you aren’t looking the best there, buddies!”
He flipped the screen, showing more funny photos one after another. Brendan had his head in his hands, covering his face with embarrassment as he peeked through his fingers. Grégoire was laughing and couldn’t seem to believe that Nick had dug out so many dodgy pictures: he was clapping, laughing and teasing Brendan, encouraging him to relax and enjoy it. The crowd loved it.
“I’m sorry, Bren,” Nick called. “I’m only playing! I love you, you know that.”
Then he flipped to a new set of photographs showing pictures of the night Brendan and Grégoire had first met.
“These are the handsome devils we know today,” and he flipped through dozens of photographs that silently documented their best moments, the beginning of their love affair.
Brendan smiled and squeezed Grégoire’s hand as they both looked at the screen and the memories came flooding back.
Nick spoke again, his expression more serious.
“I’m so happy you both found each other. Life, love, they have a funny way of guiding two souls together,” and he glanced over and winked at Anna, smiling as she blew him a kiss. “Life is truly what you make it, guys, the memories, the moments, the good times, the bad times—treasure it all.”
There were murmurs of agreement.
“Bren, I’m very proud of you. You’ve always gone above and beyond for Anna, as well as me and the kids. There’s a reason that we picked you to be their Godfather—and it’s not just because we know you’ll buy them awesome presents on their birthdays…”
Brendan laughed as he wiped his eyes, and Grégoire put his arm around his new husband’s shoulders.
“Life hasn’t always been easy for you, but you’ve never let anything hold you back. You’re such a fun-loving guy to be around, selfless and loyal, too. I love you like a brother and you deserve all the happiness in the world. I’m proud that you chose me to be your Best Man today.”
He exchanged a look with Brendan, something important passing between the two men—a look that spoke of love and trust and lifelong friendship.
Nick cleared his throat as the emotion of the day affected him.
“Can we all raise a glass!”
All the guests lifted their champagne glasses as Nick led the toast.
“To Bren and Grég! Be yourselves, be amazing. Long life, health and happiness! Cheers!”
Anna
WHAT MORE CAN I say about Nick?
He’s had two amazing careers where he’s climbed to the top of his profession—rugby and now modelling.
It took him a little while to understand where he fit into the domain of top models, the possibilities and the limitations. It was a strange new world, but found his way in the end, because he’s strong, so strong.
And now he’s become interested in photography, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a success of that, too.
My model boyfriend! Just thinking about it makes me smile. I found it so intimidating at first, the way he was surrounded by beautiful young women all day long, but he was never interested in them, he never made me doubt him. Not ever. It was myself that I doubted. I had to have a long hard look at myself—my inside self—and try to find out why I felt such fear and doubt. It wasn’t much fun analysing myself like that, but I think I’m stronger for it, too.
He still gets hit on all the time—by men and women—but that’s not his fault, and now it makes me smile.
Nick, my own personal male model. He doesn’t always get it right and he’s far from perfect, like me, but he’s mine and I love him with everything in me, body and soul, head and heart.
I love his kindness, his caring, his incredible energy and drive. I love seeing him explode into action, his enthusiasm pushing past every hurdle. I love his quiet moments, seeing the introspection, the depth of his thoughts, the vulnerability, and the resolution that comes from knowing himself. I love the way he plays with our babies, takes care of them, and teaches them.
And as the years roll by, we’ll watch our children grow, and each laughter line, each wrinkle and each grey hair will be part of the story of us, and I will welcome every one of them.
I let him go because I loved him. I wanted him to live the biggest life he could. I wanted him to feel the possibilities as he soared to new heights, but he always had a home to come back to. I left the door wide open, letting him know he is loved. He is loved.
And he came home.
My beautiful man.
My lover.
My Nick.
THE END
In the story, Nick suffers from an addiction to tramadol, a painkiller commonly supplied after surgery or for chronic pain. Although aspects of Model Boyfriend are based on Stuart’s life, he has a very strong anti-drug stance, and has never been addicted to painkillers.
It’s a serious problem affecting many athletes as they try to recover from injury, and we felt it was important to include this in the story.
On a happier note, we gave Brendan and Grégoire their dream wedding on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini, with all their friends and family (well, most of them).
But in real life, same-sex marriages aren’t legal in Greece. We hope that one day they will be.
Jane & Stu ♥
We really hope that you enjoyed Nick and Anna’s story, Brendan and Grégoire’s, too.
Reviews are lovely and important to us because they help other people to make an informed decision before buying this book.
So we’d really appreciate if you took a few seconds to do just that by clicking this link on Amazon.
Thank you!
Jane & Stu
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To Kirsten Olsen, our wonderful editor, advisor, friend, sounding board, all around Super Woman, who also became a femme fatale in the story, trying to seduce Nick. All the best jobs ;)
To Golden Czermak for graciously agreeing to a cameo role in this book, and for sharing some insider info ;)
To Lisa Ashmore for legal advice on Nick’s court cases
To Elisa Wang for letting us shamelessly use her name—and create her alter ego Ning Yu! Also Denise Catalano, Shonda Riffe Smith and Natascha Luchetti—yes, you’re in there, ladies!
To Michelle Abascal-Monroy who generously organised our blog tour
To Tonya Allen, beta reader and travel buddy.
To the Reardonites and Jane’s Travelers for their love and loyalty
To Sheena Lumsden for behind the scenes support
To all the bloggers who give up their time for their passion of reading and reviewing books—thank you for your support
To our readers—you have great taste ;) You rock!
Stuart is a retired England International Rugby League player who’s career spanned 16 years as a professional playing for several top League clubs, including in France. He has had several major injuries that nearly ended his career just as in Undefeated, the amazing collaboration with Jane, where we first meet Nick and Anna.
Currently he is a Personal Trainer living in Cheshire, and has an online fitness program: Fear Nothing Fitness.
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I enjoy watching surfers at my local beach, and weaving stories of romance in the modern world, with all its trials and tribulations.
It’s been the best fun working with Stu on this story. More than fun, fascinating and enlightening, too.
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Stuart Reardon & Jane Harvey-Berrick
An ordinary man … an extraordinary life
Undefeated (Undefeated series #1)
Model Boyfriend (Undefeated series #2)
Touch My Soul (Novella)
Gym Vs Chocolate (coming soon)
Jane Harvey-Berrick
Series Titles
The Traveling Series
All the fun of the fair … and two worlds collide
The Traveling Man (Traveling series #1)
The Traveling Woman (Traveling series #2)
Roustabout (Traveling series #3)
Carnival (Traveling series #4)
The Traveling Series Box Set (Traveling series #1-4)
The Education Series
An epic love story spanning the years, through war zones and more…
The Education of Sebastian (Education series #1)
The Education of Caroline (Education series #2)
The Education of Sebastian & Caroline (combined edition, books 1 & 2)