AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He reappeared a few moments later, pillow in hand, his cheeks still pink. When he came in, he wordlessly tossed the pillow on the bed and nodded at me. I hesitated for a moment, opened my mouth to speak and closed it again, unsure of what to say.
“I’m sorry,” he blurted.
My eyebrows shot up. “For what?”
“For…” He gestured between us. “Touching you.”
“It was chilly, even with your mom’s quilt. It’s fine. I don’t mind, honestly.”
“It’s just, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about what’s happening here.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Strictly business.”
I nodded, tempted to ask him what he dreamed about. I knew he needed to come to terms with his sexuality himself, though, and no amount of prodding from me would help. “Yeah, sure. Of course.”
He exhaled quickly. “Good, because I just… I don’t…”
Holding up a hand to stop him, I shook my head. “It’s fine. Really.”
His shoulders relaxed, dropping an inch, and he let out another breath, slow and deep. “Thanks.” After a pause, he looked around. “I guess I should get dressed then.”
“Yeah, of course,” I said. I held up my toothbrush. “I’ll give you some privacy.”
A few minutes later, we were clean, dressed, and in the kitchen when someone knocked at the front door. I furrowed my brow but Soren’s parents both lit up with smiles.
“Hugo!” Olivia practically shouted as she rushed to answer the door.
Soren straightened up and forced a smile. “Mom, you didn’t tell me he was coming by.”
She shot a pointed look at Soren. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a husband, so now we’re even.”
Paul laughed and sipped his coffee. “She’s got you there, bud.”
“But I haven’t told him yet,” he hissed.
Olivia shrugged. “You’re about to.” She swung the door open and the man on the other side could’ve been Soren’s twin, they looked so much alike. Dark hair, dark eyes, same build. The other guy had short hair, though, almost shaved, where Soren’s was longer, long enough that I sometimes caught myself wondering what it would feel like to run my fingers through it while I…
I shook my head to clear away the thoughts of kissing Soren again and smiled at his brother, who was looking at me curiously while he hugged his mom.
“Who’s this?” His words echoed Paul’s question from the night before.
“That’s Levi, Soren’s new husband, and he’s been a perfect guest.”
“Wait, what?” He laughed. “You’re married? To a guy?”
I glanced at Soren, who nodded slowly. “I am.”
His brother embraced him in a tight hug. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t seem important, I guess.”
Hugo pulled back and rolled his eyes. “You didn’t think it was important to tell your flag waving out-and-proud gay brother that you’re not straight?” When Soren shrugged wordlessly, Hugo released him. “Okay, well, I’m glad you’re happy. That’s all that matters.” Practically the same words Olivia had said the night before, too. I chuckled a little at how similar they all were. They were clearly related.
The rest of the day was full of family time. Olivia showed me her quilting room and all of her works in progress. That year’s theme was feathers, so the quilts she had started each had feather patterns, feather fabric, or large feathers quilted on backings. She was happy to chatter on about the history of quilting in her family, and by the time we’d finished talking, she informed me she was planning to make us a wedding quilt and to make me my own welcome to the family quilt.
A while after that, I found my way into the garage workshop with Paul. He taught me about woodworking, showed me several pens he was making, and many he’d already made. “I sell them at flea markets and vendor fairs on the weekends,” he said, thrusting a large display at me. “Pick one.”
“I couldn’t,” I protested, shaking my head and backing away.
“I insist.” Paul put the display on the tool bench and picked up several. “These are my favorites, but you pick one that you like. That reminds you of Soren, maybe.”
