I close the distance between us, taking his hand in mine again. “Well, Princess, I don’t think it’s any secret that I’d kind of written off the idea of sharing a future with anyone before you forced your way into my life,” I tease.
He bites his lip, blue eyes shining with amusement as he holds my gaze. “Yes, I’ve gathered that.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think I cared all that much about the future at all,” I continue, squeezing his hand as I admit that. “But then I met you, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I realized I was making plans. I can’t help but wonder how you’d react when something interesting happens during my day. When I look at options for my house, I always think about what you’d like more. I haven’t had anything to look forward to after work, and now I’ve found myself watching the clock for the first time, counting down the hours until I get to come home to you.”
“Really?” he whispers.
I nod. “You showed up here and forced your way into mylife.” He laughs, and I squeeze his hand again before I continue. “And I don’t ever want you to leave. Thank you for being patient with me.”
He shakes his head, but he looks very ready to cry, so I continue.
“When you tried to tell me I didn’t need to meet your parents today, I realized you weren’t asking me to avoid your family because you were embarrassed about me, or my house, or this town, or any of the other things I’ve tried to convince myself might prevent you from staying here or wanting to be with me. You were trying to respect my comfort and privacy. And your parents are here because they love you and want to support your new life here. Because you do plan to stay.”
“Of course I do,” he agrees, voice tight.
“Well, when you talked about me waiting to meet them, I realized it wasn’t a question of if I would, but when. Because you’re all in, and I’ve been planning a future with you too, even if I’ve been afraid to admit it.”
He’s nodding quickly. “I am all in.”
And I believe him. I lean in and bring my mouth to his, hoping my kiss can express to him how much that means to me. How happy he makes me. I pull away, and I don’t hesitate to say the words I never expected to say to anyone again, but I know without a doubt are true now. “I love you, Chad.”
And despite the giant smile on his face, he bursts into tears.
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but laugh as I pull him into my chest.
It takes a long time for him to calm down enough to respond. I’m sure his parents are wondering what the fuck happened to us, but I don’t care. Everything about today has felt right, like Chad and I were always meant to end up here.
Finally, he takes a deep breath and pulls himself together enough to say, “I love you too, John. I’ve never been happier than I am with you. I’m so excited for our future!”
“So am I,” I agree, and then I kiss him again.
We spenda couple of hours showing Chad’s parents his house and all the plans he and my brothers have made to restore it. After, we all head to the farm so they can meet his donkeys. We’d also promised Liam and Blake we’d get to the festival before it’s open to the public, so his parents should have plenty of “bonding time” to meet their “grandbabies” as Chad has told them.
Wyatt is putting the welcome sign by the parking entrance when we get there.
“Hey, Wyatt! I’d love for you to meet my parents!” Chad calls out as he leads us in his direction and introduces them.
“Hey, kid!” he addresses him before turning to his parents. “It’s great to meet you both! It’s been a pleasure having Chad around more this summer; always brightens up my day when he’s at the farm.”
Chad’s mom nods. “Sounds like our Chad. He’s always had a way of bringing out the joy in others. We couldn’t be more proud.”
“Nice of you to come out for a visit!” Wyatt adds. “Where are you staying?”
His dad huffs. “Well, there’s only the one hotel in town, so there.”
Wyatt nods. “Yeah, folks complain about that quite a bit when they visit the farm. I keep hoping someone will open up another option now that my son and his husband have made this such a destination.”
“Maybe next year!” Chad’s mom suggests, and I can’t help but think about Chad’s big empty mansion that he’ll hopefully be moving out of soon when he’s in my house permanently. But that’s an idea for another day.
“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair!” Blake shouts as he and Liam join us. “So excited that you guys could come out.”
They all exchange hugs. “So good to see you, Blake. We were so sorry to miss the wedding. But we’re happy to be here now to see you and the farm! Even if I have to admit I was even more excited to finally meet Chad’s boyfriend,” she says conspiratorially.
I smirk, and Liam’s eyes go wide. When he meets my gaze, he mouths “boyfriend?” and I shrug a confirmation.
“Can I show you two around the farm before everyone else gets here? These boys don’t let me help with anything now that I’m retired,” Wyatt offers Chad’s parents, and they quickly agree, informing him that they were promised time with the donkeys.
When they’re too far to hear us, Blake practically knocks Chad over with how hard he grabs his shoulders, shouting, “Boyfriend? Oh my God, is itofficialofficial? Can we talk about it now? Do you know how hard it’s been pretending like I’m not already planning your wedding?”
