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The heavy silence that followed confirmed Matthew’s worst fears. It wasn’t all in his head. “Rory would probably say something funny right about now to break the tension.”
“He would.” Brady dipped his chin in acknowledgement. “He’s always been surprisingly good at using humor as a balm or distraction.” He narrowed his gaze. “But you said we were dealing with facts now. Didn’t Oliver’s grandmother have a health scare a few months ago?”
“A small stroke.” Before they’d had a chance to schedule their dinner, Olivia Garcia had been rushed to the hospital. She’d survived, but it made perfect sense then when Oliver asked if they could hold off until she had time to heal and the dust had settled.
“He says she’s made a full recovery, but that’s all he’ll say before he changes the subject.”
And you let him. Again and again. Because the alternative is unacceptable.
Matthew’s hands flexed on his thighs. “Maybe I do need fixers after all, eh?”
Ken’s expression was kind, but concerned. “This isn’t in our wheelhouse, Matthew. We can remove actual obstacles and paper trails and change hotel reservations. But we can’t force his family to accept his sexuality, and we can’t read minds. You’re the only one who can get Oliver to tell you what’s really going on with him.”
“How?”
Brady scratched the back of his head, mussing his short red hair. “If you had money you could pull a Bellamy and order up a street parade and a rock star to impress him. Barring that, you could break into his place and refuse to leave until he gives you the time of day.”
Ken raised his eyebrows, but Matthew saw him send a subtle wink to his fiancé. “You already know all the stories, Matthew. And the lengths a Finn will go to get what he wants. Look at your brother.”
“That was a long game,” Brady said, his admiration clear. “Doesn’t always work out that well. But if you love Oliver, you have to put it all out there.”
And risk losing him. That was what they were saying. Either he went back to pretending Oliver’s avoidance wasn’t chipping away at his confidence, his heart, or he finally found out if what they had was strong enough to get beyond this.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” He got to his feet, pausing before reaching into his pocket and tossing a small drive in Ken’s direction. “I got that done for you yesterday.”
“Already?” Tanaka twirled it in his fingers with a genuine smile. “That was fast and these were difficult. I made sure of that.”
He’d had a feeling it was another test. “Sorry again for the interruption.”
“You’re family, Matthew. Along with the having to deal with the nosy, irritating, infuriating bits, you get the perk of help when you need it. And you’ll never go hungry. It balances the rest of it out.”
Ken wrapped his arm around Matthew’s shoulder and squeezed. “Have some faith in yourself, and Oliver. There might be a good reason he’s been keeping his two worlds separate. At least, he might believe it’s a good reason.”
Matthew sure as hell hoped so.
After Matthew left, Ken stared at the closed door, lost in thought. “Who knew little Oliver would be such a holdout? He looks like a cherub.”
“I hope you’re right about them.”
“Me too.” He looked down at the drive in his hand. “If he managed to open these files, I think I’ve found my true Padawan. At least until Jake is legal.”
“Batman isn’t a Jedi. And you know Seamus won’t let you bring his son over to the dark side.”
“Which is why I’m being flexible. But I don’t need to tell you how flexible I am, do I?”
“Now that our company is gone, I could use another reminder.”
***
He’d been planning to go straight home, but somehow Matthew found himself at the gym instead. His grim expression was enough to send Robert back into the office and make William frown. But his brother was busy and the gym was crowded, so he was relatively certain he would be left alone.
He changed into the shorts and an old white t-shirt he kept here, wrapping his hands to go a few rounds with the bag so he could clear his head and consider next steps and possible outcomes.
It was possible Oliver loved him, but wasn’t ready to live with him.
Uppercut.
It was possible Oliver still thought Matthew was experimenting and didn’t trust him enough to believe they had a future together.
Left cross.
There was even a small chance that Oliver thought he was protecting Matthew from his family’s judgment. That he wouldn’t be able to handle any comments aimed in his direction.
Right hook, jab, uppercut.
None of those possibilities sounded right or complete, which left him feeling fucking helpless.
When he fell for Oliver, fool that he was, he’d thought he was going to have an ending like William’s or Uncle Shawn’s. True love and happily bloody after.
