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What she had to figure out now was where to place Gene in all of this. There was no denying her husband’s love for him.
“I’m aware,” she admitted. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. My husband and I don’t have secrets. On top of that, I can see that Ethan is different with you, and that was something you built together. I’d have to be completely blind not to see that.”
He just sat there.
Broken.
“It’s okay that you love him.”
Gene was honest.
“I don’t like that you were right.”
“About Tommy?”
He nodded.
She moved over on the couch because he looked like he needed a hug.
She patted the couch beside her.
He stared at her like she was going to shank him.
“Gene, I don’t bite. I’m a bottom,” she said, laughing when she saw his face. “Don’t be shocked. I know that the things he does to me, he’s tried out on you first. I investigate. Before me, there was you. He didn’t learn on the internet. Context clues and all.”
“Lordy, but this is a rough day for me. I don’t know what to think.”
She was amused.
“Join me.”
He did.
She took his hand in hers.
“I’m not Tommy. I know Ethan loves you. I know you’re very special in his life. I know that if you called in the middle of the night, he’d get on a plane and rush to you. It happened when you lost Preston.”
He said nothing.
“What you don’t realize is so would I. Ethan and I are a package deal. We come with baggage, but we come as a unit. You’re not alone. You have all of us.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“I woke up this morning, and never thought this was going to be my day. We were good. We were fine, and then…BAM. For weeks he told me that he wanted to leave here, and I was willing to do that, Elizabeth. I wanted to escape with our lives. I even talked to Maura and Jagger. I was ready to go. If I stay and he goes back…”
She was aware.
“I feel empty. This morning, I was getting married. I got my tux. I bought our rings, which I just flushed. I was a unit, and now, I’m not sure how to breathe.”
Elizabeth kissed away his tears on his cheek.
“I understand. While you need Ethan, I’ll share his heart with you,” she offered. “If you need him, you can lean on him. You can lean on us. You’re not going to a cold apartment to sit alone at night. You’ll be with us. You’ll find joy again, and hopefully, we’ll get to see you find love. We’ll see you find that one person who will protect you.”
God.
He knew he wouldn’t.
Because he’d had him once, and now, he was gone. He’d lost his one true love, and then, he’d lost Preston, his second chance.
