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Mom regarded them with a pained expression. “Can’t you stay for dinner?”
“Please stay,” Dad added. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“I’ll make your favorite—mac and cheese.” Mom’s beseeching gaze tugged at his heart.
He peered at Dan, who nodded. His lips twitched. “Mac and cheese beats your leftover meatballs.”
Gary gaped in mock anger. “I thought you liked them.”
“I did! I mean, I do.” Dan’s eyes twinkled. “I happen to like mac and cheese more, that’s all.”
Mom laughed. “Are you sure you haven’t been together long?”
“And you haven’t said yes yet,” Dad remarked.
“You wouldn’t have to leave right after dinner.” Mom beamed. “You could stay the night. I’ll make up the bed in your old room, and Dan can—” She blinked, her mouth snapping shut.
Gary coughed. “Dan can stay in my room too.Ifwe stay.” But he already knew he was fighting a losing battle. The enthusiasm in Mom’s voice, Dad’s eagerness…. It had been so long since he’d encountered either of those things, and he didn’t want to dampen them with an abrupt departure. There was finally a crack in the wall his parents had built between themselves and Gary, and Gary wanted to see if he and Dan could widen it a little more.
Mom frowned. “Oh. I’m not sure about that.”
Gary let out a chuckle. “Mom, I’m thirty-eight, not eighteen. You’re notreallygoing to make my boyfriend sleep in another room, are you? Because the only room left is Brad’s.” The word boyfriend still tasted strange on his tongue, but it was a taste he was growing to like more and more.
Dad nodded. “And besides, they’ll only creep around the house when they think we’re asleep and end up in the same bed.” Gary gaped at him, and Dad stared back. “What? You should’ve seen whatwegot up to when I stayed for a weekend at your grandparents’ place.”
“Hey!” Mom smacked his arm. “They donotneed to hear that, okay?”
Gary choked back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. His parents weren’t back, but they were on the right track, and it was all down to Dan.
I don’t think I could ever put into words how much this means to me.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t have a damn good try.
Gary smiled. “Of course we’ll stay.”
His parents’ smiles told him he’d made the right decision. But as he went into the kitchen in search of Mom’s cookies while she made coffee, what went through his head was Dan’s reaction to the book in Brad’s room.
Whatever he’d felt, it wasn’t good.
Chapter Nineteen
Saturday, July 28, 2018
DAN OPENEDhis eyes. Gary lay beside him, facing the door, his breathing regular. Sunlight poured through the thin curtains at the window, and he became aware of noise elsewhere in the house. He grabbed his phone and peered at the screen.
Seriously?
He gave Gary’s shoulder a shake. “Hey. Hey.”
“Mm?” Gary rolled over to face him. “Morning.” His tousled hair made Dan yearn to tease it straight with his fingers.
Dan chuckled. “But not for much longer.” When Gary frowned, Dan held the phone in front of his face. “It’s almost ten.”
It took a second or two for his words to sink in. Then Gary sat upright. “Why didn’t you wake me?”
“Wakeyou? I’ve only just opened my eyes.” He threw back the comforter. “We’d better get dressed and get down there before they wonder what on earth we’re doing.”
To his surprise, Gary grabbed him and pulled him into his arms. “I’m pretty sure they’ve got a good idea.”
