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“My neighbor owns a chain of furniture stores throughout the city. I met with him and his partner to discuss possibly working on a line for them.”
We were brought menus, and Cole perused his, informing us he’d be ordering for Jasper to get the ball rolling on dinner.
“Partner?” I asked, hoping that meant what I thought it did.
“Businesspartner,” Franklin clarified, and my stomach filled with lead.
“So he’s available, then?” My mouth refused to shut up.
“Very,” Cole said. “And you should see the way he looks at my father.”
Our server returned to pour water for Franky, and I unclenched my jaw and turned to Cole. Thankfully, he was still busy scanning the food options.
“You should put him out of his misery,” he said absently to his father. “Tell him you’re straight.”
“But I’m not,” Franky said, pausing to take an audible gulp of water. “Straight. I’m not straight.”
There was a brief pause in which Cole dropped the menu too close to the candle, nearly setting it on fire as he stared at his father open-mouthed. “Oh,” he said.
“Is there a problem with that?” Franky asked in his usual self-assured way, but I didn’t miss how his hand trembled as he lowered his glass. Admitting this to Cole wasn’t a simple thing for him.
“No,” Cole said, slightly offended. “Of course not. I just… This is the first I’m hearing of this.” He also appeared hurt, I realized. He was probably wondering when this revelation occurred, and depending on when, how it fit into Franky’s marriage to Selene.
“We’ll talk later,” Franky said to him.
Cole’s phone vibrated, breaking up the awkwardness. “It’s Jasper. Excuse me,” he said, before leaving the table.
“Are you trying to make me jealous?” I snapped, our bodies twisting until we faced each other. I should’ve been asking for details on what their talk would entail, but Franky wouldn’t tell Cole about us without the go-ahead from me, so instead I focused my attention on the neighbor I didn’t know but secretly wanted to murder anyway.
“No. Jealousy isn’t the road I want to take to your forgiveness, Leland,” he said sincerely, which made me feel even more embarrassed and idiotic, because I’d been provoked when it wasn’t even his intention to provoke me. I’d shown him exactly how much I still cared.
A surge of grief overflowed in me, because I knew right then that I would have to give up Cole. I couldn’t coexist in his world with his father. If this little exchange proved anything, it was that Franky would one day move on, and that there would be a line of eligible people waiting for that to happen, and I’d have to watch someone get the best parts of him. The parts I still dreamed about having.
Since landing in New York, Franky had been watchful, patient, and tentative when addressing me, even if most of those communications came through ignored text and voicemail messages. He’d treated me like a man who was sorry would, and like he didn’t want to make my life any harder than it needed to be. And maybe I’d taken that for granted. Enjoyed it, even. How long would he wait for me, though? I swallowed around the realization that I wanted him to, that I saw his pining as some sort of punishment he needed to endure. What would happen, though, when he decided he no longer deserved my punishment?
“Your furniture will be in someone else’s store?” I asked. “It’ll be mass-produced.” That was the opposite of what he’d once dreamed of. He’d wanted a quaint store that doubled as his workshop. He’d wanted to make and sell one-of-a-kind pieces and be home in time for dinner. A simple life, he’d called it.
“I think this is better for me. I’d have more time to create if I didn’t also have to run the operation on my own.”
“No,” I whispered. “That’s not why you’re doing it.” But before I could further call him on his bullshit, I remembered that I’d also tailored my dreams to make room for my fears. The Daisy was just a bar with no art involved. I guess we were both doomed to live and die in the winter meadow.
My face prickled from where his gaze currently touched it. My heart pounded a staccato rhythm for the beauty of him. We’d gotten so close that our tongues could reach out and touch if they wanted to, so close I could feel the breeze fanning from his long lashes, so close that one twitch of either of our hands and they’d be entwined from where they rested on the table.
“Please,Leland.”
The sight and sound of Franky begging would never cease to make me feel both honored and unworthy. A man like him shouldn’t have to beg, yet he did so for me.
“What if you lose them? What if choosing me ends up being the worst decision you ever make, Franky? What if we tell them the truth and we fall apart? Who we are now might not work well together. I don’t even know you anymore. I don’t even know me,” I whispered shakily.
“I—” He was interrupted by Cole and Jasper swooning over each other as they strode hand in hand to our table.
“I-I have to go,” I said.
“No,” Franky said quickly. “Let me. If you need to be away from me right now, let me be the one to leave. Cole misses you.”
Cole and Jasper were on us before I could reply, and Franky plastered on a smile as he stood to hug his stepson.
We ordered our food and drinks, and while the three of them chatted, I plucked a chunk of bread from the basket, tearing and eating tiny pieces at a time for something to do.
