AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah.”
“That’s because I love you,” Tomás said.
He loved me. It hit me all over again, seeing that same devotion and sense of wonder on Tiago’s face every time he watched Cas. He loved me. Not a crush, not a fling. Tomás Banner loved me. He was in love with me. It was nothing short of a miracle that this man, whom I had loved in some way since I was a boy, was now mine.
Words failed me, so I leaned in and kissed him. I poured everything of that jumbled mess of emotions into my kiss. Hopefully, it would say what I couldn’t. I guess it did because when I let go of him, Tomás’s eyes were a little moist.
Dinner was relaxed and delicious, with Tiago proudly serving oven-baked salmon he’d prepared himself, with several vegetable side dishes and wild rice. “I thought you didn’t like fish?” I asked Tomás when he complimented his brother on the food.
“Salmon is the one exception,” Tomás and Tiago said at the same time, then grinned at each other.
“Is there something one of you hates and the other loves?” I asked.
They looked at each other. “Turtle necks,” Tiago said. “I can’t stand to wear them. They feel like they’re choking me. But Tomás likes them.”
“I don’t mind them,” Tomás said. “It’s not that I love them. And for me, it’s Converse. Tiago loves them, and I think they’re the most uncomfortable shoes ever invented.”
“I’m with you on that one, Tomás,” Cas said. “I tried them once, but they gave me plantar fasciitis because they offer no support at all.”
“See?” Tomás said triumphantly, and Tiago laughed.
“What else?” I asked.
“Tiago can swim,” Tomás said. “I can’t.”
“You can’t swim?” I was surprised by that revelation.
“He can sort of keep his head above water, so it’s not like he’d drown in a pool, but no, I wouldn’t call it swimming,” Tiago said with a laugh. “It’s more like a dog paddling with its paws.”
I snorted at the mental picture of the elegant, famous Tomás Banner splashing around in a pool like that.
Tomás shrugged. “He’s not wrong. A few years ago, I did a shoot for swimwear in Barbados, and the art director wanted me to go into the ocean. This massive wave slammed into me, and I damn near drowned. Ever since I’ve refused to go into water that’s deeper than my thighs.”
“Was that the ad for Speedo?” I asked, then promptly blushed at what I had revealed.
Tomás quirked an eyebrow. “It was. How did you know?”
“I may have, erm, kept that one when I saw it in a magazine.” I sighed. I might as well own up to it now. “It was super hot, okay? You were practically naked, only wearing this itty-bitty pair of Speedos, and well, let’s just say I found it alluring. Not enough to make me buy Speedos because I could never pull those off, but I did become a fan of them on you, so there’s that.”
Tiago and Cas howled with laughter, and Tomás was grinning like a cat who had spotted a canary. “I’m glad you appreciate my art, meu amor.”
“Art. That’s one word for it,” I mumbled. Shit, if only my cheeks would cool down. “I’ve seen more fabric on a Barbie doll.”
Now Tomás was laughing out loud as well.
“I can tell you right now you won’t ever wear those when others are present,” I said. “They’re indecent. You could be arrested for public indecency.”
Still laughing, he kissed me. “I’ll only wear them for you.”
“I’ll allow that,” I said, mollified.
“So, what are your plans going forward?” Tiago asked as we were done with dinner and sat on the couch, me curled up against Tomás and Tiago practically in Cas’s lap. “Can I ask that?”
“We haven’t discussed it.” Tomás looked at me. “But I doubt Fir will want to move, what with his kids and all, so once we’re ready for that next step, I guess I’ll sell the house again.”
Cas sat up straight. “Would you consider becoming a landlord? My sister and Jess would love to move to Forestville, but Sam walked away from her divorce flat broke, and Jessie can’t afford to buy on her credit and income alone, since real estate prices have soared so much.”
Tomás shrugged. “Sure, why not? If that helps them, then yeah, no problem.”
