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David went into the kitchen and leaned on the counter of the island, breathing deeply.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Noel said. “He’s….”
“Yes, I did. I have to get away from him if I’m going to have any chance at a life of my own. I don’t want to live in his shadow.”
“Good for you,” Giles said as Noel stared at David, swallowing hard. He then looked over at the others, searching to see if they had heard what he had. The guys all grabbed some food and drinks and then quickly left the room.
“What’s with them?” David asked.
Noel leaned against the island. “Did you mean it?” he asked. “What you said, did you mean it? I’ll understand if it was something you said just to make your father upset and throw him off balance, but I think—” Noel grunted as David pulled him close.
“Yes. I meant it.”
Noel blinked, inhaling David’s rich scent, surrounded by his strong arms. “Really?”
David nodded. “I am falling in love with you.”
“And you want me to come live in the guest house?” Noel asked. “With Wiggles and….” He was finding all of this almost more than he could believe. Damn, he wanted to so badly, but things like this just didn’t happen to him.
“I want you to stay here, and I want Wiggles to come too.” David closed the distance between them. “And yes, I am falling in love with you. And if things don’t work out, you’ll still have a place to live because we’ll put things in writing. I would never put anyone in a position to worry about where they lived if things didn’t work out like… God, I’m babbling like an idiot.”
Noel smiled and put David out of his misery with a kiss.
“Yay, I wanna kiss too,” Archie said from behind Noel.
They broke apart as Giles snagged a giggling Archie, who got plenty of kisses from his papa and daddy. Thank goodness, because Noel was not in the mood to share David with anyone. Not right now.
“Say it again…,” Noel asked.
“I’m falling in love with you.”
“Good. Because I think I already fell for you more than once. And you caught me both times.” What more could he ever want?
“I always will.”
Epilogue
David camehome earlier than usual from his new job at Newsome and Howe downtown. After giving up working for his father, he decided to join a law practice, and John Newsome was someone he had known for years. He also wasn’t a fan of his father, which was a nice side benefit. But before taking the job, David had employed Mr. Newsome to negotiate his father’s buyout of his stake in the family business. That had really set his father’s teeth on edge, especially after he had been trounced in the special election.
“The yard looks great,” David said once he got out of the car. He and Noel had worked every weekend to clean up the property, and it was really starting to look much better. May was an amazing month, and everything was green and blooming.
“I got most of the trimming done, though I think we’re going to have to take out a number of things and replant them. They’ve just gotten too overgrown.” He set his rake aside and hurried over. David caught him in his arms, holding Noel to him. Everything always felt right, no matter how tough his day, once he came home. “How was work?”
David sighed, releasing tension as he stood still for a few minutes. “As good as can be expected. I picked up two more cases, and we signed the buyout papers, so my father had to transfer a huge amount of money to me today, which really pissed him off.” David was beyond caring what his father thought about much of anything. Other than across the negotiating table, he hadn’t seen him since January. Which hurt in some ways, but there was only so much pure aggravation that anyone could take. “But it’s over.”
“I’m glad.” Noel rested his head on David’s chest. “I need to go in to work in a few hours. Tonight is my last show at the theater.” Classes were almost over, and Noel had decided to give up his job dancing. “I have an interview next week for a position at Northwest Financial. They want an analyst, and I think I’ll be really good at it.”
David had offered to help him, but Noel had insisted that he wanted to find a job on his own, so David had stayed out of it. “I know you will.” He had every faith in Noel. It was just that he had already interviewed for three other positions, and David hated seeing him get passed over.
“Are you going to come to the show tonight?” Noel asked, and David shook his head. The more he cared for Noel and the deeper his feelings became, the harder it was to see him dance. He never told Noel about it because he truly wanted Noel’s work to be his decision, and David didn’t want to pressure him, but the truth was he was very relieved that he was moving on.
“I have some work I need to finish. I’ll have it done when you get home, and then you and I can have the entire weekend free.” David loved Noel’s smile, especially when it was for him. “Let me go inside and change, and I can help you for a while.” He kissed him and then hurried into the house, glad to get out of the suit and tie.
“I need to clear away these clippings and then prep the beds,” Noel told him once David had changed and found him in the back of the yard, rolling up the cord on the hedge trimmers. David started bagging the clippings in huge paper compostable bags, and Noel turned over the beds before spreading mulch.
The sun was bright and warm, but the wind off the lake kept the air cool. Still, they made progress working together, with David taking care of the clippings to be picked up and Noel finishing the two of the large planting beds. Once they were done, David helped put all the tools away and made dinner while Noel got ready for work.
David thought of going just to watch Noel dance a final time, but decided to stay home. This was the end of that part of Noel’s life, and he needed to be able to say goodbye without David looking over his shoulder. After Noel left, David fed the cats and went to his office to get to work, leaving the door open.
