Chapter Ten

After their nearly-eventful shower, Griffin and Levi toweled off, and while his actor beau got ready for the day, Levi went across the hall to face the music.

Sir Edward was sitting on the edge of his unmade bed looking like something the cat had dragged in. He looked up at Levi with red-rimmed eyes and said, “I feel terrible.”

“Sorry.” He brought him a glass of ice water. “If you can get rehydrated, that’ll help.”

His charge accepted the glass and asked, “Would you be a dear and make a cuppa?”

“Of course.”

Levi filled the teapot and put it on the hot plate to boil, then went into his room to change into clothes that hadn’t been worn yesterday. When he came back out, Sir Edward had finished his water and was attempting to finger-comb his hair.

“I’m sure I look a positive disaster,” he moaned.

“You’ve had better mornings, sir.”

He got the tea ready and brought it to Sir Edward, who clung to the mug for dear life. After a few minutes of nursing the drink, he looked at Levi.

“So, will you be moving your things into Mr. Lawrence’s suite today?”

The thought surprised him. “I honestly hadn’t thought about it. I haven’t been invited.”

“Likely just an oversight.”

Levi held up the room service menu. “Can I order you anything? Toast, maybe?”

Sir Edward made a sour face. “Thank you, no, but don’t starve because of me. Order if you’d like.”

He put the menu aside. “I’m actually going to be having breakfast with Griffin and his friends.”

“His loathsome friends who make such a lot of noise in the early morning hours,” the actor grumbled. “Well, before you go, please lay out my clothing for the day. I will bathe and dress myself after you’ve gone.”

“Of course.” He busied himself with the task at hand, hanging the garments in the way that Sir Edward had prescribed.

“Are you happy, Mr. Rudd?”

He smiled. “Happier than I ever thought I’d be.”

The actor nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. Now don’t let that young man slip away from you. Remember what I said.”

Levi sat beside Sir Edward on the side of the bed. “The man you loved, the one you said you lost – what happened to him?”

The older man took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “We parted when it was very clear that my fear of scandal was greater than my devotion to what we had. He went on to marry a woman and have a family. I’ve quite lost track of him. He may be dead now for all I know.”

“What was his name?”

“Andrew Connolly.” He said the name with wistful sorrow, and it made Levi sad for him.

“Have you looked for him?”

His voice was too hopeful and eager, even to his own ears, which was not like him at all. Sir Edward patted him on the knee. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s too late for a reunion with him. Some love stories don’t have happy endings. But yours, my dear Mr. Rudd, certainly can.”

He rose stiffly and made his hunch-shouldered way toward the bathroom. Before he could close the door, Levi said, “Thank you for convincing me to try again.”

The Englishman turned back to him with a fond smile. “Think nothing of it. Fairy godmother is my favorite role.” He walked into the room and closed the door. “Go to breakfast, my young friend.”

He waited until he heard the water start, and then he crossed the hall again.

***

Griffin and Levi walked into the restaurant together, shoulder to shoulder, and went to the table where Pete and Katie were already sitting. A gaggle of fans who had been staking out the hotel lobby were in ecstasy just beyond the door, and Levi was appalled to see all of the smart phones pointed in their direction.

“Are they seriously going to record you eating?”

“Yup,” Pete said. He turned toward the window and waved to the fans, who shouted and squealed in delight. He grinned. “We are totally going to have to go out there when we’re done.”

“Should probably do it now,” Griffin opined. The two actors looked at one another, then rose as one and walked out into the lobby.

Levi watched them go, amazed to see Pete and Griffin disappearing into their characters, Bobby and Rick. Katie was watching them, too, and she had a bemused smile on her face that must have echoed his own. When she turned back around, she said, “We might as well order, because they’re going to be out there for hours.”

“Hours? Really?”

“Neither one of them has the heart to tell those girls no,” she shrugged. “So let’s eat our breakfasts, and when they come back in, we can order lunch and eat with them.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like you’ve gotten to know the routine pretty well.”

“I’ve been dating that tall doofus for six years, and we’ve been engaged for two. Yeah, I’ve seen a lot. I go to his conventions with him and I watch him and Griff knock themselves out trying to make everybody happy.”

They flipped through the menus for a moment, and Levi asked, “When are the two of you getting married?”

“Holiday hiatus this year. Griffin is the best man, so I hope I’ll see you there as his plus one.”

He smiled, then leaned closer to her. “How long have you known?”

Katie frowned, a trifle confused. “About Griffin being gay, or about his being in love with you?”

“Uh…”

She laughed. “The answer to both is since the day I met him. He’s never made any bones about who he is, and he’s talked about you for as long as I’ve known him.”

He was abashed and surprised. “Really?”

“Really.” She glanced over her shoulder at the two stars and their adoring public, then told him softly, “I think it would be cool if we could have a double wedding. Those two are joined at the hip with everything else, so it would be just like them.”

Levi flushed. “Wow. I… wow. I never thought about that.” He looked out at his boyfriend, then back at Katie. “We’re pretty lucky, you know? Not everybody gets a second chance.”

“True.” She sipped her water. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to stay here in Chicago, or are you coming back with him?”

He saw Griffin turn around and smile back at him, and the love in his boyfriend’s eyes was radiant. He smiled back, and a few of the fangirls tittered to each other. Griffin blew him a kiss, then said something to the girls, who practically exploded. Pete roared and grabbed his co-star in a hug, and Levi and Katie looked at each other, nonplussed. There were hugs aplenty out in the lobby, and Griffin beckoned Levi to come join him. Levi pointed at himself in disbelief, and his boyfriend nodded enthusiastically.

“Oh my God,” Katie said, reading her fiancé’s lips. “I know what he’s doing. You’d better go out there.”

Shy and uncomfortable, but not wanting to make Griffin look bad in front of his friends, Levi reluctantly went out to join him. He nearly fell over when the first thing Griffin did was grab his hand and pull him into a kiss. Cell phones flashed, fangirls cooed, and he forgot to close his eyes. Griffin pulled back and smiled at him, beaming the brightest, happiest expression that Levi had ever seen.

“Ladies,” the actor said, “I’d like to meet Levi, the love of my life.”

“Hi, Levi,” some of the fans said. Others took their picture. Griffin put his arm around his shoulders and held him up.

“You guys are such a cute couple!” one of the fans said. “Pete, did you know about this?”

The other actor snorted. “Please. Griff never shuts up about the guy.”

“Never?” Levi asked, looking into his lover’s eyes.

He confirmed with a smile and a nod. “Never.”

“Oh, that’s so cute!”

He felt dizzy, but profoundly happy. Griffin had said he’d come out to his fans, and by God, he just had. It was the craziest, most loving thing he’d ever done, and Levi couldn’t let it go without trying to top it.

“Katie was just talking about how they’re getting married this winter,” he told Griffin. The fans and the other actor faded from his focus and he saw only his lover, his heart, his partner. “She said there should be a double wedding, since you guys do everything together anyway.”

Griffin’s eyebrows shot upward, and his eyes opened wide. “Really?”

This time, it was Levi who smiled and nodded. “Really.”

Tears brimmed against Griffin’s blond-tipped lashes, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. “I… I really like the sound of that.”

Then, as the cell phones recorded every moment, they embraced to seal the moment with a kiss.

 

 *THE END*

 

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