Jonah’s house was filled to capacity, overflowing into the backyard. It was utter chaos, and from the look on Jonah’s face, it was absolutely perfect. Gabe had invited Jonah’s family, knowing they were a large group. However, the whirlwind of the Taylors—conversations, laughter, and kids running rampant—was something Gabe was not prepared for.
A large hand landed on Gabe’s shoulder, making him take a small step forward. “So, I hear you’re the one to thank for throwing this party for my little brother,” one of Jonah’s brothers said in a deep voice. Gabe couldn’t think of his name, there was no way he could remember them all. Gabe looked at his tied back brown hair and full beard…the man was sexy lumberjack chic. Was that even a thing? If not, that huge man just made it a thing. He towered over Gabe, which was surprising since Jonah was about Gabe’s height.
“Jeez, Zach,” Jonah replied from a few feet away. “I’m thirty-two, not two.”
Ah, so this one was Zachariah.
“You’re eight years younger than me. You’ll always be my little brother.” Zach ran a hand over his beard as he teased Jonah. There was laughter in his blue eyes that were so much like Jonah’s. What hit Gabe the most though, was the love between the two brothers.
Gabe only had one brother, and they were never really close. Joseph was two years older than Gabe and appropriately named after their father. He was the son their parents could be proud of. In a way, that was one of the reasons Gabe always resented Joe. Watching all these families together—Owen’s, Nate’s, and Jonah’s—Gabe’s chest hurt knowing he’d never have that. Sometimes he thought he was better off before he knew families like this existed.
Enough, Gabriel. This is Jonah’s party, not a pity party for one.
Gabe glanced up and caught Nate’s eyes across the room. His pulse did a little jump when Nate smiled at him, and Gabe smiled back. He was currently talking to one of Jonah’s sisters. Yeah, he couldn’t remember her name either, but he knew the two children running around with Lily belonged to her. A few months ago, he would’ve cringed being in the same room with someone else’s rambunctious offspring. It only took one look at Lily’s happy face to completely change his mind.
“What have we gotten ourselves into?” Brody stood next to Gabe, handing him a glass of wine while taking a swig of his beer. “I kid you not, Owen’s aunt Laurie just asked Nate’s mom if she thought Zachariah was proportionate to his height.”
“Oh, how I love those women.” Gabe laughed.
“Oh, it gets better. Leslie pulled Micah by his tie—seriously why is the guy wearing a tie? Anyway, literally pulled the guy by his tie into the kitchen saying he needed to help her with her cream. Of course, after the guy’s face turned beet red, she clarified that it was cannoli cream.”
Gabe almost choked on his wine with that one. He and Leslie were kindred spirits. “Sounds like foreplay. I thought she had a man in town?”
“Who the hell knows?” Brody chuckled. “Now, Owen’s mom is lecturing Jonah’s mom and Dakotah on the benefits of being a carnivore.”
“Well, I mean…” Gabe wiggled his eyebrows.
“I hear ya,” Brody agreed. “Miah is the only one completely oblivious to it all.” Gabe’s eyes followed Brody’s eyes to the younger woman sitting on the couch. She was the youngest Taylor, still in high school, and hadn’t stopped using her phone since they arrived.
“Isn’t there one who couldn’t come?” Gabe asked.
“Elijah lives in Jersey. He had to work some tattoo convention or something this weekend.”
“Jesus, how many are there?” Gabe scanned the room trying to count them all.
“Seven. Jonah’s in the middle somewhere.”
Well, no wonder the man had the patience of a saint.
“Lily’s having a blast with Savannah’s kids, huh?”
Savannah, that’s right.
“She is. They must’ve made at least ten laps around the house so far.” And Jonah didn’t bat an eye. The man was going to be an amazing father someday.
Owen approached them, wrapping his arms around Brody’s waist and leaned up for a quick kiss. “Whatcha guys doing?”
“Taylor-watching,” Gabe replied.
“Crazy, right?”
“I thought they’d all be as laid back as Jonah.”
“Some of them are,” Owen said, then looked at Brody. “Can you help me get the cake and other desserts ready?”
“Sure, babe.” Brody squeezed a hand on Gabe’s shoulder then followed Owen into the kitchen.
Gabe continued to take it all in, watching the families around him, trying to ignore the sense of longing inside him. His phone rang, and he absently answered it without looking at the screen. A mistake he wished he hadn’t made.
“Gabriel.” The voice on the other end was deep and void of all emotion.
“Ah, Joseph, hello to you too.” Gabe put his wine down and pressed a finger to his ear as he walked out the sliding doors and to the far end of the yard, out of earshot of anyone.
“You know I don’t like when you call me that. It’s disrespectful.”
“Well, since I’m only your son when you want something from me, I tend to forget. So, to what do I owe the honor, Father?” Gabe exaggerated the word, its meaning laughable.
“It’s time to stop playing house in New Hampshire. You have responsibilities here,” his father barked.
Gabe’s pulse raced at the knowledge that his father actually knew where he was. He sure as hell didn’t care what Gabe was up to in Boston.
His father used Gabe’s hesitation to continue on with his lecture. “You didn’t think you could actually stay there and ignore the deal that we made, did you? I’ve known you were there for months. Now, enough is enough, Gabriel. Your cousin’s wedding is on Friday, and the entire family is expected to be there. It’s all been arranged.”
Gabe closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He knew exactly what his father meant by “it’s all been arranged”. He tried to take deep breaths, but his hands were trembling now. He glanced over at Nate and their eyes met. There was never going to be a family occasion he could bring Nate and Lily to like the one going on today. His family would never accept his love for Nate—or for any man. “Who is it this time?” he whispered.
“Kitty St. James.”
He tilted his head back, closing his eyes, and exhaled. Shit. Only one of the most boring, brainless, yet highly sought after, heiresses to a hotel tycoon. The only things more fake than her laugh and bleached blond hair were her tits. That was whom his parents would rather see him with—some plastic, make-believe, smile-for-the-cameras façade—than be with the man he truly loved. It was never going to end, was it?
“Gabriel, are you listening to me? You will do this,” his father ordered. “I will not be embarrassed by your behavior at a family event—a highly publicized family event.”
Nate saw the anguish in Gabe’s eyes, and his heart began to race.
Brody stopped next to him and followed Nate’s gaze. “What’s going on? Who’s he talking to?” Brody asked.
“I thought I heard him say Joseph as he walked by,” Leslie replied from the table she was sitting at on the deck. She obviously shared their concern as she looked over at Gabe.
“Shit.” Brody’s body tensed, and his jaw ticked with anger.
Owen came up behind Brody, wrapped his arms around Brody’s waist, and put his chin on Brody’s shoulder. “What’s going on?”
The look on Brody’s face had Nate even more worried as he waited for him to tell them what the hell was going on.
Finally, Brody explained, “Joseph is his father. It’s never a good thing when his father calls.”
Without giving it a second thought, Nate walked over to Gabe and stood in front of him. He hesitated only a second before wrapping his arms around Gabe, feeling some of the tension leave his body.
“I said all right, Father. You don’t have to repeat yourself,” Gabe snapped. Without another word he ended the call. Sighing, he hugged Nate back tightly. He placed his hands on Nate’s chest as he pressed their foreheads together. “Can we get out of here?”
“Absolutely,” Nate responded and grabbed Gabe’s hand. Seeing Nate and Gabe together like this was still new to their friends and was reiterated by the slightly surprised looks they were getting. He didn’t give a shit though. He was really worried about Gabe. Nate had never seen him this on edge, and the anguish in his eyes was palpable. “Hey guys, we’re gonna head out,” he said to them, then turned to his mom. “Ma, you got Lily, right?”
“Of course, honey,” she answered, clearly concerned.
“Is everything okay?” Brody asked Gabe.
“Family obligations,” Gabe replied, his voice holding none of the strength it usually did.
Somehow, from those two words, a look of understanding flowed between Gabe and Brody, and that green monster reared its ugly head again. He knew Brody and Gabe didn’t have any sort of romantic history, but it killed Nate to know that, with everything he and Gabe had talked about, he still didn’t understand what those two words meant.
“Call me if you need to talk,” Brody said, and with that, Nate found himself pulling a little on Gabe toward the gate in the yard. It was great that Gabe had Brody.
Really. Fucking. Swell.
But if they were going to make a go of this then he was damn well going to be the one that Gabe went to if he needed to talk.
“Thanks,” Gabe said to Brody, looking back as they walked away.
“Do you want to go to the B&B or back to my place?” Nate asked as they neared his truck.
Gabe sounded distant as he asked, “Can we just drive for a little while?”
“Yeah, sure we can.” Okay, Gabe was really freaking him out now. The guy was dramatic, no doubt, but something was seriously bothering him. As soon as they got in the truck, Gabe turned, staring out his window in eerie silence.
They drove for several long minutes. Every time Nate went to ask what happened, he bit his tongue. The sun was coming down, casting a beautiful lavender and peach haze across the sky, but he was sure Gabe wasn’t seeing it. Nate turned down a road he knew like the back of his hand. It led to the lake where he and Gabe had gone fishing a few weeks ago. With the sun setting, the colors were peeking through the trees that lined the road. Any other day, he’d say it was romantic, but this silence from Gabe was making Nate uneasy.
Slowly, he pulled to a stop in the same place he’d parked his truck the last time. Not being able to stand the quiet truck anymore, he opened his mouth to ask him what happened, but Gabe spoke first.
“Do you care about me, Nate? I mean…” Gabe paused like he was searching for the right words. “Is this…am I important to you?”
Nate was floored by the question. How did something that happened with Gabe’s father become about him? He didn’t know what to say, Gabe’s whole demeanor was throwing him off.
Gabe huffed out a sad laugh, shifting his eyes out the passenger window again. He had his elbow on the window sill and was leaning his mouth on his hand. Moving his head away from his hand, he sighed and said, “Well, I guess that’s my answer.”
“Wait a minute, Gabe. You caught me off guard. I don’t even know what’s going on, but it obviously has to do with something your dad said.”
Gabe’s sad eyes glanced back at him. “You’re right, I’m sorry.” He looked back out the window, and again, they sat in awkward silence.
Nate took a deep breath before saying what Gabe needed to hear…and how he truly felt. “Yes, I care about you. I don’t exactly know what that means yet, but you’re important to me.”
Gabe glanced at Nate and whispered, “You’re important to me too. More than I can say.” Again, he looked back out the window. “Have you thought about sharing your life with someone, Nate? Is that what you see for your future?”
“I didn’t used to…”
“And now?”
The question hung in the air, the answer on the tip of Nate’s tongue, but it stuck there like glue. His heart was pounding, even though he knew they eventually had to have this conversation. Wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans, he tried to find the right words. “It doesn’t seem so out of reach now. I think before I was stubborn. I was determined to prove I could raise Lily on my own. Now, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove.”
“I regret it,” Gabe said, and Nate’s heart sank like a lead ball to his stomach.
“What?”
“Sorry, I’m not making any sense.” Gabe grabbed Nate’s hand and continued, “I meant I regret making that deal with my father. Keeping my life a secret like I should be ashamed of myself…like my feelings aren’t relevant. I’ve let him make me feel like I could never possibly have anything meaningful with a man”—Gabe placed a hand on Nate’s cheek—“until now. He hasn’t been able to touch this, or how I’ve felt being here with you. I almost forgot this isn’t my life, at least not in his eyes.”
“It is your life, Gabe. Who says you have to give up what you have here?” Panic coursed through Nate. Was Gabe leaving? The thought of him going when they were finally starting to make sense, when he was finally starting to―
“It’s complicated, Nate.”
“No, it’s not. If you want something bad enough, you have to be willing to fight for it. You have family here…real family. You just have to decide what all of it’s worth to you.” Nate felt like he was fighting to make Gabe see that he needed to stay; that his life was here.
Gabe sighed and glanced down at their joined hands. “I have to go home on Thursday.”
“What…? For good?” Nate’s pulse jumped, the rising panic making him nauseous.
“No, for my cousin’s wedding on Friday. My father thinks it’s for good, but I didn’t agree to anything.” Gabe looked back out the window. “There’s something you should know, Nate. My father has set up a date for me to bring to the wedding. I never have any say in the matter. It’s always whatever single heiress is available at the time. Part of the façade, I suppose. How could his son possibly be gay with all these women he’s been seen with in public?”
“He really is a bastard,” Nate growled.
“I won’t disagree.” Gabe laughed, but it didn’t reach his brown eyes. “I just wanted you to know. It’s funny…knowing that I have Saturday to look forward to has been getting me through the weeks. I’ve really gotten used to our Saturday nights together. I’m going to miss you next weekend.”
“I’ll miss you too.”
“Will you?”
“Yes.”
Gabe leaned in and kissed Nate. It was a soft kiss, but suddenly, it was as if someone flipped a switch. Gabe pulled Nate harder, crashing their lips together. Before Nate could react, Gabe was pulling away and got out of the truck. Where the hell is he going? Gabe pulled open the back door and climbed inside. It only took seconds for Nate to follow suit. His ass had barely touched the seat when Gabe was straddling his lap.
“I believe I’ve ruined this Saturday enough. Let me see if I can make it up to you.” Gabe rolled his hips, pressing down on Nate, and within seconds Nate’s body was reacting. Gabe started to unbutton his own pants then switched to Nate’s. “I want you to fuck me, Nate. I want it hard, and I want to feel it all the way through next weekend. I want you to mark me. I want to be able to feel your cock inside me when I take that bitch to my cousin’s wedding.”
“Jesus Christ, Gabe,” Nate managed to say before cursing out a moan when Gabe freed his cock. He was stroking him…slowly…firmly.
Gabe reached in his back pocket, pulled out a packet of lube and a condom, and tossed them on the seat next to Nate. Then he climbed off Nate’s lap and sat next to him, kicking his shoes off before pushing his pants and briefs completely off. He was already hard. The pearl at his tip was too much for Nate to resist. Nate changed his position so he could lean over and take Gabe in his mouth.
“Fuck,” Gabe groaned, resting his head back, sliding his hands through Nate’s hair.
Nate’s mouth felt so good, Gabe almost didn’t want to stop him. As the thought crossed his mind, Nate pulled off him then sucked hard on the sensitive skin right alongside Gabe’s patch of dark hair at his groin. Gabe cried out with the intense realization that Nate was leaving his mark, and he nearly came just from that. He breathed in through his nose, because there was there was absolutely no way Nate wasn’t fucking him tonight. You’re not staying in New Hampshire for a fuck buddy, Gabe. His father’s words slammed into him, and he frantically pulled Nate off, needing to prove the connection he felt when Nate was inside of him was real.
Gabe was blinded in a haze of bone-deep need and crazy love that swept through him and shook him to his core. He pushed Nate back enough so he could straddle him again and tore open the condom wrapper with his teeth. He’d barely lubed up the condom on Nate’s cock before he sat himself down on him, the penetration like a bolt of lightning shooting through his body. It was the most delicious kind of pain, and he wanted more. Stop playing house and get back to reality. You will marry a woman and stop this nonsense. No! His mind was spinning. He needed to focus on Nate. He slammed his body down over and over again, feeling Nate to his very core.
Gabe placed his hands on Nate’s face, finding it hard to breathe as they stared at each other. That connection was there—the one that he so desperately needed. He knew Nate could feel it too. Nate grabbed the back of Gabe’s head and pulled until their mouths came together in a fury. Gabe’s cock was rubbing against Nate’s shirt between them, stroking him to his climax. It was coming fast, but he needed more. This moment needed to be imprinted on Gabe’s mind forever, out of fear and out of dire necessity to brand this man to his soul, even if he couldn’t have him forever.
Gabe increased his speed, found that electrifying spot and unleashed on it. Every thrust of Nate’s cock slammed into his prostate like a hammer hitting a nail: hard and fast, with unerring accuracy. Gabe’s muscles clenched before he was catapulted into a net of ecstasy, clinging to him like a spider web. “Oh my God,” Gabe shouted and continued to ride his man until he felt him land in the same web. Ecstasy held them together as they trembled until he collapsed forward, his head buried in Nate’s neck. Both men struggled to catch their breath, their chests heaving.
Nate’s deep voice broke through the silence. “Are you sure you didn’t mean to say ‘Oh my Gucci’?” Nate asked jokingly and kissed Gabe’s temple.
“I’m surprised I could say anything at all,” Gabe replied, laughing, still unable to lift his head.
Nate lifted Gabe’s chin so they were looking at each other. “Get through next weekend, and then come back. I want you to come back.”
Gabe only nodded, tears threatening to spill over if he tried to speak. He didn’t want to leave and was honestly, for the first time, terrified of having to concede to his family. There had never been a man before who made him feel like what he was required to do was truly punishment. The self-loathing he felt from all of those married men didn’t compare to the sordid lies his father told to protect his reputation from his embarrassing gay son.
Now, Gabe felt like he was making Nate’s life just as foolish, being with a man whose family would never accept him—a man who dated women for appearances so he could still live the life he was financially accustomed to.
“Gabe?”
“Hmm…?” He’d been riding that rollercoaster of confused thoughts, regret, and twisted lies again.
“Will you come back?” There was pain in Nate’s eyes that ran deep, overwhelming Gabe with emotion that this man actually did want him to come back. No matter what his father said.
He took Nate’s face in his hands and whispered, “Yes, I will come back.”