Page 39 of The Home Game

Charlie was an amazing interior designer and he’d really made the place look good. Matty had almost been sorry to put it up for sale. That reminded him, he really needed to tell Sharon he’d changed his mind about selling the place.

“Oh.” Charlie shot Matty a quizzical glance. “Need me to work my magic on your new home?”

“Well, not quite,” Matty admitted. “I changed my mind about moving. I decided to stay and I need you to make a few tweaks. Get it ready for a guy and his four kids to move in with me.”

Charlie gaped for a moment. “Okay, I think you need to back up a little bit and start at the beginning.”

“So, it started like this,” Matty said, telling him about the day he’d met Antoni and some of the stuff that was going on with him and his family.

“Oh, Matty,” Charlie said when he was done, his blue eyes swimming with tears. “Those poor kids.”

“I know, right?” Matty said. “I just want to help them out.”

He glanced nervously over at Dustin, who hadn’t said anything yet.

Dustin cleared his throat. “That is nice of you, Matty. Are you sure you aren’t rushing things a bit though?”

“Let me guess,” Matty said drily. “Dom’s already warned you that Antoni’s using me?”

Dustin winced. “I wouldn’t say that. He’s just …”

“Worried about me, I know.” Matty sighed. “And look, I get it, okay? But if you’d seen the guy, you’d know he isn’t a scammer or anything. I met the kids, I met his parents, I saw the school where he works … this is legit.”

“I’m sure it is. It just seems … sudden.”

“Okay, but if I don’t do this, then he and the kids have nowhere to live and he risks losing them if the courts don’t think he can take care of them. And the kids’ grandparents are really religious and bigoted and stuff and one of the kids is non-binary and Antoni’s worried they’ll hurt Eli’s spirit if they end up with custody and—”

“Dustin!” Charlie said, eyes wide and worried as he looked at his husband. “That can’t happen! You know how bad it gets for vulnerable kids like that. We have to help.”

“Okay, okay.” Dustin said, smoothing a hand down Charlie’s side as if to soothe him. “I understand now, kitten. We won’t let that happen.”

Charlie softened, relaxing. “Thanks.”

Matty smiled at them, glad they were both already on board.

“So they’re going to move in,” Matty said firmly. “Charlie, I need you to do up the kids’ rooms. I know you made them all neutral and stuff for sale but I think they should be fun now. Match their personalities, you know? So they feel at home right away.”

“That’s lovely, Matty.” Charlie shot him a sweet smile. He already had his phone out, taking notes.

“Where will you be staying?” Dustin asked. “I mean, I know you have a lot of bedrooms in that place but …”

“The guest house,” Matty said. “So Antoni and his family can have the run of the main house. I mean, how much space does one guy like me need, really?”

“Aww. You’re just the sweetest,” Charlie gushed. “Okay, so you said there’s a teenage girl into hockey, a non-binary kid who is ten, a four-year-old girl, and a baby boy, yeah?”

“Yes. And I want all this to be a surprise for them.”

“Okay, well, that’s a little challenging since I’ve never met them but let me pull together some ideas. How much time do we have?”

“They’re moving in the weekend after this one.”

“Oh.” Charlie’s eyes widened. “Well, a week and a half is not a lot of time but at least it’s just cosmetic stuff. I think I can get some painters lined up for later this week and I know some places I can source some furniture and décor fairly quickly. What’s your budget?”

“Uh, whatever,” Matty said with a shrug.

“Well, that does make my life easier, then,” Charlie said with a little laugh. “I won’t go too wild though, I promise.”

“You should make the main bedroom cozy and relaxing too,” Matty said. “Antoni should have a nice place to rest. He’s been really stressed, worrying about the kids, and I think he needs some place where he can just go to unwind.”

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