Page 23 of Finally

With my hands shoved deep in the pockets of my suit pants, I stood along the edge of the water, looking out at the silvery line of moonlight that danced across its surface. Jeremy and Zane’s wedding, as well as the reception, was being held at a small fishing lake in Ohio. I’d been told that the lake was where the two grooms had met and that they’d decided to get married there because it held so many special memories for them.

The wedding had been beautiful—small and intimate with only their closest friends and family in attendance. And then there was me, who probably stood out like a sore thumb. I didn’t know anyone but Greg who, other than a few cursory explanations of who everyone else was, had been doing his best to ignore me since we’d arrived. Only the slight tightening of the skin around his eyes whenever he caught me looking at him gave any indication that he was aware of my existence.

He’d been even more on edge than he usually was ever since the night we both lost control in my hallway. My knees had been weak, and my breathing labored as I tried to recover from the hottest blow job of my life. Greg had seemed to enjoy himself too, and for just a few seconds, I’d allowed myself to imagine that things between us hadn’t ended, that he’d never walked away all those years ago and that we were just like any other couple, enjoying a moment of frenzied passion.

Reality had come crashing down on me, however, when I saw the expression on Greg’s face. The lust-drunk look he’d been sporting right before he dropped to his knees had been replaced with a mixture of confusion, hurt, and…fear? But what did he have to be afraid of? He’d been the one to end things and, therefore, I was the one taking all the risks. I was the one who stood to lose the most. I’d gone over and over it again in my mind, but I couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for his reaction.

A new thought suddenly occurred to me and I wondered if, perhaps I’d been reading the situation all wrong. Maybe it hadn’t been fear or hurt I’d seen in his eyes; maybe it was regret. Greg was a strong, sexy, virile man who was probably used to having sex, and a lot of it. Instead, he’d spent the last several weeks cooped up with me, barely leaving my side. Had he blown me because I was the only one available at the time? The thought sent a cold feeling of dread down my spine. I didn’t want to think that was true, but I supposed it made sense given our history and the current situation we’d found ourselves in. But if all he’d wanted was sex then why had he run off before I’d even had the chance to return the favor?

I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of cheering and realized that the happy couple must have finished having their wedding photos taken and had rejoined their guests under the large white tent where the reception was being held. Rows of twinkling lights had been strung above the tables and chairs, giving the space a romantic, intimate feel.

I could see Greg inside the tent with his friends. One of them, I think Greg had said his name was Brandon, threw his arm around Greg’s shoulder and said something. Everyone started laughing and Greg gave him a playful punch to the stomach. I watched the scene with a bit of melancholy. Seeing the playful way he interacted with his friends made the distance between us even more glaringly obvious.

“They’re my family, you know,” a voice said from beside me.

I hadn’t heard anyone approaching and it startled me for a second, until I looked over and saw the sweet smile on the woman’s face. She was a tiny thing, with gray hair and soft-looking, mocha-colored skin. She was watching the scene in the tent, the same as me, but while my eyes had been focused solely on Greg, her smile showed a clear adoration for all of the men.

“Excuse me?”

She turned and looked at me then, her smile never wavering. “I said, they’re my family. My Harold and I wanted kids, but we were never able to have them. When he passed away, I lost the only family I had left. I was afraid I would die a lonely old woman, but then I was out for a walk one day and saw an ad in a window that said they were hiring. They were just opening and there were boxes and papers all over the place. I knew then that those boys needed me, I just didn’t realize how much they’d give me in return. Each one of them is like a son to me, or maybe a grandson, given my age,” she said with a tinkling laugh.

I laughed too, liking her immediately. “You must be Mary. Greg has mentioned you several times.”

“Ah, Greg. Now, he’s a special one. Not that they’re not all special, but Greg just seems to need a little more love than the rest. He never talks about his childhood, but I have a feeling it wasn’t a very happy one. That boy has so much love inside him. He just needs to find someone he can give it all to and who will love him back the way he deserves,” she said softly.

I looked back up to the tent, but her next words had me whipping my head back in her direction. “I hear you’re the right man for the job.”

My jaw dropped open. “Wha…what?”

“You’re the right man…to be governor,” she explained.

“Oh, yes!” I responded with a weak laugh. “Yes, thank you. It’s been a heck of a ride, but I feel like my campaign is strong and my ideas have gained a lot of support.”

“I’ve paid attention to what you’ve had to say, but also what you’ve done. You can tell more about a person’s worth through their actions than in their words and I see you out there, actually putting the work in and doing the things you’ve said you’d do. You stick with the positive things you’re doing for our elderly and the LGBTQ community and you’ll have my support, for sure.” She gave me a firm nod.

“Thank you, ma’am. I have every intention of making good on my promises,” I assured her.

“Well, you’d be the first,” she quipped and we both laughed. “Come on, help me up to the tent, will you? This party’s about to start and Greg looks a little agitated about having to share you.”

“What?” My head jerked toward the tent then and saw Greg staring down at the two of us, a frown marring his handsome face. “You’ve got it all wrong. Greg scowls every time he looks at me,” I told her.

“My eyesight may not be what it used to be, but I can still see well enough to know when a boy is infatuated with another. I see it all the time on Micah’s face when he looks at Landon and Jeremy’s face whenever Zane walks into the room. It was the same way Harold used to look at me and it’s the same way Greg looks at you.”

My heart did a little flip, but I squelched those feelings right away. I was sure Mary meant well, but as she’d said, the men of Hamilton Security were like her kids. She wanted them all to find love and be happy. She was probably just seeing what she wanted to see. After all, the only reason I was even at the wedding was because Greg had no one else to watch me. He probably saw me as nothing more than a person who needed a babysitter.

With that depressing thought, I took Mary’s arm and helped her up the hill and into the tent. Greg met us at the entrance and Mary gave him a gentle pat on the cheek then wandered off to find a seat. Greg looked even more gorgeous than usual, in a black suit that showed off the width of his shoulders. The gray dress shirt he wore matched the color of his eyes perfectly and the bits of silver in his tie brought out the tiny flecks in their depths. I had never seen a more handsome man.

“Looked like you and Mary were having a nice time getting to know one another,” he observed.

I felt a prick of irritation at his words. “We did, actually. She seems like a lovely person and it was nice having someone to talk to here,” I said pointedly.

Greg’s shoulders slumped and he looked chagrined. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been very good company.” He sighed when I arched a brow at him. “Okay, so, I’ve been terrible company, but I am sorry. I brought you here, knowing you didn’t know anyone, and I’ve been terribly rude to you. I’d like to start over, if you’ll let me. I have a couple of seats saved for us at a table with my friends. I want you to meet them.”

I schooled my face, not wanting to give away how much it meant to me that he actually wanted me to get to know his friends. “Okay,” I answered softly.

We walked over to the table and Greg went through the introductions. “These are a few of the guys I work with: Nolan, Brandon, Carlos, Micah, and his husband, Landon. Guys, this is Christopher Brooks.” They all smiled at me and said hello. It was a little overwhelming how good looking they all were, but I tried to keep my wits about me as I took turns shaking each of their hands.

Nolan was the last to shake my hand and he held on just a few seconds longer than the others, a curious expression on his face. “Christopher? Hmm…I could’ve sworn Greg told me your name was something else.” I turned to Greg who was shooting Nolan a look that could only be described as murderous, but Nolan just smiled innocently. I had no idea what any of that meant, but I got the feeling that Greg would be paying Nolan back in some way.

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