Page 63 of HEA: Happily Ever After

I’d been around men like Ben before. Arrogant men who played games to establish a pecking order. And that was fine. As long as I was his target.

But the minute he’d raised his nose and sniffed at Hugh, I’d decided the peacock could go straight to hell. Ben had known exactly what he was doing when he’d ditched us to seek out his future mother-in-law, and I was left fuming at his audacity.

“Fuck. Him,” I growled low enough no one else could hear. “Fuck that guy right to hell.”

Surprisingly, Hugh grinned at me. “I adore you.”

His words shocked me out of my annoyance. “Huh?”

I already had an arm around him, but when I saw the lopsided grin on his face, set off by the crooked canines that did things to me deep inside, I tightened it and drew him closer.

“You acted like he was unimportant, like he wasn’t worth paying attention to. And you did it for me. Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

The word “friend” dropped heavily, crushing the light, ebullient feeling I’d begun to have simply by having Hugh Linzee in my arms again.

“You deserve to be the most important person in the room,” I said because he needed to know it. But the words left me feeling too raw, like if he looked too closely, he’d see the truth of me. The truth of my feelings for him. A truth I still wasn’t ready to acknowledge to myself. I glanced away. “And my job is to make sure you feel like the belle of the ball. So… what’s next? You hungry?”

He let me create the space I so desperately needed. We moved together toward the tables where a make-your-own nacho station was set up along the far wall. With beers in hand, we managed to each make a plate and find a high-top table to escape to.

I could tell Hugh was still nervous. He glanced around from time to time to check out who was there, and a couple of times, I’d noticed him furtively glance down as if avoiding someone’s eye contact.

I reached over to steal one of his nachos and bit into it loudly. “Always a heavy hand with the guac,” I said after swallowing. “Should have followed your lead.”

His eyes widened. “How did you know that? We’ve never…” His voice trailed off as he remembered someone could overhear us. Before he stressed too much, I helped him out.

“You told me about how Rafa always forgets to order extra when you get takeout. Remember when we were texting about—” I noticed the smile when he remembered the conversation.

“Green condiments,” he said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I remember. You’re a wasabi whore.”

I winked at him and took another bite of the food. It was good, an indulgent treat after a week of Lesya pushing salads on me at lunch out of fear for my health. I tucked in and enjoyed every bite, only pausing mid-chew when an older couple came up to say hello to Hugh.

It was clear from their looks that they were related to Dex and Jared. The woman gave Hugh a hug and then pinned him with big, sad eyes. “How are you, dear?” Her tone was similar to the ones people had used with Richard at his father’s funeral earlier this year. Pitiful and careful, as if the recipient was this close to breaking.

“Good, great!” Hugh got up from his chair and gave her a hug. “Good to see you Mrs. Currier… Mr. Currier.” He finished the hug and held out a hand to the gentleman.

Mrs. Currier looked at Hugh with genuine affection. “I’ve been following your videos on the internet. It’s just so sweet. All of my friends follow you too, and I always say that’s my sweet Abby’s brother.”

Hugh’s smile tightened almost imperceptibly. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. Mr. and Mrs. Currier, this is Oscar Overton. Oscar, these are Dex’s parents.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a nod. “Congratulations on Dex and Abby’s marriage.”

They both beamed. “Thank you,” Mrs. Currier said. “We’re so happy to have her in our family, finally.”

I could tell immediately that this couple cared about Hugh. And I could see very clearly that he felt an acute sense of loss at no longer having them in his life. But it was clear from their language that they hadn’t found the capacity to accept him as an official part of their family without being Jared’s partner.

Hugh moved a little closer to me. He didn’t seem aware of doing it, but I took the opportunity to slide my arm around his waist again in case he was looking for support.

“How did your roses do this summer?” Hugh asked them. “Abby said you experimented with some new varieties.”

They brightened at the topic, explaining how they’d found a new favorite and would be sure to give Abby some of the blooms next summer so she could show Hugh. It struck me then how unfair it was that they didn’t see the value in retaining a relationship with Hugh directly, since he obviously shared a passion of theirs. They seemed to play by older, more traditional rules that when a couple broke up, the parents were no longer allowed to remain close to the ex.

In most cases, this would probably not have hit me quite as hard. But Hugh was clearly hungry for connection, for parental affection and familial love. I could tell he wanted to be invited to their backyard barbecues and asked to give his opinion on the layout of their garden. He wanted to be included in regular, everyday family things. And now, Abby had the family Hugh had thought would be his.

As the Curriers continued to speak, I recognized Hugh’s friendly expression for the mask it was. The light didn’t quite reach his eyes, and his laughter didn’t linger with its usual enthusiasm.

I considered interrupting, finding an excuse to pull him away from the well-meaning couple for his own heart’s protection, but it wasn’t my place. For all I knew, he relished this opportunity to reconnect with them in whatever way he could.

When they finally wandered off to talk to someone else, I felt his muscles relax. Instinctively, I pulled him in to lean against my chest, and his nose brushed my neck as he sighed.

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