Page 41 of Loving You

Monty snorted. “But you’ll put your tongue in his ass?”

“I—that’s a fair point,” he conceded. He was going to argue about sharing bacteria, but he’d also plundered Monty’s mouth pretty thoroughly too. And Monty had even let him kiss him after, so yeah. He had nothing in his corner. “You’re a good lawyer.”

Monty burst into soft laughter as Bronx helped himself to the pot of coffee. “You’re easily impressed, mon coeur.”

“That means?”

Monty tugged him close by the loops on his pants and went onto his toes to kiss him. “My heart. Not…not that I’m implying—it’s just a term of endearment. I don’t—” he fumbled.

“It’s okay. I told your dad and his wife that I was your boyfriend after they burst in here while we were going at it. You’ve earned a little pet name, sparky.”

Monty flushed, and Bronx kissed the pink on his cheeks before taking a sip of his coffee. It was nice—warm and not too bitter. He smiled and leaned back, letting himself feel the simple joy of having Monty standing so close he could feel the heat of his body.

“So,” Monty said after a long beat, “may I ask a question?”

“You can ask anything you want.”

Monty ducked his head a little shyly. “If I were to…not tell my father immediately that this thing between us isn’t what he thinks it is…”

Bronx reached out and lifted Monty’s face by the chin. “Is he homophobic?”

Monty shrugged. “A little. I think he’ll be more irritated that I’m dating a man closer to his age.”

“So he’s a giant hypocrite,” Bronx said.

Monty blew out a puff of air and shrugged. “Yes. He’s a hypocrite, and he’s unkind. He and my siblings don’t like me very much.”

“Will keeping up this story make your life easier or harder?”

Monty scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Nothing I say or do will make them harder on me than they already are. And I can’t think of a way to make them kinder to me. But maybe…” He bit his lip and glanced away for a moment. “Maybe having you with me will make it easier to bear when I’m around them.”

Bronx couldn’t ignore the fact that this was exactly what happened to Dallas—mostly. Though his brother had gone a bit deeper and, at the time, hadn’t realized he wasattracted to Kylen. But it had led to his epic love story, and that both terrified and thrilled Bronx in equal measure.

He also didn’t know if Monty was aware that Kylen and Dallas had started the same way. If he did, he hadn’t drawn the same conclusion, so maybe it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.

“Come to my house for dinner this week.”

Monty choked on his swallow of coffee. “I’m sorry?”

“Not like…shit, not as like a requirement for me to act like your boyfriend,” Bronx said in a rush. “But if we’re going to do this, I want you to meet Lucas so he has some idea about what’s going on. I’ve kept a lot from him recently, and if he gets asked an uncomfortable question, I want him to know what it’s about.”

Monty softened. “Yes, okay. I’d like to meet him before the flying lesson anyway.”

“Right. The fucking flying lesson where you’re taking my one and only son a billion miles into the air in a rickety old plane.”

Monty took Bronx’s cup away from him, setting it on the counter, and then he kissed him long and slow. “No, mon petit chou. I’m taking him about six miles into the air in a very expensive, very well-maintained plane that your brother-in-law pilots for me all the time. I would never put him in danger. Never.”

Bronx closed his eyes and knocked their foreheads together. “What does mumpty shoe mean?”

Monty laughed. “My little cabbage. It’s a good thing. Trust me.”

Bronx opened his eyes and met Monty’s gaze. He took a beat, and then he smiled. “I do.”

“Petit chou,” Bronx said aloud.

Lucas turned his head to the side. “Are you speaking French?”

Bronx flushed and closed his laptop. “How do you know that?”

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