Page 32 of The Marriage Negotiation

"Don't be nervous," Patrick stated as he patted my hand. "They are going to love you."

Doubted it.

Patrick let out a small chuckle as he raised his hand and knocked on the door of Jake's penthouse. Why was his place called a penthouse when ours was called a condo? I never understood the whole apartment, condo, penthouse thing. Didn't make sense to me.

The door was opened by a man in a butler's uniform.

Maybe that was why.

"Good evening," the man said before waving his hand toward the interior of the penthouse. "Please, come in. Misters D'Amato is entertaining in the living room."

I tightened my grip on Patrick's hand as we started into the place. As soon as we stepped into the place I got a better idea of why it was called a penthouse and not something else. It was far grander than what we had.

There were lots of big cream-colored overstuffed furniture and colorful artwork to keep the place bright and cheery. Warm colors of greens, yellows, and even blues mixed in with white walls and blonde oak furniture. A wall of windows that overlooked Central Park.

I was a fan.

"Patty, Zaq," Jake called out as he approached us. "Glad you could make it."

I smiled as I shook the man's hand. "Thank you for inviting us."

"The guys are all spread out so grab yourself a drink and go hang out. We're expecting just a few more people before dinner is served."

Yeah, drinking would be a very bad idea for me. I could hold my liquor to a point, but it always made me feel a little jittery, and that would be bad right now.

I leaned closer to Patrick and asked, "Is there anything to drink that's not alcoholic?"

"Of course," Patrick replied. "Jake always makes sure there are non-alcoholic drinks at his parties. Not all of us drink."

That was good to know. I didn't want to feel like more of the odd man out than I already did.

As we walked into the living room, I saw several people I'd already met, but a lot more that I had never seen before. They all seemed to know Patrick if their hearty greetings were anything to go by.

When he introduced me as his husband, I couldn't help but preen a little bit. This was really the first time I was able to accompany Patrick to something like this and stand at his side as his husband.

It was as weird as it was exciting.

I felt a little less anxious when I saw so many of the couples gathered hugging and touching each other, some of them holding hands. One guy was even sitting on his husband's lap.

Patrick grabbed us both something to drink and then led me over to one of the large couches. I smiled at the couple across from us as we sat down. One of them was dressed like he was set to go into a boardroom. The other one looked as if he had just climbed off a motorcycle.

"Patty, it's good to finally see your face at Jake's little gatherings," one of the men said.

This was little?

"It's good to finally be able to attend. I've missed a lot of them," Patrick replied before turning to me. "Zaq, this is Lucas Kincaid and his husband Kyue." He had a pride smile on his face when he glanced back. "This is Zaq, my husband."

Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "Zaq?"

Why did they all ask that?

Patrick nodded.

"And just how did the two of you get together."

Patrick snorted. "Peter."

"Your bonehead brother?"

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