Page 63 of The Loophole

That made me sad, but there wasn’t anything I could say or do to help. Hal didn’t even want to talk about it. When he came back from the kitchen, he distracted us with another subject change.

At least he and Ryder were still in touch, though. As long as that was happening, there was hope.

I got home a little before six that evening, and when I unfastened Dusty’s leash, he took off running to find Bryson. The dog had gotten very attached to him over the past few weeks.

Then again, so had I.

Now that the holidays were over, Bryson was trying to get serious about preparing for his new restaurant. He couldn’t do anything about the location until he got his inheritance, so for now he was focused on developing new recipes.

His plan for that afternoon had been to come up with some winter squash dishes. When I went into the kitchen, it looked like it had been decorated for Halloween with several different types of pumpkins. But they’d been pushed aside, and he’d started making something else entirely.

Bryson was sitting cross-legged on the floor, petting Dusty, and his face lit up when he saw me. “Hi, baby. I’m glad you’re home.”

I bent down to kiss him and said, “Me, too. How’s squashapaloosa going?”

“Badly. I think I hate pumpkins, and squash, and all of that, pretty much across the board.”

“Then why are you forcing yourself to use it?”

“Because I want to offer a seasonal menu, and there’s only so much that’s at its peak this time of year.”

He got to his feet and washed his hands before picking up a dish towel, which he used to pull a sheet tray out of the oven. It held a variety of golden-brown puffed pastry appetizers, and I said, “Those don’t look or smell squashy.”

“Nope, no squash here. I had some ideas for our next Embry dinner.”

After I’d mentioned wanting him to feed me a meal, he’d turned my request into a weekly event. He kept evolving his ideas, and this one was finger foods with a theme, which turned out to be cheese. I was very excited.

“I’ll give Dusty his dinner if you want to go upstairs and change,” he said. “I left a present in your bedroom for you, but obviously wear whatever you want.”

I grabbed him in a hug and buried my face in his chest as I mumbled, “You didn’t have to do all of that.”

“I wanted to. This is fun.” He kissed my forehead and added, “Dinner’s in fifteen minutes. I thought we could eat in the lounge.”

I nodded and hurried upstairs, before I teared up. I wasn’t used to being with someone who was that sweet, kind, and considerate. Part of me didn’t think I deserved it. Another part worried I was taking more than I was giving. I wished I knew how to be the kind of boyfriend Bryson deserved.

Tonight, he was really going above and beyond. These dinners were meant to be a sensory experience and all about comfort, and the present turned out to be the softest, fluffiest rainbow unicorn onesie I’d ever seen. I stripped down to my briefs and pulled it on, and it felt like a warm hug.

When I returned to the kitchen, the sight of Bryson in a onesie of his own made me smile. His was black with a white panel on the front. I thanked him for mine and said, “You look cute. I never thought I’d see you in something like that.”

“They looked cozy, so I decided to get one for myself. But I wasn’t paying that much attention when I ordered these online. I thought mine was just black and white, but there’s a little more to it.” He pulled up the hood, revealing cartoonish eyes and round, black ears. Then he turned around to show me the stubby tail on his butt, which made me giggle.

“You’re the cutest panda ever,” I told him.

He turned back around and grinned at me as I wrapped my arms around him. “If you tell anyone I wore this, I’ll deny it.”

“Your secret is safe with me. But I’m going to need you to make peace with the onesie, because you’re extra cuddly.”

“Only if you promise not to snap any selfies. I don’t want photographic evidence of this particular ensemble.”

“Fine.”

He kissed me before saying, “Dinner’s ready, so go get settled in the lounge and I’ll bring it to you.”

“Can I help carry stuff?”

“No thanks, I’ve got it.”

He’d been busy while I was out. There was a cozy seating area on the floor of the lounge, with tons of pillows and blankets, and there were several framed photos on the mantel. He must have finally gone up into the attic, because there were a couple of storage boxes in the corner that I’d never seen before.

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