Page 106 of Hope & Harmony

“Better than.” He finished his wine, set the glass down, then reached across the table for Gino’s hand. “Thanks to you,especiallythis past week.”

Gino tangled their fingers together. “You’re putting in the work too.” Hand in his, Gino scooted to the chair beside him andnuzzled into the crook of his neck. “Thank you for tonight. It was the escape I needed, and the food was incredible.”

“You deserved it.”

Gino hummed his agreement. “We deserved it.”

“You know,” Bennett said, voice lowered, “you keep doing that, and you’re gonna get us kicked out of here before dessert.”

“And you do not want to miss dessert tonight,” came a Southern voice from behind them. The giant bearded chef who’d earlier introduced himself as Miller Sykes appeared beside their table. He slid two snifters of what smelled like the peatiest scotch to ever peat—Gino’s favorite—onto the table. “Colby’s doing huckleberry pie with creme anglaise gelato.”

“Maybe we can box the pie to go?” Bennett said from over Gino’s head.

“Nuh-uh,” Gino said, straightening as he patted his thigh. “I’m gonna enjoy this scotch, that pie, and this view”—he jutted his chin at the moonlit Nantucket Sound out the floor-to-ceiling windows by their table—“with you a little longer.”

Bennett groaned in frustration, and the chef chuckled. “I cockblocked my husband the first time I brought him here too,” he said as he cleared their plates. “But don’t worry, the dessert will do nothing to dampen the mood.” He threw a blue-eyed wink their way, then headed back to the kitchen.

Bennett waited until he was out of earshot to grumble, “The big burly bear better not be bullshitting.”

Gino’s smile graced the underside of his jaw. “Someone’s alliterating.” He dropped a line of kisses to the spot behind Bennett’s ear that made his whole body shiver. “And horny.”

“Very.” He dipped his chin to whisper in Gino’s ear. “I need to get back to the hotel and fuck my husband.”

“Don’t worry, baby.” Gino palmed his length under the table. Stroked. “I’ll make sure you come tonight.”

Before Bennett could clarify that Gino would be the one coming first, Miller reappeared at their table, no longer the picture of winking hospitality. Instead, his brow was creased below his plaid bandana and his eyes were wary, his hand shaky as he held a phone out to Gino. “Mr. Morelli,” he said. “It’s the FBI for you.”

Gino’s eyes grew wide, and Bennett cursed. “Fuck, what’d Roscoe do now?”

“Is there somewhere private we can take this?” Gino asked as he stood.

Bennett rose behind him, and they followed Miller to a small office off the kitchen. Miller shut the door behind them, and Gino clicked the phone over to speaker. “This is Gino Morelli.”

“Gino, it’s Levi.” Bennett nearly collapsed with relief. Gino practically did, catching his weight between Bennett’s side and the desk covered in children’s books. “Fuck, Levi,” Gino said to his cousin. “The chef said it was the FBI.”

“Well, both your and Bennett’s phones are going straight to voicemail, so Marsh had to track your asses down, and we couldn’t chance the call being ignored.”

The urgency in Levi’s voice, the reference to his cyber agent husband’s efforts to find them, the distinct hospital sounds in the background, had Bennett firming his position at Gino’s side. “What’s going on, Levi?” he asked.

“June’s in labor.”

“She’s not due for another two weeks,” Gino said. “Is she okay?”

“Vitals are holding steady, but this isn’t going to be easy, especially not with twins. They may have to do a C-section.”

“Fuck, we were supposed to be back on the West Coast for this.” Gino had missed his baby sister’s wedding a couple years back when they’d been on tour in Europe. They’d plannedthistour so as not to miss the birth of her twins. Boston was their last show before heading west.

“Well,” a deep Texas drawl—Levi’s husband, Marsh—said from the other end of the line. “Your future niblings have other ideas, and sweet-as-pie Juney is spitting nails.”

“Let’s go,” Bennett said, already pulling Gino toward the door. “We’ll get a private jet out of here or Logan. Perks of being a rock star.”

Gino pressed Mute and tugged him back by the wrist. “But the Boston show tomorrow...”

“Can be rescheduled.”

“But that’s more stops, will you be?—”

Bennett’s heart pounded into his ribs as he rose on his toes and kissed him quiet. He truly was the luckiest man alive, and at that moment, he’d never loved his husband more. “I’ll be fine, G. Family first, let’s go.”

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