Page 70 of Painted

“It certainly is,” Rebecca said. She grinned at Early and said, “Tell him what you just told me.”

Rhys lifted his eyebrows and turned to his amazing lover.

Early lowered their head sheepishly, then peeked up at him. “I’ve been thinking of possibly trying to get into university,” they said. “I feel like I would do well as a psychologist or counselor of some sort, maybe working with art and with young people.”

Rhys burst into a grin. “You’d be brilliant at it,” he said.

“That’s what I thought, too,” Rebecca said, giving Early a wink.

“I can’t afford it,” Early started.

“Don’t worry about the money,” Rhys stopped them before they could find a way to talk themself out of it. “You’ll go to whichever university you choose on the Hawthorne family scholarship.”

“Rhys,” Early said scoldingly, their look almost quelling.

It was so sweet and exciting that Rhys laughed. “We’ll talk about it later,” he said, sweeping Early into his arms and kissing them. “Right now, we’ve got supper to eat.”

Early sucked in a breath and snapped straighter. “I said I’d help Leland. I need to go.”

“I’ll come with you and help, too,” Rhys said, following Early when he let them go.

The noise volume in the room had doubled since the speeches ended and everyone headed to the tables to find a seat. For a moment, Rhys thought Early would get ahead of him and he’d lose them entirely. He managed to dodge a few people who wanted a word with him and to catch up to Early just inside the kitchen.

Instead of letting Early rush to help Leland and his staff, Rhys grabbed their hand and pulled them over to a relatively quiet corner.

“I need to help,” Early laughed as Rhys pulled them into his arms.

“You already are helping, baby,” he said, using the name he planned to only use in their most intimate moments together.

Early clearly caught the significance as well. Their face went hot as Rhys caressed it and tilted it up to him. “You can’t kiss me in a crowded room like this, with everyone watching,” they whispered, though their eyes said something different.

“Really?” Rhys said. “I can’t kiss my amazing lover, who just told their parents we’re together, who helped organize this event, and who plans to conquer university and make the world a better place by helping people? You don’t think that deserves a kiss?”

Early laughed low in their throat and lowered their eyes, but only for a moment. “Alright,” they said. “I guess you can kiss me.”

Rhys caressed Early’s face again, then leaned in to kiss them with far more passion than was appropriate for a busy kitchen. Better still, Early made the sweetest, sexiest sound in the back of their throat and melted into the kiss.

Rhys was seriously tempted to cut the entire evening short and to take Early upstairs to finish things off with fireworks. Early deserved all the public glory they could get that evening, though. Their fireworks would come later.

“I love you,” he said, unable to stop smiling. “I know we said we’d put those particular words away for the time being, but I can’t help it. I love you, and I want to keep on loving you for as long as you’ll let me.”

“I love you, too,” Early said, a light in their eyes that was new and wonderful. “And I want to be with you for as close to always as we can get.”

“We’ll do it,” Rhys said, feeling as though they were starting something that would last a long, long time. Raina would love to see him this happy. “We’ll be together and we’ll have each other’s back always. I believe in you. I believe in us.”

“Thank you,” Early said, touching the side of Rhys’s face. They smiled and said, “Now let’s get out there and have a party that would make Raina proud.”

Rhys laughed. Raina would be proud of him, of Early, and of the entire family.

EPILOGUE

Nick wandered back upto the dais as the fundraiser wore down, carrying Jordan with him. He’d slipped upstairs to their flat to fetch his son from the babysitter. Macy had been asleep or he would have brought her down, too. It was important for his children to be a part of the tribute, even if they wouldn’t possibly remember it.

“Look,” he told his sleepy, fussy son, walking him over to the large portrait of Raina that stood off to one side, surrounded by flowers. “Who’s that? Is that mummy?”

Jordan moaned and buried his face against Nick’s neck, whimpering a little. It was long past Jordan’s bedtime. Hell, it was long past his bedtime, too. He’d always been the sort to wake up early and go to bed early. That was one thing he and Raina had disagreed on. It seemed like Jordan was already taking after him in that way.

“Do you want to say goodnight to mummy?” he asked Jordan, desperately hoping his son would look at the portrait of Raina and recognize her.

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