Page 153 of In Plain Sight

We still worked at Legacy Mechanics, and we loved our jobs, as well as the family we’d found there.

The biggest change in our lives was that my mother had done a complete one-eighty and not only accepted our relationship but fully supported it and was an active part of our lives.

I credited Luka and his family with that, and I was so incredibly grateful that they put the effort into welcoming and accepting my mother into their family even though she resisted at first.

They’d given both of us the family we’d always craved, and Luka’s mother helped her reconcile having a gay son with her faith. Their friendship also helped my mother widen her social group beyond the church.

Luka’s family had welcomed me with open arms, and for the first time in my life, I was surrounded by people who not only loved me, but accepted me for who I was.

It was everything I’d ever wanted but never thought I could have, and for a long time, thought I didn’t deserve.

Things with Luka’s friends had also changed over the years, especially after he’d come out and announced our relationship.

Most of them accepted his sexuality, but a few hadn’t, and instead of pushing Luka aside like before, Dean stuck by him and was a fixture in our makeshift family. He also broke up with Elle for good and was now engaged to one of Jade’s friends.

Things weren’t perfect, and we’d had our fair share of struggles over the years, but we worked through them together, and they only made our relationship stronger.

“Nice place,” Jesse commented as he and Sebastian climbed the steps of our front porch. “It looks amazing, night and day from before.”

“Wait until you see the bathrooms,” Luka said as the men came into the house. “Quinn and the guys did an amazing job.”

Both Jamie and Jesse grinned proudly. Jesse’s older stepbrother owned a contracting business, and Jamie was his office manager. The house had been in good shape when we bought it, but the front had been badly neglected over the years, and both bathrooms needed major repairs and upgrades, which helped bring the price down and make it possible for us to buy into the area.

We’d hired Quinn’s crew to do the work and were beyond happy with the outcome.

I was just about to close the door when I saw Asa, Devon, and Nate walking down the block together.

I heard Luka offering people drinks and trying to shepherd them into the living room as I waited for the last of our guests to arrive.

“Are we late?” Asa asked as he bounded up the front steps. “It’s Dev’s fault if we are.”

“Traitor.” Dev ruffled Asa’s hair good-naturedly, coming up behind him.

“Nope, not late.” I stepped back to let them inside.

“Nice,” Asa commented, looking around the front foyer area. “Where’s the pool table?”

“In the dining room. Where else?” Luka said.

Asa tossed Isaac a grin. “You owe me ten.”

“Doesn’t count.” Isaac shook his head.

“You bet that they’d move the pool table to a different room, and it’s still in the dining room. Hence, I win.”

He shook his head again. “Nope. I said they’d move it to a different room, not that they’d put it in a room that wasn’t the dining room. This is a different house. Therefore, it’s in a different room.”

“We need to take a vote on this one,” Asa said, looking around at the group still crowded in our foyer. “Who thinks Isaac won?”

Isaac immediately raised his hand. “Hey.” He elbowed Jamie with his other arm. “Whatever happened to supporting your boyfriend?”

“I’ll support him when he’s right.” Jamie grinned. “You can’t out semantics a writer. You should know that by now.”

“Traitor,” Isaac grumbled.

“And who thinks I win?” Asa asked triumphantly.

Everyone else, including Jamie, raised their hands.

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