Page 33 of The Lonely Hearts Guide

Beau snorted. “I wish. Unfortunately, Genevieve is a small town, and our gay population consists of a handful of men, none of whom particularly tickle my fancy.” He pulled a small eyedropper-shaped bottle from his pocket with the word “Rose” scribbled across the top, and Elliot watched as he uncapped the lid and drip-drip-dripped three droplets of the contents into his cup of water. In the center of the table, there was a small dish of lemon wedges. Beau grabbed one, squeezed its juice into his glass, and plopped the carcass into the water before stirring it with his straw. He took a sip, then moaned as the flavor traveled across his tongue. “Sorry. Lemon rosewater is my weakness. It has been since I was a child.” He took another sip, then let out another moan. Once he’d finished his liquid love affair, he turned to Alexander. “So, I’m guessing you two are together? Officially, I mean. Because if you’re not, I’d be happy to take him off your hands.” He glanced over at Elliot and winked. “I’ve got a little farm outside of town. You’d look adorable in overalls, helping me feed my pigs.”

Alexander’s hand squeezed Elliot’s knee under the table. An unspoken promise, perhaps? Elliot wasn’t sure what the touch had meant, but it didn’t stop him from placing his hand on top of Alexander’s. It wasn’t enough, though. Alexander had a far-away look in his eyes, and the distance between them seemed to grow inch by inch, mile by mile, the longer Beau went on.

“And you’d love my dads,” Beau added. “One of them used to be in a boy band, and the other was mayor of Tallulah before being elected as governor. The first Democrat to hold the office in decades. Ain’t that something?”

Alexander’s eyes widened. “Rivers Rivera?”

Beau nodded with pride. “I’m not trying to follow in his footsteps, though. I don’t have big-city dreams. Once my run as mayor is over, I’m thinking of starting up a local nonprofit, but who knows . . . The world is my oyster.” He smiled warmly at Elliot. “Are you exclusive? Because if not, I’d love to get a chance to get to know you better.” He looked Alexander up and down. “You, too.”

Elliot looked to Alexander for an answer. On one hand, he was terribly embarrassed to be placed in the position of needing an answer to Beau’s ridiculous question. On the other hand, Elliot wanted to hear Alexander’s answer more than he ever wanted to hear anything before.

“Alexander?” Elliot whispered.

Alexander scooted his chair back, and Elliot’s heart broke into a million tiny pieces like the world’s worst jigsaw puzzle, because he assumed Alexander wanted to bed Beau River as well as the bountiful beau at his side. And who was Elliot, compared to Mayor Rivera? A pregnant pauper clinging to the fairytales of white knights and distressed damsels while the prince and the mayor stole the show.

Alexander patted his lap. It was an action that took every piece of Elliot’s shattered heart and brought them back together. “Would you like to sit in my lap?”

Yes. Elliot wanted that very much. It seemed Professor Plum wanted it, too, because he ran around in circles, chasing his tail as he squeaked.

“What about his question? Are we . . .?”

Alexander held his hand out for Elliot. “What do you think?”

Elliot turned to Beau and offered a genuinely apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mayor. I believe I am spoken for.” He looked back at Alexander, his eyes pleading for instruction and assurance. He wasn’t good at making executive decisions. Elliot never had to make an important decision in all his life, and this was the most important decision of them all.

Alexander gave a quick nod. “If that’s something you would be open to, then yes. Yes, I think you may be.”

He rose from his seat and turned, lowering himself onto Alexander’s lap, and it was like every ounce of tension in Alexander faded. Elliot could feel his entire body go lax, and it gave him a sense of pride, because he’d eased Alexander’s worry so effortlessly. Elliot tipped Alexander’s chin with his finger and smiled.

“My heart has been so lonely for so long,” Elliot whispered. “Even during my visits with Periwinkle and Arthur, I always felt like a man alone on an island.” Leaning closer, he brushed their lips together. “I don’t feel lonely when I’m with you, and I never want to feel lonely again.” Elliot parted his lips, inviting Alexander in for a kiss.

Their lips danced slowly against each other. There were no tongues or groped appendages, just a simple promise from one man to another.

“I believe I’d like to fall in love with you,” Elliot said.

Alexander’s smile stretched halfway across his face. “I want to fall in love with you, too.” He pulled Elliot in for a hug and placed his hand on the baby bump, softly rubbing round and round. “I’m going to take care of you, Elliot. And if you decide you want to keep her, I’ll take care of her too. You have my word.”

That night, as they entered their suite, Elliot felt lighter than he ever had. Throughout the day, Alexander and Elliot were inseparable. They saw a comedy show in the theater, then had dinner with Mother-slash-Mrs. Peppercorn, and the entire time, Elliot’s hand rarely left Alexander’s.

Elliot was a bit worried about Mrs. Peppercorn’s leadership style. When she mentioned running a tight ship before, Elliot hadn’t realized just how power-hungry she’d been. Masquerading as Mother, she roamed around the boat, barking orders at workers and creating multi-page memos on best practices for improving cleanliness and friendliness—a phrase she claimed to hold the trademark for. She went into great detail about the importance of kindness and how it costs nothing, but the way she worded it was anything but kind. She used all caps in places, making it appear as if she was shouting. Even bringing up the topic of planks and the men who ought to walk them.

“I think we need to keep an eye on Mrs. Peppercorn,” Alexander said, reading Elliot’s mind. He unbuttoned the button-down shirt he’d worn to dinner, putting inch after inch of Alexander’s creamy skin on display. Elliot couldn’t make himself move. It was like his eyes had been glued to Alexander’s chest. As Alexander unfastened his cufflinks, he cleared his throat.

“Sorry,” Elliot said, shaking his head. “I was . . .” Elliot closed his eyes and sighed. Alexander liked him. Elliot knew he did. He’d said so at brunch, then several times after, throughout the day. If Elliot was going to forge something special with him, he knew he needed to be brave, as scary as it might be. “I was looking at your chest and got distracted.”

The sound of cloth falling onto the floor sent Elliot’s eyes fluttering open. Alexander stood in front of him completely shirtless, and God, if it wasn’t the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen.

“You can look at me whenever you want.” Alexander leaned in and gently kissed him. “You can look as long as you want. I like when you look at me.”

“I like when you look at me too,” Elliot said, standing on his toes so he could touch his forehead to Alexander’s. Alexander chuckled, crouching lower in order to scoop Elliot into his arms.

“Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart. We can be eye to eye this way.”

Elliot did as instructed, looping his legs behind Alexander’s back, enjoying the way his hand felt against Elliot’s backside. “I like this. I think it’s my new favorite thing.”

Alexander pressed their foreheads together. “Mine too.” Their eyes were locked, neither of them blinking much at all as Alexander walked them to bed. “Keep your legs around me.” He took a seat, and Elliot did just as Alexander instructed, keeping his legs locked and his arms draped over his shoulders. Alexander hugged him tighter, gently rocking him back and forth.

“He never held me like this.”

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