Page 98 of Twice Shy

“Do you see their shirts? L for Luis. R for Rory.”

Rory nodded, then cautiously said, “Are they for us to keep?”

“Sure are, buddy,” Joel said, and Ollie didn’t miss the tremor in his voice. “But you’re going to need to think of good names for them.”

“Iwill,” Rory said, going over and climbing onto his bed. He still had his shoes on, and Ollie grimaced but didn’t want to spoil the moment. “Luis just calls his cuddlies Bear and Rabbit.”

Joel exchanged an amused look with Ollie. “Well, that’s okay too.”

“Can we sleep in here tonight?” Rory said, lying down flat and bouncing a little.

“Sure,” Ollie said. “It’ll be fun, huh?”

“And can Joel make us pancakes with chocolate syrup for breakfast?”

Joel caught Ollie’s eye. “Um…?”

“That’s up to Joel,” Ollie said, because if they were going to do this together then Joel would need to stop deferring to him on every decision regarding the boys.

“Sunday treat, then,” Joel decided with a brilliant smile. “As long as you drink your milk, too.”

“Milk’s gross.”

“That’s the deal, buddy.”

From the doorway, Luca said, “Sounds like you guys might be spending more time here in the future?”

Ollie beamed and slipped his arm around Joel’s waist. “Yeah. We will. Slowly, you know, so everyone gets used to the idea. But eventually…” He didn’t need to finish the sentence, looked up and saw understanding and love in Joel’s eyes. “By Christmas, for sure.”

When he looked back to Luca, he was met with a wide grin. “Congratulations.” Then he held out his hand toward Rory. “Hey, kiddo, why don’t you bring your new friend downstairs and show Uncle Theo? He has a teddy bear too.”

Rory looked skeptical. “Does hereally?”

“Sure. He’s called Little Ted and he lives in the top of Uncle Theo’s closet. Come on, let’s go show him Mr. R over there. Maybe he can help you come up with a cool name.” He threw a wink at Joel and Ollie. “Take your time, guys.”

Maybe if they’d been alone things would have gone in that direction, but once the sound of Rory’s and Luca’s footsteps had faded, Joel simply took Ollie’s hands again. “As much as I’d love to take our time, the idea of Jackie Olsen and the entire PTA committee sitting in my yard listening in is...deflating.”

Ollie laughed, brushing a smiling kiss over Joel’s lips. “Then I guess we should go play host to our friends.”

“Our friends,” Joel echoed. “In our home.”

Ollie squeezed his fingers. “With our family.” Lost puzzle pieces slotting into place and making a new and unique picture all their own. “Don’t you just love the way that sounds?”

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