Page 51 of Jamie
“Excellent. I want to put something we made and yummy on the table when Bran gets home.” Silas looped arms with him and walked with him to the big kitchen.
“I’m not a great cook, but I am excellent at following directions, you know?”
“That’s perfect. I mean all a recipe is, is following directions, right?” Silas grinned and worked his phone one-handed. “What sounds fun and exotic?”
“Uh—enchiladas?” He loved Mexican food.
“I’m not sure that qualifies as exotic, but it should be super tasty and I think we’ll have most if not all the ingredients. Silas found a recipe. “I’ll call out the ingredients—you can pull them out. We’ll start with the tortillas.”
They worked together, and it was easy, but more importantly, it was fun. They sang together, fed each other nibbles of cooked ground meat and cheese. The smells were amazing, and he couldn’t believe it would be anything but delicious.
“You want to grab the candles from the living room and bring them to the kitchen? We’ll get something lovely and romantic set up to go with our meal.”
“Oh, that’s a neat idea. I love eating like it matters.”
“Feeding each other always matters, you know?” Silas started pulling plates from the cupboards.
“Yeah, well, I used to only feed myself.”
“I know.” Silas came over and pulled him into a hug. “You don’t have to do that anymore.”
“No? You’re sure you’re okay with me?”
“We want you here with us, Jamie.” Silas looked him in the eye. “I want you here and I know Bran does, too. Can you feel how right it feels to be here with us? To be ours?”
“I’ve never felt like this before.” He didn’t know what that meant, exactly—theirs.
“No, I’m guessing you haven’t. But that’s part of what makes it a good thing.” Silas rubbed his arms, the touch gentle and reassuring. “I mean, from what I understand, your childhood and early teen years were not exactly rosy, so if you’d felt this feeling before, it might not be a good thing. You know?”
“Yeah. It was—I was unhappy. I don’t love the limelight.”
“Then I’m glad you’re out of it. For your sake. And selfishly, for ours. Who knows if we would have even met if you were still an actor, still in the limelight?”
“No. I only worked and hid from the fans.” He’d loved acting, but he’d hated celebrity.
“Then I believe, selfishly, that it worked out for the best. Although it might have been nice if you’d wound up with some of the money that you worked so hard for.” Silas went back to setting the table for three.
“Yeah. I mean, it was worth it, to be able to try and disappear.”
“Yeah? It’s nice to be real to someone, though, eh? Or should I say two someones.”
Two someones that had… toppy tendencies. “It is.”
Silas gave him another kiss. They were like drugs, leaving him reeling. “Now go get those candles, eh? Bran’s going to be home any minute.”
“Of course. Do you think he sold anything today?” He arranged the table with cloth napkins and lit candles.
“Maybe. Probably.” Silas shrugged. “Even if he didn’t sell anything, I’m sure he’s been schmoozing, and he’ll need to decompress.”
“How was your studio day? Did you have a good one? Productive?”
“It was! Being in love makes for great inspiration.”
His cheeks heated. Hopefully Silas meant him too.
“Well, this looks great. All we need now is Bran. Whatever shall we do while we wait…” Silas looked like he had an idea or two about that.
“Dance? Play cribbage?”
