Page 91 of Winning You
He was flying through the air, across the void.
And then Frankie caught him with words Lucas truly didn’t expect to hear in return.
“Oh, princess, I’m in love with you too.”
The kiss after that was slow and careful. Lucas was still in pain, but he could barely feel it. He was floating again, in that void with only Frankie’s touch guiding him back down to earth. He landed again, safely in his boyfriend’s arms.
“You with me?” Frankie asked.
Lucas smiled. “I think so.”
“Good. Now it’s time for a shower.”
He started to pull away, but Lucas grabbed at him, yanking him back down. There was something to be said about the way it felt to have Frankie fully clothed and touching his naked skin. It was an odd comfort. He thought maybe he’d feel exposed, but he didn’t.
He felt entirely safe and seen in a way he hadn’t realized he wanted.
“What’s wrong?” Frankie asked.
“I don’t think I have another one in me.”
There was a beat of silence, and then Frankie burst into laughter and kissed him softly, first on the lips, then on the neck, then a kiss to each wrist as he took Lucas’s hands in his and pulled him up to sit. “Neither do I.”
“Oh, I…did you…?”
“I couldn’t help it. The way you came apart,” Frankie said slowly, trailing off, “it just happened.”
Lucas understood. He was pretty sure he might have done the same thing if their positions had been reversed. And maybe they would be, one day, when he had better control over himself. But for now, he didn’t mind this.
“Just a shower?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“And your hands on me?”
Frankie laughed again, then pulled Lucas to his feet but kept him in close. He kissed him once more. “Always.”
Lucas once thought he might hate that too. It was one of the reasons he’d been terrified of falling in love. But he was starting to realize that although he still had his rules, Frankie was the exception to every single one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
FRANKIE
It wasstrange to get back to work—to get back to the rest of his life. It was odd to realize that the world kept turning, and lives continued to be lived while he was in the throes of falling in love and admitting that aloud to his new boyfriend, all the while trying to manage the shitstorm his brother’s ex had caused.
The adoption hearing was put on hold, thanks to the case against Charlie, but the caseworker told Frankie that wasn’t going to be a problem.
“It’ll be better that way. It’ll look like your environment is more stable if you’ve taken all the steps to protect Elodie. We want to make sure all the orders of protection are in place and signed by a judge and that Charlie won’t have access to her.”
He hadn’t really thought about being worried that Charlie’s bullshit could affect his custody over Elodie, and he supposed he was glad that he was reassured before panic could set in.
Charlie’s bond had been paid after the order of protection was served, and he was given a chance to respond to it but had declined. It meant they wouldn’t have to go to court and defend the reasons why Charlie shouldn’t have access to anyone in his family, and that was a weight off his shoulders.
Things began to calm down after that. Elodie was feeling better, and her seizures had lessened now that her doctor had adjusted her medication. She was back to school and working hard on her pre-braille, now able to identify almost all shapes with the tips of her fingers.
She had a surgery scheduled for next year to help with her muscle tension, which was going to take a lot of his time, so he was focused on work and starting to consider that maybe it was time to start looking at buying a house.
He had plenty of savings for a down payment since he’d been living below his means for years, and considering Elodie was a full-time job along with his paid full-time job, it wasn’t like he’d been able to spend tons of cash on vacations.
