Page 71 of The Princess, the Prick & the Priest (Confessions 4)

Felicity bumped shoulders with him. “Or twice if you’re Julien and Priest.”

Robbie grinned at the mention of their names and knew he was incredibly lucky to have a family who not only understood him, but was willing to embrace the unique and wonderful men he’d fallen in love with.

“Yes, well, once for me,” Robbie said. “But since they’ve done this before, I want it perfect. I want to make it different this time.”

“Umm, pretty sure you’ve got that covered,” Felicity said. “Your sisters are organizing it—and hello, us Bianchi bitches know how to throw a party—your father is walking you down the aisle, and your nonna is going to be sitting with your ma in the front row with a box of tissues. From what you’ve told us, they don’t have a whole lot of family—”

“Try none. Well, none worth mentioning,” Robbie said, and thought about how extraordinary Julien and Priest were despite that fact.

“And now you’re about to give them an enormous one. From what I’ve seen, they’re loving that as much as they love you. So see? It’s already different and perfect.”

Felicity was right: he needed to stop worrying and enjoy this. Julien and Priest would be back with groceries for dinner any minute now, and Robbie didn’t want them to see him losing his cool.

“You’re right,” Robbie said, then turned back to look out the doors.

“Of course I am.”

Robbie smirked at his sister and hugged her in close, and that was when he noticed that the rain had stopped, and as the sun began to shine, a smile curved his lips.

There, now it’s perfect. No one’s going to rain on my damn parade.

“HOW MUCH DO you think Robbie is panicking right now?” Julien said, as he peered out the windshield of the Range Rover.

They’d barely made it into the car with the groceries before the rain had started to fall, and as Priest pulled to a stop at the lights leading out of the parking lot, he chuckled. “I think it’s a pretty safe bet to say a whole damn lot.”

Julien laughed as he looked at the lone black cloud that seemed to have rolled in. But it didn’t look like it would hang around too long. “Oui. At least his sisters are with him and he’s not sitting there alone watching this.”

“Right,” Priest said. “I’m sure they know how to deal with a Robbie meltdown better than we do.”

“Or know how to provoke one,” Julien said with a grin. “Sisters are really good at that kind of thing.”

Priest reached for Julien’s hand and laced their fingers together. “I love seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Happy,” Priest said. “Free to be able to talk about Jacquelyn with a smile on your face. It’s been a long time coming. There’s many things I love about Robert, but giving you that freedom is high on the list.”

Julien stroked his thumb over Priest’s where their hands were joined.

“You both gave me that,” Julien said softly. “You kept me functioning. Kept me safe and alive, to make it to this point.”

As Priest watched the road, Julien took in the strength of his arms and hands, and knew as long as Priest was by his side, he’d always feel safe.

“You know what I love?” Julien said.

“What’s that?” Priest asked, his eyes on the road.

“The exact same thing as you.”

Priest frowned and looked at Julien.

“I love the way Robbie makes you smile and laugh. It’s relaxed, easy, and a little…goofy.”

“Goofy? Do you want to walk the rest of the way back to the lake?” Priest asked.

Julien chuckled. “Non. I’d rather sit here and watch you scowl.” He ran his hand down Priest’s arm. “I just mean that he brings out a more carefree side to you, that’s all. It’s wonderful, and is high up there on my list of things that I love about our princesse.”

When Priest pulled up at a red light and looked at him, Julien said in all seriousness, “You deserve to be happy, mon amour. You know that, right?”

“I’ve always been happy with you.”

Julien’s smile softened. “I know that. But I mean in all aspects of your life. We tend to hang on to our baggage a little too tightly, you and me. I think Robbie’s been great at teaching us just how fun life can be when you travel a little lighter.”

“Figuratively speaking.” Priest chuckled. “But I agree. We’d always hoped for that, for someone who could balance us out. But I never knew how complete he’d make us feel. Does that make sense?”

“It does,” Julien said, because he’d been feeling the same thing. “I can’t wait to see where we go from here. From this weekend on.”

Priest gave a half smile that was so charming it made Julien’s pulse spike. “I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“It won’t be boring,” Julien said. “That’s for sure.”

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