Page 38 of Binding Their Hearts

Inside their apartment, the bike hooks beside the door sat empty.

Henry glanced at his watch. He hadn’t mistaken the time. Jay ought to have been home at least half an hour ago. “Has he messaged you? Running late, perhaps?”

Alice, already unlocking her phone, shook her head as the screen appeared. “No notifications.”

He shifted the grocery bag and checked his own phone. Nothing. “We’ll give him another fifteen minutes before we sound any alarms.”

Much as he loved how well Jay had taken to weekly therapy, the existing routine left him in darkness until Jay chose to share his experiences. If he could pick Jay up in the car after his sessions—no. That would be for his own peace of mind; Jay’s emotional regulation greatly benefited from the freedom to roam on his bike. If he’d had a difficult session today and wanted time to himself, he deserved to have it.

Alice rubbed his chest. “Maybe he stopped for flowers.” She’d shed her coat and shoes and satchels. “Here, let me.” The groceries moved from his grip to hers. “We can get this unpacked while we wait.”

He bent and removed his shoes, her lovely sashay into the kitchen a pleasant distraction. “I do believe you’re managing me, sweet girl.”

“I told Jay last week I needed to practice my soft skills.” She’d raised her voice over the rustling bag. “Are they working?”

“Quite well.” He rounded the corner in his shirtsleeves, folding them up as he went. The groceries lay neatly arranged on the counter. “Unobtrusive but effective. Is that how you came to leave work on time today?”

“Pure luck. We had mandatory annual HR training this afternoon, so no one had anything to ambush me with at the end of the day.” She slyly popped a fresh golden grape into her mouth, and her eyes brightened. Brazenly holding eye contact with him, she stole a second. “These are amazing. Like honey. Do you, uh”—she rolled a third between her fingers—“need them all for dinner?”

“Less than a cup.” He nudged the Lakemont bunch closer to her. “The rest are for eating out of hand.”

She devoured the third, uttering a soft moan. “Jay’s going to love how sweet—”

The door unlocked, and the tick-tick-tick of a rolling bike gave his heart permission to stop beating quite so loudly. They shifted their weight together, as if they might race for the door, then relaxed all at once, Alice dropping her head atop her forearms on the counter, suppressed laughter rippling along her ribs.

“Quite a pair we are,” he whispered. Over his shoulder, he called, “Welcome home, Jay. If you’d like fresh grapes, you may have to fight Alice for them.”

“I hear I have to fight Alice for everything.” Several seconds passed before Jay strolled into the kitchen tugging his undershirt off over his head, wearing a broad grin and his marine blue cycling shorts. “Sorry I’m late. You know our neighbor? Gary or whatever?”

“Greg.” He and Alice answered in delightfully harmonious loathing.

“Yeah, that guy.” Jay stretched across the breakfast bar and purloined a cluster of grapes as Alice lifted her head. “He was hanging out in the lobby, looked kinda down, so I said hey, and three seconds later he’s telling me how you were half-naked and groping each other down there like five minutes ago. Says I should watch my back because you two are moving without me.” Chewing, he gave the grapes a thumbs-up. “Damn, these are good. Is this dinner? Anyway, that’s not even the strangest thing I heard today.”

Buying an apartment building simply for the joy of evicting one irritating neighbor would be a bit much. Henry plucked a grape from the cluster and slipped it between Jay’s lips. “Consider it an amuse-bouche.”

“Not death metal.” Alice repeatedly tapped her forehead against the counter. “Someone just learning an instrument. The bagpipes. I hope a novice bagpiper moves in next door to him.”

Jay flipped his gaze between them and scrubbed his hair. “I don’t know what either of you is saying. But”—he held up a stern finger, which on Jay made for a comically adorable picture, though the flexing abdominal muscles inspired other thoughts—“because I am rocking therapy so hard, I’m not at all concerned that you’re leaving me behind. So did we find a house or something?”

“That”—Henry captured Jay’s chin and delivered a soft kiss on his lips, which tasted of honeyed grapes—“is wonderful to hear.”

“Henry’s got news about something, but he’s been withholding it until he could tell us together.” Alice pouted, her chin propped on her fists and her eyes ludicrously wide.

“Whatever it is, I can top it.” Jay folded his arms across his chest and nodded decisively. “But you go first, please, ’cause I wanna hear the house news too.”

Assuaging his curiosity about Jay’s experience could wait a few moments. Likely the strange goings-on would form part of an amusing tale explaining why he’d been late getting home.

“Our building owner is exercising his option to purchase the condo.” The granite breakfast bar lay cool under his fingertips. He’d only intended to drop off the letter today; the fortunes in the moment had necessitated an executive decision that would greatly affect his lovers’ lives as well. “In exchange for him paying a fair amount over our asking price, we must be out by December first.”

Alice’s eye twitched. “That’s six weeks away.”

Jay let out a low whistle. “Okay, wasn’t expecting that, and that’s for sure big news. But I think mine still tops it.”

“We’re moving in six weeks, but we don’t have a place to move to, and your day tops that?” Alice shuffled around the counter and sank into a swivel seat. “Let’s hear it, stud.”

At Jay’s questioning glance, Henry nodded permission. “We can discuss the details of the housing plan over dinner. As Alice has implied, it’s complicated. Right now, I would very much appreciate hearing your big news.”

Jay took a deep breath.

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