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****

Ben flipped through a magazine while Jeremy texted away on his phone. When he was done, Jeremy put his phone in his jacket pocket and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. I made the mistake of telling my friends Mom wanted to see Adam, and everyone’s bugging me about it.”

“It’s fine.” Ben closed the magazine and set it down. “Do they know him? Or just what you’ve told them?”

“Some of them have met him. They’re curious about you. I said I didn’t know much.”

“We haven’t been together very long.”

“What, a few months? I’d have guessed much longer. He doesn’t tell me about his love life much anymore.”

Ben hesitated but decided for honestly, though not full disclosure. “A week, really. Two weeks if you go by his reckoning.” He bit his lip, wishing he hadn’t said that second part.

“Two weeks?” Jeremy’s mouth fell open. “He seems so devoted. I mean, he’s that kind of guy, but…” He trailed off. “Huh.”

“He certainly is that kind of guy. I completely misjudged him.”

“You work at the firm, he said.”

Ben nodded. “I do. Had a crush on him, actually. But I didn’t know he was gay. Not until a couple of weeks ago.”

“He’s been at your place all week. Is it going that well, or is he too nervous to be alone?”

“Both, I think. If you’d said yes to staying at his place, I don’t know if he’d be having me stay the night.” He cleared his throat. “He’s a very good man. Means a lot to me.”

“Glad to hear that. He’s had a hard time. He lied to himself through high school and college, just denying the truth. Then I think he was too unsure of himself. Didn’t know how to meet men, how to date them. And still closeted at home.” Then Jeremy smiled. “I can see how you probably misjudged him. Good-looking guy like him—and yes, I’m biased about our good looks—with power and money and everything going for him … yet so insecure and hesitant underneath. I’ve always wanted to see him happy.”

“I think whatever is going on in there will help ten times more.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. I know him. The way he looks at you tells me all I need to know, no matter how long you’ve been together.”

Ben smiled as he looked down at the floor. “I wish I had your confidence. I can be pretty infuriating.”

Jeremy’s phone vibrated, and he drew it out again. “Trust me. He doesn’t care.”

Ben turned his eyes back to the door as Jeremy focused on his phone. He willed everything to be all right, and he sighed with relief when Adam came back out. With a big smile on his face.

****

Adam slipped into bed and reached down to pet Latte. She nipped at his finger affectionately and then cleaned her paw before jumping down and stretching. Ben rolled over and watched her leaving the room. He reached out and stroked Adam’s arm.

“You haven’t said much about how it went,” Ben said.

“Still decompressing,” Adam said, inching closer. “We talked. She apologized. But we didn’t delve too deep. She doesn’t need to get too worked up now. There’ll be a lot to talk about. Maybe even some arguments. But it’s a start.”

“And your dad?”

“Hard to say. I’ll forgive him if he asks me to. But I don’t have much hope there.”

Ben pressed his forehead to Adam’s. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing I can do about it. Pushing will only make it worse.”

Ben repositioned his pillow and pulled the blanket up higher. “You tell her you’re seeing someone?”

“Yes.” He reached under the covers to slip his arm around Ben’s waist. “I said I’d like for you two to meet. That seemed to make her nervous, but she said she’d like to.”

“You looked happy when we left the hospital. But you’ve been so quiet.”