Page 157

I licked my lips, overcome with emotion. This wasn’t the time or place, but damn it, the lump in my throat was the size of a grapefruit.

“First of all, you started the war. Not me.” I stabbed a finger at his chest and gazed deep into his eyes. “And second, I want you too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I like who I am when I’m with you,” I admitted.

Rob caressed my cheek. “Fuck, I want to kiss you.”

I grabbed his wrist. “Careful. If you keep that up, everyone’s going to know.”

Amber took the mike from the food blogger. I heard her thank the town, the volunteers, Boardwalk Pizza, my cousins, me, Rob. People were watching us. I could feel the curious stares, but it was white noise.

He was everything. The only thing that mattered.

“And the winner is…Mateo Cavaretti.”

“Congratulations, my love.” With that, Rob grabbed my face in his hands and crashed his mouth over mine.

A surprised hush fell, immediately chased by a whooping roar of approval.

I chuckled against his lips. “You realize that you just came out, right?”

“Yeah, I ’spose I did. I’m glad. I’ve wanted this for a long, long time.”

“Me too, baby. Me too.”

We kissed again, then turned to the crowd with our arms raised.

My heart soared in my chest. This was a real win. Me and Rob.

We were a touchdown in the final seconds of a championship game, a Super Bowl ring, and a billion-dollar lottery ticket all in one. He was a gift out of the blue, and I was going to do my best to make sure Rob knew I was in this with him all the way. Beginning with bagels and pizza and leading to…a new start.

Epilogue

Rob

Three years later

Bang bang bang

I pulled my earplugs out with a sigh. Either I’d put them in wrong or they were useless at cutting out construction noise. Then again, there probably wasn’t a quiet way to remove a brick wall. Thankfully, it looked like the crew was almost done for the day.

“Wow, look at that.” Mateo shook his head in wonder at the jagged opening between Boardwalk Pizza and the old florist shop next door. “I can’t believe we’re finally doing this.”

I set a hand on his hip. “I know what you mean. This is exciting, baby. I’m happy for you.”

“For us,” he corrected. “This is ours. You’re family too, you know.”

I grinned. I did know. Things had changed dramatically since our pizza-bagel bake-off. In a twist, the world took notice when a former athlete kissed his lover in public.

The media had swarmed Haverton, hoping for a titillating story that amounted to headlines like, “Football Star Meets His Match Making Bagels.” Corny much? It was silly, but damn, it was therapeutic too. I hadn’t realized how freeing it would feel to come out on a large scale. I didn’t have to hide any part of my life. I was gay and proud, and I didn’t care who knew or what they thought. From that moment, I’d vowed that the next chapter of my life would be lived out loud. With Mateo.

Don’t jump to conclusions. We hadn’t ridden off in the sunset after the bake-off in a fairy-tale-style happily ever after. We’d taken it one day at a time, slowly building a life together and in the community.

Mateo had moved into my house two and a half years ago. We’d both been a little nervous about it. Living together was a big commitment, but we’d known we were ready for it and were committed to each other. Every day we grew as a couple. We were friends, confidantes, lovers. He knew me in a way very few people did, and he let me know him. There were no walls between us, no secrets.

A year ago, the florist on the other side of Boardwalk Pizza decided to retire and offered the Cavarettis first right of refusal. The cousins had jumped at the chance, but real estate prices had risen significantly, and they’d been leery of the cost of renovating the two spaces. I’d offered to become a silent investor and after some intense haggling, I’d finally talked Mateo into taking my money.