Page 15 of HEA: Happily Ever After (After Oscar Book 5)

I’d been around men like Ben before. Arrogant men who played games to establish a pecking order. And that was fine. As long as I was his target.

But the minute he’d raised his nose and sniffed at Hugh, I’d decided the peacock could go straight to hell. Ben had known exactly what he was doing when he’d ditched us to seek out his future mother-in-law, and I was left fuming at his audacity.

“Fuck. Him,” I growled low enough no one else could hear. “Fuck that guy right to hell.”

Surprisingly, Hugh grinned at me. “I adore you.”

His words shocked me out of my annoyance. “Huh?”

I already had an arm around him, but when I saw the lopsided grin on his face, set off by the crooked canines that did things to me deep inside, I tightened it and drew him closer.

“You acted like he was unimportant, like he wasn’t worth paying attention to. And you did it for me. Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

The word “friend” dropped heavily, crushing the light, ebullient feeling I’d begun to have simply by having Hugh Linzee in my arms again.

“You deserve to be the most important person in the room,” I said because he needed to know it. But the words left me feeling too raw, like if he looked too closely, he’d see the truth of me. The truth of my feelings for him. A truth I still wasn’t ready to acknowledge to myself. I glanced away. “And my job is to make sure you feel like the belle of the ball. So… what’s next? You hungry?”

He let me create the space I so desperately needed. We moved together toward the tables where a make-your-own nacho station was set up along the far wall. With beers in hand, we managed to each make a plate and find a high-top table to escape to.

I could tell Hugh was still nervous. He glanced around from time to time to check out who was there, and a couple of times, I’d noticed him furtively glance down as if avoiding someone’s eye contact.

I reached over to steal one of his nachos and bit into it loudly. “Always a heavy hand with the guac,” I said after swallowing. “Should have followed your lead.”

His eyes widened. “How did you know that? We’ve never…” His voice trailed off as he remembered someone could overhear us. Before he stressed too much, I helped him out.

“You told me about how Rafa always forgets to order extra when you get takeout. Remember when we were texting about—” I noticed the smile when he remembered the conversation.

“Green condiments,” he said with a chuckle. “Yeah, I remember. You’re a wasabi whore.”

I winked at him and took another bite of the food. It was good, an indulgent treat after a week of Lesya pushing salads on me at lunch out of fear for my health. I tucked in and enjoyed every bite, only pausing mid-chew when an older couple came up to say hello to Hugh.

It was clear from their looks that they were related to Dex and Jared. The woman gave Hugh a hug and then pinned him with big, sad eyes. “How are you, dear?” Her tone was similar to the ones people had used with Richard at his father’s funeral earlier this year. Pitiful and careful, as if the recipient was this close to breaking.

“Good, great!” Hugh got up from his chair and gave her a hug. “Good to see you Mrs. Currier… Mr. Currier.” He finished the hug and held out a hand to the gentleman.

Mrs. Currier looked at Hugh with genuine affection. “I’ve been following your videos on the internet. It’s just so sweet. All of my friends follow you too, and I always say that’s my sweet Abby’s brother.”

Hugh’s smile tightened almost imperceptibly. “Thank you. That’s nice of you to say. Mr. and Mrs. Currier, this is Oscar Overton. Oscar, these are Dex’s parents.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a nod. “Congratulations on Dex and Abby’s marriage.”

They both beamed. “Thank you,” Mrs. Currier said. “We’re so happy to have her in our family, finally.”

I could tell immediately that this couple cared about Hugh. And I could see very clearly that he felt an acute sense of loss at no longer having them in his life. But it was clear from their language that they hadn’t found the capacity to accept him as an official part of their family without being Jared’s partner.

Hugh moved a little closer to me. He didn’t seem aware of doing it, but I took the opportunity to slide my arm around his waist again in case he was looking for support.

“How did your roses do this summer?” Hugh asked them. “Abby said you experimented with some new varieties.”

They brightened at the topic, explaining how they’d found a new favorite and would be sure to give Abby some of the blooms next summer so she could show Hugh. It struck me then how unfair it was that they didn’t see the value in retaining a relationship with Hugh directly, since he obviously shared a passion of theirs. They seemed to play by older, more traditional rules that when a couple broke up, the parents were no longer allowed to remain close to the ex.

In most cases, this would probably not have hit me quite as hard. But Hugh was clearly hungry for connection, for parental affection and familial love. I could tell he wanted to be invited to their backyard barbecues and asked to give his opinion on the layout of their garden. He wanted to be included in regular, everyday family things. And now, Abby had the family Hugh had thought would be his.

As the Curriers continued to speak, I recognized Hugh’s friendly expression for the mask it was. The light didn’t quite reach his eyes, and his laughter didn’t linger with its usual enthusiasm.

I considered interrupting, finding an excuse to pull him away from the well-meaning couple for his own heart’s protection, but it wasn’t my place. For all I knew, he relished this opportunity to reconnect with them in whatever way he could.

When they finally wandered off to talk to someone else, I felt his muscles relax. Instinctively, I pulled him in to lean against my chest, and his nose brushed my neck as he sighed.

I imagined to most of the guests, our embrace looked like a simple moment of shared affection. Unremarkable, really.

But to me, everything about Hugh’s weight in my arms, the warmth of his breath on my skin, the privilege of standing beside him and supporting him, felt remarkable. Earthshaking, really.

“I…” I swallowed. My heart was full of him, and I needed him not to feel so alone. “I meant what I said earlier. Meeting you changed my life, and I’m grateful to know you. You’re an incredible person, and…”

Hugh pulled back and met my eyes. His confusion was clear in his furrowed eyebrows. “What are you doing right now?” he asked softly.

I reached out to run a thumb across the apple of his cheek, feeling the smooth skin and his body’s warmth. “You’re kind and thoughtful. You care so much about people. I just want you to know that’s a good thing.”

His jaw tightened. “Don’t fucking pity me. I can take it from many people. I can take it from Jared, I can take it from his drummer boy, and I can take it from the Curriers. But I cannot take it from you, okay?”

“It’s not pity. Jesus, Hugh. I…” I leaned forward and kissed him, mostly to stop his anger toward me and because I couldn’t resist kissing him any longer. His hand curled into the front of my sweater and held on tight.

When we finally separated, I noticed Jared and Ben staring at us, though no one else had seemed to notice. I felt like an ass for making a scene in front of his ex, even though one could argue that’s kind of what I’d been there to do.

“Sorry,” I muttered, looking down at where his hand still clutched my clothing. I needed the reminder that it hadn’t just been me who’d been into it.

“Don’t be sorry,” Hugh said, lips curving up. “You’re a damned good kisser. Never need to apologize for kissing me, Oscar. Even if you’re only doing it to shut me up.”

I leaned in close and brushed my lips against his ear. He smelled amazing. “Maybe I wanted to shut you up, but I also wanted to remind myself what your tongue tastes like?”

He shivered in my arms. It occurred to me that there was no way I’d be able to drop him off at his place later tonight without begging him to let me come inside and take him to bed.

Before I could remind myself of all the reasons that would be unfair to Hugh, Abby walked up. “It’s about time.” She beamed at her brother. “You two look so happy. I’m glad you finally started dating. I could tell when I saw the way you looked at each other last year in the hospital there was something there more than friendship. I didn’t want to bring it up after what you said this summer, Hugh, but love finds a way, right?”

Hugh’s mouth opened and closed like he wasn’t sure how to respond. I knew he didn’t want to lie to her, but her expression was so open and happy, hopeful and expectant, that he wouldn’t want to do or say anything that might burst her love bubble. I couldn’t bring myself to do it either.

“I was just telling your brother what a good man he is.” My voice sounded rougher than normal, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“He is. He’s the best.” She leaned in and gave Hugh a quick hug. “Everything going okay? Sorry I’ve been so busy greeting everyone I haven’t had a chance to talk.”

Hugh smiled warmly. “Actually, I have a little surprise for you first. Remember how you and Dex helped me ‘test my new camera’ a few weeks ago by pretending to do an interview for me?” He pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. “I put something together for you.”

I crowded in to watch over his shoulder at the video he pulled up. It began like most of Hugh’s HEA videos, with Hugh asking how the couple met and how they knew their significant other would be their Happily Ever After. But in this case, Hugh had interspersed snippets of their interviews with footage of Dex and Abby through the various stages of their relationship—splash-fighting at the beach, kissing next to a lit Christmas tree, dressed up in formal wear and pulling faces to make each other laugh. The montage ended with Abby’s interview voiceover saying, “I knew he was my happily ever after when I realized the only thing that scared me about the future was the idea of spending one minute apart from him that we could have spent together.”

When it was done playing, Abby threw her arms around Hugh exuberantly, and when she pulled back, her eyes were filled with happy tears. “Hugh,” she began. “That was…”

Hugh shook his head. “I just wanted you to know I understand about the wedding. You didn’t need a fancy dress to feel special when Dex shows you how special you are every moment.”

Abby closed her eyes and inhaled. “Yeah. That’s it exactly. I’m going to treasure that video, and I know Dex will too. Thank you.” She ran her fingertips under her eyes. “Also, if my mascara is running right now, I will hate you forever.”

“You look beautiful,” I assured her.

She gave a watery chuckle. “Thank you. Do you think I could introduce you around now?”

Hugh agreed, and the next hour was spent being led from person to person as Abby took every opportunity to introduce Hugh to the important people in her life he hadn’t met yet and make sure they all saw Hugh’s video. Several of them already followed his TikTok account and praised him for it, asking questions about specific couples or posts and suggesting ideas for couples they knew that would be the perfect addition to his repertoire. In every case, he remained the charming, approachable man he was.

I loved seeing Hugh get the attention he deserved, and I also found it curiously freeing to be around people who didn’t seem to know or care who I was aside from “Hugh’s boyfriend.” With Hugh’s hand in mine or my arm around his waist, I had no need of my emotional support hedgehog, and Frank remained comfortably ensconced in my pocket…

At least until Abby pulled us into the main part of the bar to meet her coworker Chelsea, and I recognized the man standing next to her with his eyes glued on one of the television screens over the bar.

“Oh, shit,” I muttered, my heart sinking.

Hugh looked at me in confusion and concern, but before I could explain, the man on the stool turned around.

“Well, will you look who it is?” Sage’s big voice boomed. His grin was wide and easy, just like the man himself. “My very own big brother, the dude who couldn’t be bothered to return my call last week.”

“Sorry about that,” I murmured, accepting his giant hug and barely avoiding being lifted off the ground. “I’ve been busy with work. And I just saw you two weeks ago,” I reminded him.

“Busy-schmizzy. I’m your brother. Family should take precedence over work, especially from someone who already has enough money for ten lifetimes. What the hell are you doing all the way out here in Jersey?”

I could have asked him the same. Instead, Abby cut in. “You two are brothers?”

“Step—” I began, but Sage’s voice was much louder.

“Heck, yeah. Oscar’s my big brother. One of the best men I know. Practically helped my dad raise me,” he added with a dramatic flourish and wink.

“Oh my god, Chelsea,” Abby said with a big smile. “Oscar’s dating my brother. Your boyfriend’s brother is my brother’s boyfriend! That’s so weird.”

While Abby continued to introduce everyone, I felt the ramifications of her statement enter my bloodstream like a six-pack of Red Bull.

“It’s not…” I glanced across the room at Jared and cut myself off with a cough. “I mean, yeah. What a small world, huh?”

“Boyfriends?” Sage’s smile faltered for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell us in Vermont? Hell, why didn’t you bring him to Vermont? Mom doesn’t know, does she? She’d be all over it in the family chat if she did.”

I felt the heat of Hugh’s inquisitive stare on the side of my face. Thankfully, his brain kicked in while mine whimpered and dropped out of sight. “You know how protective Oscar is.” His arm snaked around my waist and gripped my hip. “Abby just got married, and I… I’d hate for anything in my life to steal my sister’s thunder.”

Under other circumstances, I might have appreciated how deftly he phrased his statement to avoid technically lying. But the technicality didn’t matter when Abby was so ready to believe we were together.

“Hugh.” Abby made a little excited noise in her throat. “It’s not stealing my thunder to finally see you so happy! I knew right away last year the two of you were going to work out.”

Sage’s eyes bugged. “You’ve been dating for a year?”

“No, no!” I said. “It’s new. Just… we’ve been friends for a while.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re bringing him to brunch tomorrow. Nonnegotiable. If I’m bringing Chelsea, you’re bringing Hugh.”

However good or right it felt to be in Hugh’s company, no part of me thought it was a wise idea to introduce him to my matchmaking mother and her family. I opened my mouth to make an excuse, but Hugh got the words out first. Only they were different words than I’d intended. “Of course. We’ll be there with bells on.”

This situation was like a high-speed train thrusting dangerously through a dark and stormy night. It was out of control, and I was the one who’d set the damned thing in motion.

Sage’s girlfriend was cute, glancing at him with laughing eyes as he pressured me about the family thing. With all four of them staring at me, I couldn’t throw Hugh under the bus.

“I was planning on bringing him anyway,” I said a little petulantly. “But you know how they are.”

Sage nodded and bared all of his teeth in a feral grin. “And this time, I’m not going to be the only one in their crosshairs when they start the interrogations. Hell, they’re barely even going to give Chelsea a second look when they find out that Mr. Never Gonna Date Again has been dating someone for a year.”

I opened my mouth to correct him, again, but the sound of Hugh’s carefree chuckle stole my attention. It was so light and warm, Abby couldn’t help but join in, which then set Chelsea off.

“What?” I asked.

“I don’t even know! I’m just laughing because Hugh’s laughing,” admitted Abby.

Hugh leaned a shoulder into me. “The look on your face. You’re so easy to trigger. He’s baiting you, and you fell for it. And now you look surprised. That’s what siblings do. Total assholes.”

I blinked. It was?

“Hey!” Abby accused. Chelsea laughed so hard she doubled over, and the sight of his new girlfriend enjoying herself softened something in my brother’s expression.

It had been a while since I’d felt a part of something like this. Something… familial. And I wasn’t sure if it was any more real than my “relationship” with Hugh.

But when I caught Sage’s eye and he looked from Chelsea to Hugh and back to me with a shrug as if to say, Aren’t we lucky to have them? I couldn’t correct him. I couldn’t tell him I didn’t actually have Hugh. Instead, I gave him a good-natured eye roll in return. Because in that moment, I wanted it to be true.

By the time Hugh seemed ready to call it a night, I’d settled back into the comfort that always came from spending time with him and had to admit I’d had a good time. Abby’s friends were interesting and genuine, Sage and Chelsea were easy to hang out with, the casual atmosphere of the sports bar lent itself perfectly to shooting the shit with new acquaintances, and best of all, Jared and his boyfriend kept their distance…

At least until we started making our goodbyes and Jared approached Hugh and asked for a word in private.

I bit my tongue to keep from snapping my true feelings about the idea and instead smiled politely like a totally secure and non-jealous boyfriend as Hugh shot me a nervous glance and trailed Jared from the event room into the main part of the bar. Ben’s eyes followed the two of them like targeted lasers. It was the closest I’d felt to having something in common with the arrogant ass all night.

Thankfully, Sage took that moment to find me for a quick goodbye. “See you tomorrow,” he murmured. “I’m really happy about Hugh. He seems like a good guy.”

I bit my tongue against an admission of guilt and only said, “He definitely is. See you tomorrow.”

After saying goodbye to Chelsea, I noticed Hugh and Jared reentering the room. Hugh tilted his chin at me to indicate he was ready to leave. We finished saying our goodbyes to everyone and made our way outside to the car.

Hugh shivered in the November chill, so I put my arm around his shoulders. “Want my coat?” I asked.

He gave me a shy smile. “No, just your arm. I like you in this coat, and if I’m wearing it, I can’t appreciate you wearing it.”

I nodded and continued walking, patting myself on the back for not asking him about his private conversation with his ex. When we got to the car, I opened his door for him and waited for him to settle before closing it.

“None of your business,” I muttered to myself while rounding the car. Once in my seat, I pulled the seat belt on and started the ignition.

We didn’t speak for several minutes until we were heading toward the turnpike. “You’re being awfully quiet,” Hugh said without looking at me.

“I had a nice time tonight. Abby’s friends are great.”

“Yeah, they are. I’d met Alicia a few times before, but this was the first time meeting Sandy and Henry and those other guys. I liked them.” He held his hand out to the flow of warm air coming out of the vent. “It’s hard for me to get out here very often with work and stuff, but maybe now that I know everyone…”

“She said a group of them do trivia night at that bar. That would be fun.”

“Yeah.” He fell silent for a minute. “God, I still can’t believe your brother was there. What a small world.”

For once, I didn’t point out Sage was only my stepbrother, not my real brother. Tonight, it had almost seemed like it didn’t matter anymore, which was strange because we’d been technically family for fifteen years, and I’d spent every single one of them trying to make sure they knew I wasn’t trying to be part of their special circle.

“It was. Of all the nacho parties in all the world…” I joked, but Hugh didn’t laugh, and when I glanced his way, he was chewing his lip nervously, and suddenly, I didn’t know what to say. The conversation was stilted and strange, as if the words we really wanted to say were being held back behind a locked gate.

Should I apologize for turning our harmless, one-day fake-boyfriendship into a multi-day command performance? After all, the only reason Hugh had called me was because he was desperate. No matter how good it felt to kiss him and tease him and navigate the world at his side, I’d never assume that he wanted anything more from me than what he’d asked. For all I knew, he’d planned on going back to radio silence tomorrow morning.

Suddenly, Hugh spoke. “Jared’s going to propose at Christmas. Dex said if they wanted to, they could take over some of the wedding plans Abby and Dex had made… you know, use them for their own wedding. I guess Jared wanted to make sure I’d be okay with that.”

I glanced over at him to see if I could determine how he was feeling. White headlights and orange lights from a nearby restaurant sign flashed across the planes of his face. The familiar silhouette of his jawline made me want to run my fingers along stubbled skin.

“And are you? Okay with it?”

He inhaled deeply before looking over at me. “No, but not for the reasons you think. I’m disappointed that he would care so little about making it his own that he would simply take someone else’s personalized plan and change the names. Like… Abby and Dex were going to have a three-piece instrumental group playing at the beginning of the reception, and I find it hard to believe the drummer of Toxic Echo wouldn’t prefer something edgier. And the centerpieces were going to be this feather-and-candle combination Abby had seen on Instagram. But Jared loves his parents’ roses. Why wouldn’t he want roses for his centerpieces? It’s just…” He shrugged. “Disappointing.”

I reached over and squeezed his hand before keeping it clasped in mine. “Not everyone cares as much about wedding arrangements as you do, sweetheart,” I said gently. “Maybe they’re more like Abby and Dex. They don’t care about the wedding as much as the marriage.”

He blew out a breath. “Maybe. Maybe you’re right. I know in the grand scheme of things, those things don’t matter as much as loving the person you’re with and promising to spend a lifetime with them. I just… I like the pomp. I like the planning and decorating. And I like the idea that a wedding celebration represents the couple being celebrated. Like, even tonight, the nacho thing… Abby loves nachos and beer. So much so that their first Valentine’s Day together, Dex brought nachos to the school for her lunch. Her coworkers teased her about it, about how unromantic nachos were. But she thought it was the best thing ever. Because he knew they were her favorite. And he went out of his way to make her happy.”

He shrugged and looked out the window. “So I’m not saying it needs to be fancy. But it needs to be special. There’s a difference.”

I had to let go of his hand to steer once we got into the city. Out of habit, I headed home to my apartment without thinking. When we were halfway there, Hugh spoke up.

“You passed the turn to my place.”

“Shit. Sorry.” I turned on my blinker to correct my mistake when he spoke up again.

“I mean… unless… unless you were heading to your place for a reason… A-and we haven’t talked about the thing for your mom tomorrow…”

I glanced at him. “I honestly just forgot to turn, but… yeah. I mean, are you good with going to the brunch? You don’t have to, you know.”

“Definitely cool. I liked your brother, and I’m sure I’ll like the rest of them. Besides, I owe you a fake-boyfriend date.” He grinned at me. His crooked smile did its usual number on me.

“Come home with me,” I said in a low voice.

He blinked at me. “You sure?”

My casual nod belied my clenching stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had someone over—I didn’t bring people to my home for hookups, and I’d stopped dating long before I’d moved into this apartment just over a year ago—but the urge to have Hugh in my private space was nearly overwhelming. “I can show you my place. You can see where your favorite hedgehog lives.”

The edge of his lip quirked up. “I am curious.”

We were already kissing frantically by the time we exited the private elevator into my apartment. If Hugh hadn’t stopped me, I might have completely forgotten about poor Frank.

“Frank!”

For a split second, I thought he’d called me by the wrong man’s name. When I finally got a few blood cells back into my brain, I pulled away from him long enough to take a breath. “Yes, come see his room, and you can help me feed him and put him to bed.”

Hugh’s eyes caught the light, full of playful teasing. “Okay, but then I think it would only make sense for you to take me to your room so I can help feed you and put you to bed…”

So much for whatever blood had made it to my brain. With the sultry emphasis he’d put on the word “feed,” the blood had drained completely away, leaving my head full of nothing but thin clouds colored by an intense need to rush Frank’s bedtime routine.