Chapter 25
25
MARNIN
W hat was taking him so long? I was leaning against the kitchen counter, waiting for Ennio to be ready to leave for the gala. I knew it took time when he had to do his makeup and all, but Ennio was taking even longer than usual. “The car will be here in five minutes, sunshine,” I called out.
I’d been forbidden from entering my own bedroom, much to my amusement. Ennio had put out clothes for me in the guest room, telling me I had everything I needed there and was banned from using my own bedroom. I’d gotten dressed in five minutes, three of which were spent fixing my hair. My black tux was classic and stylish, and my dress shoes were so shiny I could practically see myself in their reflection.
I checked my watch again. “Four minutes!”
“Hold your horses,” Ennio said, and the bedroom door opened. I pushed myself off the counter and stood straight, eagerly awaiting his appearance.
When he stepped into sight, my mouth literally dropped. He wore a tuxedo, but it was a tight-fitting one that hugged his curves. The color was an amazing deep purple that sparkled, and he’d combined it with silver accessories, including his high-heeled shoes. His hair was styled meticulously, and his makeup complemented his outfit, a little more extravagant than usual. Purple eyeshadow matched his nail polish, and he was wearing subtle fake lashes by the looks of it.
He was stunning. Absolutely breathtaking.
“I’m… I’m speechless,” I finally managed. “You look absolutely amazing. Gorgeous. Beautiful.”
His smile made my heart sing, another thing I could add to a list of new feelings and sensations I was experiencing lately. “Thank you.”
He hesitated, then held out something I couldn’t see. “What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a pocket square for your tux. If you want, you can match my colors. You don’t need to, but?—”
Before he’d even finished, I’d yanked out the boring white one I’d put in there and taken the purple one from him. “It’s perfect.”
If anyone would’ve told me a year prior that I’d be wearing a purple glittering pocket square, I would’ve laughed them straight out of the room, but nothing felt more natural in this moment. I folded it, then inserted it into my breast pocket. “How do I look?”
Ennio’s eyes shone. “Incredibly handsome.”
My phone beeped. “The driver’s here.”
I took Ennio’s hand as we headed out, not letting go until we’d reached our limo. Ennio’s eyes lit up with excitement when he spotted it. “I’ve never been in a limo.”
Under any other circumstance, I would’ve said they weren’t all that special, but hell if I was going to spoil his joy. “Then enjoy every minute of it, sunshine. It’s a twenty-minute drive at least.”
On the drive over, Ennio kept taking in everything, chatting excitedly, only to stare around him again in wonder. He saw things with the wonder of a child, and it was a beautiful experience to see everything through his eyes.
The grand ballroom of the Four Seasons was a sight to behold, with sparkling chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings and ornate gold trim adorning the walls. The tables were set with pristine white damask tablecloths and glimmering crystal glasses, each one catching the light in a different way. The formal china, with its delicate floral patterns, added to the overall elegance of the room, and big centerpieces decorated each table.
The elegant strains of the string quartet seated in a corner of the room filled the air, creating a sophisticated ambiance. The soft, muted conversations of the hundreds of guests barely rose above the music. Sebastian went all out for this, knowing that the more he spent, the more money the rich would donate. Crazy, but true.
I walked tall and proud with Ennio on my arm, not missing the many curious glances thrown our way. I was a familiar face to those who had attended the gala before, but they’d never seen me here with a date.
“Let’s say hi to Sebastian,” I told Ennio, and he nodded. We made our way over to my boss, who stood with his husband by his side, both impeccably dressed—though Hadley was a tad more flamboyant than Sebastian, who preferred a more classical look like I did.
“Marnin!” Hadley exclaimed, letting go of his husband’s hand to greet me, rising up on his toes to kiss my cheek. “Lovely to see you, as always.”
“You’re so full of it,” I said with a grin, knowing damn well what a pain in the ass I could be. “I’d like to introduce you to my…” I swallowed. “My partner, Ennio Frant.”
Hadley’s eyes widened almost comically. “Your partner? Holy shit, Seb, did you hear that?”
Sebastian’s reaction was more tempered, but I had expected nothing less. The man didn’t easily show his emotions other than his love for his husband. He held out his hand to Ennio. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ennio. I’m Sebastian LeClerc.”
Ennio shook his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Hadley said with a pointed look, then enveloped Ennio in a warm hug that made me go all soft inside. “But it’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Hadley, Sebastian’s husband.”
His instant acceptance meant a lot to me but even more to Ennio, who was beaming as if he’d won the lottery. “Thank you. I’m so honored to be here.”
“God, you look amazing,” Hadley said. “That outfit is absolutely fabulous, and that color looks perfect on you.”
Okay, now I couldn’t dislike him anymore, not even when he was on my ass about something. But it made me so happy to see him accept Ennio with such ease and affirm him in his outfit. Not that I had expected anything less, but still. It meant the world to Ennio. That much was obvious.
Hadley put his arm through Ennio’s. “Let me introduce you to some people, and in between, you can tell me how you’re able to put up with Mr. Grumpy there.”
Ennio didn’t miss a beat. “The sex makes up for a lot.”
Hadley laughed so hard that everyone around us looked his way, though he ignored it. “You and I are gonna be great friends.”
Before I knew it, he’d whisked Ennio away.
“Those two are gonna be trouble,” Sebastian said, but he didn’t look like he minded.
“Ennio was insecure about how he’d be received here,” I said softly.
“Because of his style?”
That was a surprisingly sensitive word for Sebastian, who wasn’t known for mincing words—one of the reasons he and I got along so well. “Yeah. He’s flamboyant and glittery, and not everyone can appreciate that.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Fuck the haters. Who cares? Life’s too short to worry about other people’s opinions.”
“True, but that’s not always easy. I’m grateful Hadley took him under his wing.”
Sebastian’s expression softened. “Hadley is sensitive to other people’s emotions. His childhood wasn’t easy, and he’s been through a lot. It’s made him very observant…unlike me. He often has to tell me stuff about people because I don’t see it.”
“You guys make a good team, then.”
“The best. I’ll be eternally grateful that he chose me. I know everyone thinks I’m the catch, what with my wealth and all, but the truth is he married down. He’s my sun, and I’m lucky to be in his orbit.”
Surprisingly poetic words for a geek, yet I sensed the sincerity behind them. And even more shocking was that I recognized the sentiment as well. “I never thought I’d find someone who would like me the way I am. I’m not exactly easy nor low maintenance.”
Sebastian let out a dry chuckle. “You’re preaching to the choir here. I was an asshole before Hadley came into my life—or so I’ve been told repeatedly. He changed me. I guess that’s what love does, cheesy as it may sound.”
Love. There was a word that would’ve sent me running in the other direction mere weeks ago, and while it still terrified me, it was now for a whole different reason. “I’m scared I’m gonna fuck it up with Ennio,” I said softly.
Sebastian didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, you will. Trust me on this. You’ll fuck up repeatedly.”
“But then how?—”
“—and he’ll forgive you, and you’ll both learn from it. No relationship is perfect, but the good news is that it doesn’t have to be. That’s love for ya.”
Sheriff Frant’s words at his birthday party came to mind. Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
I was certain I’d omitted some of it, but I’d never been much for Bible verses. But this one had hit me hard…and it did all over again.
My parents had never shown me love like that. I had no clue if the woman who’d given birth to me was even still alive—not that I cared, to be clear—but she’d walked out on me when I was two. Definitely not eligible for a Mother of the Year award. My father had been a miserable, drunk, abusive bastard his entire life. He hadn’t ever given me any affection.
But Auden’s parents had. They’d shown me what unconditional love looked like. They’d opened their house and hearts to me…and Sheriff Frant had called me a bonus son, goddammit. The man loved me as he did his own kids, and how was that not a miracle?
I’d told Ennio I’d never had an example of what love looked like, of what a good relationship looked like, but that was a lie. Auden’s parents had shown me, and his dad proved it again with Cora.
Auden himself had demonstrated it with Tricia and now with Keaton. His marriage with Tricia might not have lasted, but they were still close friends and had set a high standard for what an amicable divorce and co-parenting should look like. And his marriage to Keaton was sheer perfection, even though it was nauseating to watch at times.
I did know what love looked like because I had people in my life who loved me the way I was. Auden, first and foremost, but also Tiago and Tomás, and now even York and Fir. None of them had ever tried to change me despite me being a grumpy asshole.
And I had Ennio. He was in love with me.
Oh, he hadn’t said so, but that was probably because he didn’t want to scare me. You know, like the skittish animal I was. Or, more accurately, that I had been. Because suddenly, the idea of Ennio telling me he loved me wasn’t scary at all. It was…
“Excuse me,” I told Sebastian. “I have to talk to Ennio about something.”
“Go,” he said, grinning widely.
Ennio was still with Hadley, and they were talking to a group of other men I didn’t know, all dressed to the nines. “Marnin, I’d like you to meet?—”
“Not now,” I told Hadley, then turned to Ennio. “I’m in love with you.”
His eyes blew wide open. “What?”
“I’m in love with you. I know, it’s as much of a shock for me as it is for you. I didn’t think I was capable of feeling something this…this grand, this vast, this all-encompassing. But I do. When I look at you, I…” Words spun through my head, none of them adequate. “I feel . I feel so much, and I’m so scared yet so grateful. It’s like… It’s like I was a frozen landscape, and you thawed me with your presence.”
A chorus of awws made me pause for a moment. Fuck, I should’ve taken him aside, shouldn’t I? I was doing this in front of complete strangers. But one look at Ennio’s face made me forget everything else. He was crying.
“Shit, baby, don’t cry. Please. Whatever I said wrong, I’ll fix it. You know I’m not good with words, and I never meant to h?—”
“Shut up,” Ennio said, now laughing through his tears. “You had me at ‘I’m in love with you.’”
Warmth bloomed inside me. “Yeah?”
“The rest was just icing on the cake. Very romantic icing, I might add, but icing nonetheless.”
I understood now why he was crying because my eyes were growing misty as well. Me, the man who didn’t do emotions. Boy, had I been wrong about that one. “Let me say it again, then. I’m in love with you, Ennio Frant. The kind of love I didn’t even think myself capable of. The forever and till death do us part kind…and Jesus, I can’t believe I just said that, but I mean it. I’ve never meant anything more.”
“I love you too.”
He said the words as quietly as a whisper, but they hit me like a tight embrace, like the longest and best hug ever. “You do?”
“So very much.”
His eyes shone with it, the love radiating out from them like a lighthouse on a dark and stormy sea. “I’m the luckiest man in the world, sunshine. I vow to do whatever I can to be worthy of your love and to make you happy.”
Ennio closed the distance between us and raised his face to mine. Our lips met in a kiss that was featherlight yet shook me to my core. When we parted, our mouths only an inch apart, I whispered, “Be careful with my heart, sunshine. It’s fragile.”
His smile lit up my whole world. “It’s safe with me. I promise.”