Epilogue
Louis
I plopped down in the empty chair in front of Jonathan’s desk and crossed my ankle over my knee, waiting for him to look up and acknowledge me.
I knew by the way he clenched and released his jaw that he was annoyed, but that was okay.
It was kind of the point. I’d made a habit of getting under his skin over the years, and I didn’t see any reason not to do so now, even if it was my last day.
He made a show of ignoring me, so I pulled out my phone, smiling at the name attached to the message lighting up my screen.
Matty
Have you left yet?
He’d texted me the same thing every hour, on the hour, since nine a.m. And every hour, my response had been the same: not yet. This time, however, I switched it up.
Almost
His response came in immediately, making me smile even wider.
Yeah?
Finally
All packed up. I just need to take care of one more thing first
Hurry up
lol
I’ll text when I’m officially on the road
Love you
Love you too
I pocketed my phone then looked up to find Jonathan watching me, his eyes softer than they’d been a moment before. “You really do love him, then?”
“I do. Like, an insane amount. How’d you know I was texting him?”
“You get a dopey look on your face.”
I shrugged, grinning helplessly.
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms casually across his chest. “I can’t believe you’re leaving.”
“Aww . . . you gonna miss me Jon-o?”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah, I think I am.”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’ll see me in just a few days at the cabin.”
“I can’t believe Hayden talked me into inviting people over for the Fourth.”
“Bullshit,” I said, standing. “He’s got you wrapped around his little finger, and everyone who knows the both of you knows it.”
He stood and came around the desk. “I’ve seen you and Matthew together. I could say the same for you guys.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Me neither.” He flashed me a rare grin then stuck his hand out to shake. “It’s going to be quiet around here without you.”
“Don’t act like you aren’t excited about that.” I took his hand in mine and tugged, pulling him into a hug. To my surprise, he came willingly, slapping my back a couple of times before releasing me, taking a step back, and clearing his throat. His eyes looked suspiciously damp. “See you Thursday.”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
Matthew
I swiped open my phone for what had to be the tenth time in the last hour, unable to resist the temptation to tap into the GPS locator and get a look at Louis’s location like some sort of deranged stalker.
He’d texted an hour ago that he was on his way, but I was just as impatient as ever, knowing that this time he was coming into town for good.
He was coming home.
To me.
And I couldn’t be more thrilled.
The last sixth months had been a roller coaster.
Friday mornings filled with anticipation and Sunday evenings filled with dread, while the moments in between seemed to stretch endlessly.
We’d taken a weekend trip together around Valentine’s Day, and when that hadn’t been enough, we’d scheduled a full week at the end of April, spending our time in Texas with Louis’s family.
It had become evident at the conclusion of that trip that it was time to make a change.
Whether I moved into the city or he moved in with me, didn’t matter. I wanted him in my life for good.
To my surprise, he’d told me he’d been contemplating leaving city life behind for quite a while, almost since the month after we’d met, but he hadn’t been sure if I’d be ready for him to move in.
We’d had an argument after that in which I’d insisted that he be honest about his feelings going forward, no matter how he thought I’d react.
The makeup sex after that fight had been spectacular, and our relationship had been infinitely stronger since.
A sleek black sedan pulled into the alley behind the bookstore, and I watched from my vantage point on the balcony as Louis pulled into the spot next to my truck.
He stepped out of the car dressed in slacks and a button-down, and I realized he hadn’t even taken the time to change out of his business attire.
“You going to come down and help me unload?”
“We can unload later. Get your ass up here,” I called out.
He made his way to the staircase and trotted up to meet me.
“So bossy,” he said as he stepped into my space.
“You like it when I’m bossy.” To prove my point, I reached down and palmed his erection, squeezing just enough to have him hissing.
He responded by attacking my mouth in a kiss, but I flipped us so that his back was pressed against the door, gaining the upper hand.
“Always backing me up against things,” he mumbled as I bit his lower lip.
“You complaining?”
“Not one bit.”
Sliding my arm around his waist, I opened the door behind him and walked us through, spinning him around so that he could see the surprise I’d been working on.
“What did you . . . how did you . . . when . . . ?”
I wrapped my arms around him from behind, laughing at his reaction. “I bought the apartment from Jerry.”
“Yes, but how did that doorway get there? And when?”
Louis had sold most of his furniture ahead of the move, and we’d brought the rest up here in my truck last weekend.
Unfortunately, my little apartment had been too tight, so we’d rented a storage unit for the items that wouldn’t fit.
Louis had insisted it was fine, but he’d sacrificed his life in the city for me, and I wanted him to have his things.
So I convinced Jerry to sell his apartment, then hired a contractor to open up a doorway between the two spaces.
“Go ahead.” I gestured toward the doorway. “Take a look.”
He shot me a wide-eyed look then headed for the doorway and stepped through, leaving me to follow behind.
“I know it’s empty,” I said as I stepped up next to him.
“But I wanted you to have a say in how we finished it.” We’d cleared out Jerry’s old furniture and given the space a good cleaning, leaving a clean slate for whatever Louis wanted to do with it.
“We can make it into a guest apartment for your family when they visit. I left the kitchen in case you want to do that. Or we can convert the bedroom into an office and make this into a second living room.” Almost never at a loss for words, his silence was starting to make me second guess myself.
“Structurally, we can’t completely open up the wall between the two apartments, but the doorway allows us to have access to more space, which I thought you’d appreciate. ”
“I can’t believe you did this.” He turned and looked at me.
“I hope it’s okay. This is your home too.”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. “It’s amazing, Matty. Truly. I just . . . thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I just want you to be happy.”
He pulled back far enough to look into my eyes. “You didn’t have to do all of that to make me happy. I have you. That’s all I need.”
I bent forward, wrapping him more firmly in my arms, and captured his lips in another kiss.
“Welcome home, Lou,” I said when I pulled away.
He kissed me again, his eyes dancing with happiness. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
The End