Glitter

One Year Later.

Blue

“Are you sure just bringing cornbread and apple pie is enough?” I called out to Henry from the kitchen as I removed said bread from the oven before popping the pie in. “It doesn’t feel like it will be…”

“They said if we brought anything else, they would book us in for a hearing and wellness check whether we agreed to it or not,” he called back from the patio, where he was packing up the latest gizmo that he’d been working on to show to Roman when we all caught up later at Henry’s parents’ for the Fourth of July fireworks.

It’d been a little over a year since I’d first met Roman and that fateful day when Travis finally got his comeuppance. True to Roman’s word, Travis had been bundled off to basic training by the end of the week, which he’d been forced to repeat because he’d failed the first time. Roman’s cousin Bradford, who was a high-ranking Lieutenant General stationed in the Middle East, then made sure Travis was given the option to enroll in either the laundry or cooking service fields. I didn’t know which one he picked, but I couldn’t imagine he’d have been thrilled with either choice.

When I returned to work the following week, Henry and I had been called into Roman’s office for an official apology and to put everything that had happened on record. Roman and his HR team assured me that lessons had been learned, and they were implementing new and improved reporting avenues for victims of workplace bullying and harassment. They had asked me if I wanted to be involved in assisting them in that endeavor, but I’d told them I needed more time before I could give them an answer.

Six months later, and after I’d got to know Roman a hell of a lot better, he’d asked me again, and I’d agreed on the proviso that Eckersley’s would either create a not-for-profit shelter for misplaced LGBTQIA+ youths or provide a hefty ongoing annual donation to a local LGBTQIA+ charity that had helped me when I was younger.

Mostly, I was just joking around and trying to be obnoxious with him, presuming that he’d never agree to my terms. Instead, Roman had laughed at my outrageous demands and said he’d do both, as long as I split my working hours between my role in the cancer research center with a new advisory position to get the shelter up and running.

After surviving the coughing fit that he’d caused, I’d told him if he could get Amy to agree to the same deal and grant Matthew funding for an additional employee to replace the hours that the department would lose by moving Amy and I across for a portion of our work week, he’d have himself a deal.

Amy had agreed, and Roman gave Matthew funding for five new employees.

Matthew was beside himself with the news and the research avenues he could now go down.

Roman had also been impressed by the way Henry had conducted himself in the lunchroom that fateful day, and when he found out Henry had been the one that created and built the glitter bomb, Roman had sat down with him for a full afternoon to chat, just the two of them. By the time the meeting had concluded, Roman had not only offered to become Henry’s mentor, but he was begging to look at Henry’s pet food dispenser to see if it was as good as I’d described in our initial meeting with HR.

Within months, Henry had signed a multi-million-dollar investment agreement with Roman, and although production hadn’t officially begun, all signs were pointing to a successful launch in the very near future.

As a byproduct of all the meetings that Henry and Roman had had in relation to the food dispenser, most of which had occurred outside of business hours and at either Roman’s mansion or at our humble home, we’d grown close to Roman’s immediate family and would often eat dinner together when we all could.

I smiled at the memory of Henry gifting me a key to his place within days of the glitter bomb doing its thing.

After the incident, he’d taken me back to his place where I cuddled Sir Cattus for the rest of the day while he tried to salvage my phone. I’d been devastated that I’d lost access to my online world. It had been the only thing giving me peace for so long, and seeing it crushed under the heel of yet another bully had splintered my soul. Henry told me later that Roman had offered to buy a new phone as a replacement, but I’d been in such a state of shock that his words hadn’t registered.

The only thing that had reached me was Sir Cattus’s soft fur under my palms as I patted him, and the rumble of his purring that seemed to echo into my chest and soothed my frayed nerves.

When Henry had declared that my phone was beyond saving, he’d immediately followed that up with news that he’d ordered a brand-new phone for me and it was already on its way.

I’d burst into tears.

My worry with how I was going to pay for a new phone warred with how well-cared for I felt by his thoughtfulness, and I was left an even more emotional mess than I had been when I’d walked through his front door.

He comforted me and told me that Roman would reimburse him for the cost when he returned to work. That, of course, only made me cry harder, this time in relief.

That night, we’d stayed up watching a feel-good movie before he took me to bed and made love to me. Henry waited for me to fall asleep before he got up and spent the next several hours transferring everything from my old phone to my new phone and getting it set up to where I didn’t have to do anything at all other than turn it on the next morning and set a password.

At lunchtime the next day, Amy and Matthew dropped by to spend a few hours with me while Henry took my keys and went to get a change of clothes for me from my apartment. He’d returned with almost every piece of clothing I owned stuffed into his car and told me I could stay at his place for as long as I wanted. To reinforce his words, he gifted me a key so I could come and go at my leisure.

I never did end up leaving.

Less than a week later, on the Fourth of July, he officially asked me to move in with him, and we spent the next couple of weeks moving all my belongings into his house.

“What are you smiling about?” Henry asked with a cheerful smile on his own face as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

I hummed and leaned back into him. I loved snuggling into him like this. “Just thinking about how it’s been a year today since you asked me to officially move in.”

“Mm,” he murmured, nosing at my shoulder blade. “What a year it’s been.”

“Indeed.” Without moving his arms from around me, I turned around to place my arms on his shoulders and leaned down to kiss him, a slow, lingering press of our lips that wouldn’t lead to anything heated but showed how much I cared for him. “I love you, pocket bear.”

His eyes sparkled as he grinned up at me. “I love you too, angel.” He glanced at the oven timer. “Do I have enough time for a shower?”

“I think so. Your folks didn’t specify an exact time, did they?” I asked him as I brushed my nose with his.

He shook his head. “No, but it’ll be a busy night. The whole family will be there for the first time since Daniel’s wedding, and Roman and his family will be there too. Mom said she hasn’t had a full house like this in decades.”

“True.” I kissed him quickly one last time, then pulled back and smacked him lightly on the ass. “Hop to it, then. If I didn’t have to keep an eye on the pie, I’d join you.”

His eyes heated, and he groaned as he adjusted himself. “Tease.”

I smirked at him before I turned around and gave my hips a little wiggle. “You know it.”

Henry disappeared down the hall to the ensuite and I heard the pipes kick in moments later. Sir Cattus sauntered into the room, obviously having been kicked out of the bedroom, and headed straight for the cornbread still cooling on the kitchen counter.

“No, no. This is not for kitty cats,” I said, grabbing the tray and putting it on top of the fridge.

Sir Cattus glared at me, licked his lips before turning around to show me his butthole and stomping off to the sofa. If he could have pouted, he would have.

“Oh, don’t be like that. If there’s any cat friendly food from the leftovers, I’ll bring them back for you. Deal?”

Sir Cattus raised his nose in the air, sniffed, then circled in his spot before settling down with his back facing me.

“Don’t like leftovers, huh? Your loss.”

As I waited for the pie to finish baking, I let my mind wander over the family that had basically adopted me over the past twelve months.

Henry had wasted no time in taking me along to meet his parents, assuring me they’d love me as much as he did. Once I’d recovered from hearing him say that he loved me for the first time, my nerves kicked in with a vengeance.

I didn’t have the best history with my own family, even taking into account the fact that they’d kicked me out of home for being gay. A loving family seemed alien to me.

But he’d been right. His mom, Bev, had embraced me the moment she met me and led me into their house arm in arm, giving me a guided tour while Henry caught up with his dad. Once she was done, she settled me onto their sofa and, much to Henry’s mortification, pulled out several photo albums.

While she showed me pictures, Henry’s dad, John, had told me as many embarrassing stories as he could before Henry had pulled rank and begged them both to stop. His dad’s eyes glittered in exactly the same way Henry’s did when he was amused, and he roared with laughter.

For a split second, I saw what Henry would look like in twenty or thirty years in the future. I imagined how I would feel about being around him that far into the future, and the warmth of emotion that filled me at the idea gave me my obvious answer.

At that moment, I could see myself living with him for the rest of my life, and it made me indescribably happy.

It took a few more weeks before I met the rest of Henry’s family.

James, his younger brother, and his childhood-sweetheart-turned-wife, Grace, welcomed me with almost as much enthusiasm as Bev and John did. Their two young children ran around the house like I wasn’t even there, which, strangely, made me feel even more at home.

Michael, Henry’s youngest brother, was reserved at first, but he soon relaxed when he discovered my interest in upcycling vintage clothing. Whereas my interest was borne out of necessity, his stemmed from a desire to reduce the impact of waste on the world. We spent many hours chatting about different ways of turning old things new again. I mentioned in passing to Henry later that my gaydar had pinged with Michael, but Henry had simply shrugged. He’d said that Michael hadn’t brought anyone home of any orientation, and no one in the family wanted to ask or put any pressure on him one way or the other.

I’d already fallen for Henry, but that was the moment I knew I loved Henry’s family.

Henry’s twin brother, Daniel, was a little harder to pin down. Considering he was the only family member who lived outside California, coupled with his long days working as a farmer, meant that our first video call was rescheduled several times until Henry put his foot down and threatened to get their mother involved if Daniel didn’t stick to the next booked time. Sure enough, that did the trick, and we spent a good hour or so chatting. Things were a little stilted at first, until Daniel’s daughter, Rose, clipped her dad on the back of the head and told him to stop being such an ass and be nice to her new uncle .

I liked her immediately.

The oven timer shook me from my thoughts, and I busied myself with getting the pie out of the oven and onto a rack to cool. I checked the time and smiled to myself that we were right on schedule, even if there wasn’t a set time that we needed to be there by.

Tonight was going to be awesome.

“Mama Bev! How are you, darling?” I called when we entered Henry’s parents’ house.

“Baby Blue!” Bev was beaming when she bustled into the front room where Henry and I were busy removing our shoes to add to the giant mound already there before we traipsed dirt through her immaculate home. Like always, she barrelled into me for a hug and a quick smooch to my cheek, careful not to mess with my makeup before she pulled back to appraise me. “Oh, don’t you look gorgeous! That magenta looks wonderful on you.”

I preened as she ran her fingers lightly through my hair that I’d updated earlier in the week.

“And you did the back this time as well?” She combed the hair at my nape, a pleasant grin on her face. “Oh, sweetheart, this looks fantastic!”

Henry wound his arm around my waist, hugging me closer. “Hi Mom.”

“Yes, yes. Hi Henry,” she said absently as she fawned over me, basically ignoring her own son. “Oh, look at your earrings!”

I glanced guiltily at Henry, who was silently laughing.

“Told you she loves you more than me,” he said, his eyes glinting with humor.

That was enough for Bev to pull back from me and smack Henry in the chest. “Oh, hush. I have plenty of love to give everyone. You know that.” She winked at me before she bustled down the hall to the kitchen, taking the pie I’d baked earlier with her. “Come on, you two. You’re the last to arrive!”

Raising my eyebrow at Henry, I leaned down to whisper to him as we followed her, my hands full of cornbread, “I thought there was no set time?”

He was in the process of taking his jacket off, but shrugged in response. He didn’t seem as concerned about it as I was. “Maybe I got things wrong.”

Frowning slightly, I grumbled quietly at him. He was normally such a stickler for being on time that it had rubbed off on me over the past year. This blasé attitude didn’t feel normal. Maybe he was coming down with something? He’d been working so hard lately. Maybe I needed to talk to Roman about forcing Henry to take some time off.

The sound of many, many voices echoing up the corridor made my heart fill with joy. I could hear James and Grace’s kids squealing above the cacophony before something crashed to the ground. Laughter filled the air when Grace full-name checked them both.

I could clearly visualize John placating his daughter-in-law. I’d seen enough proof over the past year that John and Bev didn’t worry about things breaking. Anything valuable was already locked away so little hands couldn’t get to them, and they both often said that they’d prefer a house full of love and laughter than one of shame and regret.

Turning the corner into the large kitchen, I stumbled to a stop when I spied a banner on the opposite wall high above the crowd that had gone eerily silent.

Blue Atkinson, love of my life.

Will you marry me?

“What?” Completely and utterly shocked, I blinked at the scene in front of me before I turned around to find Henry.

He was already on one knee with a ring in his hand and a slightly nervous look on his face, the coat he’d taken off lying on the ground next to him.

I felt a slight tug on my hands, and I looked down to see Bev silently removing the cornbread from my grip. She smirked at me, then tilted her head towards Henry before she stepped back into the crowd now behind me.

“Angel, this year has been by far the best in my entire existence. You’ve been my work colleague, my best friend, and my lover. Would you do me the absolute honor of allowing me to claim you as my husband as well?”

“Oh, God,” I murmured, my hands drifting of their own accord to cover my mouth. “Is this really happening?” I could feel tears welling in my eyes. “Are you serious?”

Henry simply nodded and raised the ring slightly higher.

“Pocket bear!” I cried as I crashed into him, forcing him backwards and onto the ground with an oomph. “Yes! Yes! Of course, yes!” I was sobbing and kissing him and sobbing some more when a resounding cheer went up behind us. “I can’t believe you did this!”

One arm held me close as he kissed me while the other escaped from between us, still gripping the ring in his fingers as he cupped my cheek. “I love you so much, Blue. How could I not?”

I fidgeted on top of him until I could inspect the ring. “Let me get this exquisite piece on!”

He chuckled and held the ring out to me so I could study it. “I don’t know as much about jewelry as you do, but if I remember what the salesperson said, it’s a tungsten base with a solid black opal offset inlay.”

As a smile spread over my face, my eyes welled over again. He’d remembered jewelry facts for me!

“Something about a broad flash flagstone being brilliant?” He shook his head. “I can’t remember the exact details, but I do remember the opal is from Lightning Ridge in Australia, because it made me compare you to lightning.”

I stared at him in joyful confusion, which only made him laugh.

“Electricity, sound, and heat.”

“Yeah, that’s not making anything clearer,” I said with a dopey grin.

He rolled his eyes but continued to laugh. “Electricity, because what we have is electric.” He leaned over to give me a lingering kiss. “Sound, because our relationship is rock solid.” He tickled me, making me laugh. “Plus, you sound fantastic when you sing in the shower. Or the kitchen.” He shrugged. “Or the lounge. Honestly, you sound brilliant anywhere.” He brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “Never stop.”

I melted into him when he finally slid the ring on my finger.

Once it was in place, he pressed soft kisses all along my jaw until he reached my ear, only to murmur, “And heat, because what we do in the bedroom every night could generate enough energy to power the entire continental US for the next millennia.”

Groaning, I shifted in place to ease my growing semi, knowing that I’d have to contend with it for the rest of the evening until we got home.

This man. This wonderful, brilliant man. Oh, how I loved him.

Even if he did make me hard when we were surrounded by his entire family.

I gave him one last, lingering kiss before we scrambled to our feet, which apparently was the signal for everyone to descend on us for congratulations.

Henry’s parents were the first to step forward, his mom sobbing.

“My boys!” She held her hands out like the proud mama she was, her pleased husband standing at her side. “We’re so happy for you both!”

Henry hugged his mom first, then his dad. He wiped a tear from his eye when his dad told Henry how proud he was of him and that he’d chosen perfectly.

The rest of Henry’s family came next, with Henry shooting a knowing glance at his twin, Daniel, when he appeared with both his daughter Rose and his new husband.

“And here some said I was moving too fast,” Henry said cheekily, eyeing Daniel with a raised eyebrow.

Blushing, Daniel glanced guiltily at his husband, who laughingly hip-checked him before Daniel returned his attention to Henry. “I’m sorry I made such a fuss last year. I honestly didn’t know how fast things can change.”

“Forgiven, forgotten,” Henry said, embracing his brother warmly. “It’s good to see you so happy again.”

Daniel blushed again before he and his family stepped to the side, promising to catch up with us later.

I hadn’t noticed earlier in my quick glance before the banner had captured my attention, but Amy, her wife, Tessa, and their two children had all been there to witness our engagement. Amy came rushing up to us both next, throwing her arms around us and tearfully declaring it the most emotional engagement she’d ever seen.

“Apart from ours, of course,” she added quickly when Tessa gave her a playful stink-eye as she rocked their three-month-old.

Matthew and his wife, Christine, quickly followed, then Thomas and his wife, Ava, all with assurances that we’d chat more after the fireworks that were due to start after everyone had eaten.

Roman, his wife, Sophia, and their three adult children were last. Each one offered their heartfelt congratulations to us, but it was the person Roman’s youngest had brought along that surprised us the most.

“Congratulations. Blue and Henry, yes?” the tall, dark, and handsome man asked, shaking both of our hands.

I choked on air and swallowed before I responded, “Uh, yeah. I’m Blue.” I pointed to myself awkwardly, then at Henry, who was in just as much shock as I was. “That’s Henry. And you’re Ruben Steele.”

“Guilty as charged,” Ruben said with a tiny smile and nervous bow of his head, his baseball cap temporarily hiding his sunglasses that he figured would be enough of a disguise that people wouldn’t recognize him. Considering that everyone seemed to be ignoring him made me think he might have been right, although… “Sorry to gatecrash your engagement. I was told you wouldn’t mind.” He glanced warily at Roman’s youngest son, Sebastian, who only nodded encouragingly at him.

“No, not at all,” I said, looking at Henry with wide eyes only to see him just as stunned as I was that a Hollywood A-lister was standing in front of us. “The more, the merrier, right?”

Ruben let out a sigh of relief and his smile relaxed into a more natural, yet still highly nervous, state. “Thanks guys. Things have been…” He waved his hands around aimlessly like that could explain everything, and I guess in a way, it could. He’d disappeared from Hollywood right after his unintended sex scandal a year ago, with only the occasional where are they now article popping up mentioning him.

Henry and I looked at each other quickly again before we smiled and nodded.

“You’re welcome here for as long as you like,” Henry said, his hand resting lightly on Ruben’s tense shoulder. “No one here will breathe a word about your presence if you want to remain anonymous.”

Sebastian nodded again and bumped his shoulder against Ruben’s. “Told you.”

Ruben stared mournfully at Sebastian. “You can’t guarantee that. No one can,” he muttered wearily.

Henry and I both started chuckling, which got an alarmed look from Ruben.

“You haven’t met Henry’s mom yet, have you?” I asked with a wide grin.

Ruben slowly shook his head. “I don’t think—”

“Hey, Mama Bev!” I called over the din of people still in the kitchen.

“Yes, Baby Blue?” she called back.

I stood on my tiptoes to find her at the overflowing dining table where everyone had placed their plates. “Come over here for a sec, please?”

“Of course, sweetheart!” She bustled through the crowd until she was standing in front of us with an inquisitive look as she wiped her hands on her apron. “What do you need?”

“I have a hypothetical question for you,” I said, a wide grin on my face, which only grew wider when Henry started laughing.

“Hm?” she asked expectantly.

“Say we had someone famous visiting, hypothetically, but they were worried about word getting out to the media and the public about that visit. What would you do?” I asked.

“Hypothetically?” She raised an eyebrow, keeping her focus directly on Henry and me and completely ignoring Ruben and Sebastian, who were standing right next to her.

I nodded. “Hypothetically.”

She pressed her lips together. “Well… Hypothetically, I’d tell Ruben Steele that he didn’t need to worry about anyone in this house saying anything to anyone, because if they did, both Sebastian’s mother, Sophia, and I would remind them what can happen when a Scottish granny and an Italian nonna got together when they have murder on their minds.” She sniffed daintily. “Hypothetically, of course.”

“Of course,” I agreed, my grin so wide my cheeks were aching. “Thank you, Mama Bev.”

“You’re very welcome, Baby Blue.” She turned around and patted Ruben on his shoulder without saying a word before she disappeared back into the crowd.

Shocked, Ruben blinked slowly before turning to face Sebastian, who wore a smug smile on his face. “Did that just happen?”

“Mmhmm,” Sebastian said self-assuredly. “I did try to tell you.”

“Wow.”

“Yup.”

Henry and I roared with laughter before I stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Ruben’s shoulders while I kept my eyes on an approving Sebastian. “Welcome to the family, Ruben.”

The end.

Curious to know what the deal is with Henry’s twin brother, Daniel? Keep reading for a preview of the upcoming release, Twister .

If you’re wondering about Matthew’s allergic reaction mentioned in chapter one, check out Sunflower .