Chapter Thirty
Will
“You survived London, then?” Lane said as he put a pint down in front of me before sliding onto the bench I was sitting on.
As usual for a Friday evening, the Sleeping Goose was standing room only, although that might have been more to do with the weather.
Although it was the end of April and nearly warm enough for us to sit in the pub’s garden, it had pissed it down for the last two weeks, so everyone was still crammed inside.
I’d been glad of the rain at first, but now I was sick of it.
My fields looked more like a bog, and everyone was cold, wet, and miserable.
“I did,” I said, glancing over at Jamie, who sat on my other side and was deep in conversation with Oliver. “We got everything, and that’s all that mattered.”
“How was the lunch with Jamie’s parents?”
“Not as bad as I expected. They both seemed a bit surprised and confused by the whole farming thing, but at least they realised Jamie was telling the truth about everything. I expected them to accuse me of brainwashing him for his money.” When Jamie had first told his dad about his plans, the reaction had apparently been stunned silence followed by some sly questions about my intentions since it seemed his dad didn’t believe Jamie had any interest in farming whatsoever.
His dad’s accountant had had even more questions, and Jamie had spent a lot of time grumbling about the fact they seemed to care more about him getting his life in order than they’d ever done about him partying it away.
We’d offered to have lunch with them to smooth things over when we went down to London, and I’d been dreading it.
Jamie had insisted on buying me new clothes since his parents were snobs, but once we’d all sat down and they’d realised I wasn’t going to be intimidated, things had evened out.
Jamie had done a lot of the talking and shown them pictures before following up with the fact they were very welcome to visit any time.
Apparently, that offer had been enough to convince them, although they politely declined under the guise of being very busy.
The only thing we’d heard from them since was through two letters in the post, one telling Jamie that he wasn’t going to be cut off from his trust fund but his spending would still be monitored, and the other confirming that his name was the only one on the deed to the London flat, as it had been a gift.
Jamie was still debating what to do with it. We’d moved everything he wanted out and brought it all home two weeks ago, and Jamie kept flicking back and forth between selling it and renting it out. I’d offered my advice on both, but the final decision would be his.
“You mean you’re not starting a cult?” Lane asked with a wry chuckle. “Damn.”
“Why? Were you hoping to join?”
“Not really, but it would be fun to say I knew someone who started a cult.” He picked up his pint and took a long sip. “Did you see that message from Alex earlier? Something about bringing a friend with him, but we weren’t allowed to say anything.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Did it feel a bit weird to you too?”
I nodded and reached for my own drink. “Yeah. Do you think he’s hiding something?”
“Oh, he’s definitely hiding something,” Spencer said. He sat on the other side of the table, a little farther down, but he’d clearly been listening. “We were just saying the same thing. Plus, he’s been, like, super mardy at work lately. Like even more than normal. I’m a bit worried.”
“This is Alex,” Noah said from Spencer’s other side. “If there’s a problem, he’ll tell us. And if not, we know where he lives. We can figure it out.”
“It has to be a secret boyfriend, right?” Jamie said. “I’m not the only one who thinks that, am I?”
“It’s what my money’s on too,” Oliver said.
“That’s so boring, though,” Theo said. “Why would Alex keep a boyfriend from us?”
“Probably because we have a habit of making their first encounters with us nothing short of nightmarish,” Laurie said, giving Theo a raised eyebrow and ignoring the kiss that was blown his way in return.
“I don’t think mine was that bad,” Jamie said with a grin. “I enjoyed watching all of you try to explain to Theo why you weren’t interested in his fabulous body of work.”
“And none of you have still given me a good answer,” Theo said. “I’m cute! And I look even cuter naked.”
I shot Jamie a look, and he smirked. He reached out under the table and put his hand on my thigh, squeezing not far from my crotch. “What are you doing?” I asked, lowering my voice and leaning closer just in case anyone was listening, even though the conversation had moved on.
“Having fun,” Jamie said. “I can’t wait until we get home later. Do you think we can get away with leaving early?”
“Depends. Don’t you want to see what’s going on with Alex?”
Jamie hummed. “I do, but I’m also really horny, so…”
I snorted and picked up my drink, trying to pretend we were having a totally normal conversation. “So you’re going to tease me?”
“Yes, it’s fun,” he said. “I’ll stop if you want. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“You can leave your hand where it is,” I murmured. “Just keep the dirty talk to a minimum.”
“Done.” Jamie kissed me quickly, then went back to talking to Oliver, his hand still pressed to my thigh.
I’d been worried when we went down to London that Jamie would realise how much he missed it despite his insistence that he didn’t want to go back.
I needn’t have worried, though. Jamie had been tense the whole time like a wild animal in a cage, and whenever we’d met someone he knew, it had felt like he’d been putting on a performance.
The only time he’d relaxed was when we’d gone out for dinner, just the two of us, to a tiny Italian restaurant that was one of his favourites. Afterwards, he’d taken me back to his empty flat, overlooking the city, and fucked me slowly, whispering in my ear how much he loved me.
We’d packed up his stuff faster than I’d anticipated because I could tell Jamie wanted to be back on the road, and as soon as we’d hit the M1 heading north, he’d visibly relaxed in the passenger seat of the van we’d hired.
We’d gotten home late that night, and he’d slept curled up next to me, his arm around my waist like he didn’t want to let me go.
The next morning, I’d woken to find the bed empty but still warm, and I’d been able to hear the strains of music from downstairs.
When I’d gone down, I’d found Jamie dancing around the kitchen, singing along to the radio and unpacking his things, slotting them in alongside mine. It made it truly feel like our home.
“Fucking hell,” Lane muttered from next to me, and I followed his gaze across the room towards the door, where Alex had just come in. He was closely followed by a dark-haired man who was instantly recognisable.
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Noah asked.
“I think so,” Spencer said. “Is that…”
“Yeah, I think it is,” I said, still unable to take my eyes off the three men.
Alex stopped in front of us, his expression fixed in a scowl. “All right, listen up, assholes. This is Henry Lu. You might recognise him from a few things. He’ll be… joining us this evening.”
We all stared, every single one of us shocked speechless for the first time in our collective lives.
“Aww, you don’t need to be so grumpy about it,” Henry said to Alex, then gave all of us a charming smile as he slipped his hand into Alex’s. “Hey, everyone. I’m Henry, Alex’s boyfriend. It’s so lovely to finally meet you.”
There was a beat of silence, then the whole table erupted.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Jamie said as we opened the door to the kitchen and stepped inside.
“I’m not sure how it could have gone much worse,” I said, kicking off my shoes and shaking my head. We’d ended up staying a lot later than we’d originally intended, but it was hard not to when Alex had shown up with a bloody Hollywood superstar on his arm. And a very charming one at that.
“One day, Alex will look back on tonight and laugh.”
“Yeah, but not for a long time,” I said. “He’s the sort to hold a grudge. Mind you, I’m not sure what he bloody expected. It would have been better if he’d given us some notice.”
“I don’t think that would’ve helped, though. It would’ve given us time to think of questions,” Jamie said with a sly smile. “Although, I still think Theo gets the prize for the best on the spot question.”
“That’s just normal Theo, though.”
Jamie chuckled. “True, and I love him for it. I love all your friends actually. They’re so much fun.”
“They love you too,” I said, walking up behind him and putting my arms around his waist before trailing kisses down his neck. Jamie sighed happily.
“Can I tell you something?” he said as he leant against me, tilting his head so I could keep kissing his neck.
“Of course.”
“It’s going to sound silly. Or maybe just horrifically sappy.”
“I don’t care either way.”
“You might.”
“I won’t,” I said, tightening my arms around him. “Tell me.”
“I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy,” Jamie said quietly. “I thought I was happy before, and maybe I was but in a different way. I feel more complete now. Like I have everything I ever needed, even though I didn’t know it until I got here. Does that make sense?”
“It does.” I squeezed him gently, my heart so full of love for this man I didn’t know how I’d ever be able to contain it. We were building something special together, and I knew that no matter what happened, we’d always have each other to lean on. “I feel the same.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I thought I was fine. I guess I’d kind of resigned myself to life as it was, but then you came along and turned everything upside down.”
“I’m good at that,” Jamie said with a chuckle.
“You are, and I’m glad you did. You’re everything to me, Jamie, and I don’t want you to ever forget that.”
Jamie turned in my arms, and his eyes met mine. “Never, as long as you promise to do the same. We need each other, Will. And I know I’ll never stop needing you as long as I live.”
I smiled. “That’s a bold promise.”
“Go big or go home,” he said. “I don’t do things by halves.”
“Neither do I.”
He leant in and kissed me softly. His lips were soft and sweet and tasted like a lifetime of promises. I knew things weren’t going to be easy because nothing in life ever was, but I also knew I would never stop loving him.
Jamie was right. We needed each other just as much as we needed the farm, and it needed us.
“Take me to bed,” Jamie whispered against my lips.
I grinned, wrapping my arms around him and scooping him up. Jamie yelped, wrapping his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck as he clung on like a startled koala.
And our laughter filled the house as I carried him upstairs.