Chapter Nineteen
Henry
“Thanks again for hosting. You really didn’t have to do this,” I said as I sliced an enormous strawberry cheesecake while Oliver slid a tray of goat’s cheese and tomato tarts out of the oven.
Virtually every available surface of his and Lane’s gorgeous kitchen was covered in food and drink while the sound of distant voices floated in through the door.
It was a warm Sunday afternoon in mid-May and Oliver and Lane had graciously offered to host a little get-together of various friend groups.
I hadn’t expected Oliver to go all out with the food, but Alex had pre-warned me that Oliver didn’t do things by halves.
Especially when it came to feeding people.
“It’s not a problem,” Oliver said as he threw a tea towel over his shoulder and turned to observe the war zone in front of him.
“We’ve got the most space, so it makes sense for everyone to come here.
Then Lane can keep an eye on Honey without wanting to run home every five minutes.
She hid under the dresser in the living room the other day and I actually thought he was going to pass out from stress trying to find her. ”
I chuckled. Honey was Lane and Oliver’s four-month-old kitten who’d been rescued from a building site Lane was working on along with her mother, brothers, and sisters.
Alex had told me that Lane had been a goner as soon as he’d seen them, and even though he’d never had a cat before, he’d been determined to bring Honey home.
“Alex said you had a dog too? How’s she finding having a kitten around?” I asked, glancing down at the cheesecake to see if I’d made the slices vaguely even. They were close enough.
“Yeah, we’ve got Sparrow. She’s getting on a bit now and we weren’t sure, but she seems to think Honey’s her baby and lets her get away with everything. Honey was sleeping on top of Sparrow’s head the other day, and Sparrow wouldn’t move because she didn’t want to disturb her.”
As if on cue an elderly-looking collie pottered into the room, nose in the air.
“Nope,” Oliver said, quickly moving a tray of chicken from the edge of the table that filled the middle of the room.
“You’re not having that.” Sparrow huffed, reminding me of a grumbling old woman, and walked over to the large bed in the corner, flopped down on it, and sighed forlornly.
“Yes, yes. You’re clearly very starved. It’s not like you let the kitten eat half your breakfast, even though she’s not supposed to have any of it. ”
“What did you deprive her of this time?” Lane asked, walking into the kitchen and grinning at his boyfriend. “Oh, Henry, there you are. Alex was wondering where you’d gone.”
“Sorry,” I said. “I’m always the one who ends up in the kitchen at parties. They’re usually the best place anyway, and yours is gorgeous.”
“Cheers,” Lane said. “Pretty pleased with how this one came out, especially considering what a fucking pain it was to get it in the first place.”
Oliver chuckled softly. “It’s probably a good thing it was such a pain. Otherwise I might not have gone to stay with you and then who knows.”
“Nah, we’d have still gotten back together,” Lane said, walking over to kiss him and pluck the plate of cold chicken out of his hand. “I’m too fucking adorable to resist.”
Oliver snorted and shook his head. “Obviously.”
“Are you saying I’m not?” Lane asked, nudging his nose against Oliver’s sweetly.
“Jesus Christ,” Alex said. “I know this is your house, but do you have to be so fucking sickening?” He was stood in the doorway watching them with a raised eyebrow and an unimpressed expression.
“Yeah,” Lane said. “I do. Mostly because it annoys you.”
“You’re a dickhead,” Alex said with a laugh. He spotted me and grinned. “There you are. I was wondering if you’d gotten lost.”
“Not lost,” I said. “I came in to find drinks and then saw Oliver could use another pair of hands.”
“I was fine,” Oliver said. “You didn’t need to help.”
“I absolutely did, especially since you let me drag along my horrible lot.” I’d tentatively suggested introducing some of our friends to each other a couple of weeks ago to Alex, since I thought they’d get on well and there was at least one point of connection through Kane’s boyfriend, Austin, and Theo.
It had taken some careful planning to get as many people together as possible, since everyone was so busy and our filming schedule was virtually non-stop, but we’d eventually managed it. And so far it seemed to be going well.
“I’m glad you did,” Oliver said. “They’re lovely.”
“They’re not bad, I suppose,” I said. “Do you want us to take some of this out?”
“Might be for the best,” Lane said as he grabbed a platter of cheese and crackers off the table. “Grab what you can and we’ll start feeding the ravening hordes.”
I picked up the cheesecake. “Do you have any rules about pudding? Do you want to serve it all together afterwards?”
“Nah,” Lane said. “You’re all adults. You can eat whatever the fuck you want.”
Alex grabbed what looked like a large tear-and-share bread loaded with cheese that smelt absolutely divine and another plate of charcuterie, and we followed Lane out of the kitchen towards the dining room, which looked lovely but rarely used.
The weather had been getting steadily warmer over the past week, and now it was a gorgeous afternoon and warm enough to sit outside.
Everyone had slowly spilled out of the cottage and into Lane and Oliver’s back garden, where a table had been set up for us to put food on.
There were a few matching chairs that were already occupied, and other people had dragged chairs out of the dining room or were just stood around or sat on the lawn.
Everyone was chatting and laughing, and while they’d split off into several groups, there was no awkward division of Alex’s friends on one side and mine on another.
“All right,” Lane called as he stepped out into the garden.
“Food’s nearly ready. Can a couple of you give us a hand bringing it out?
There’s a stack of plates and napkins on the kitchen table too, and some knives and forks and stuff.
Just help yourselves, and if you’re not sure what something is, just yell. ”
There was a flurry of activity, and I noticed Noah, Spencer, and Will all disappear into the house to fetch more things. Theo had hopped up from his spot on the grass where he’d been chatting to Kane and Austin and was helping Lane arrange everything on the table.
“Where do you want this?” I asked, holding out the cheesecake and wondering if there was going to be enough room on the table. Given everything I’d seen Oliver dishing up in the kitchen, I wasn’t convinced. It was like Oliver was planning to feed an army.
“Put it on this side,” Theo said as he pointed at a spot near him. “We’ll put all the puddings here. Oh, I should get my trifle out the fridge.”
“Shit, baby boy, you made a trifle?” Austin asked as he wandered over, drink in hand.
He was tall, chiselled, and heavily tattooed, and one of the handsomest men I’d ever laid eyes on, with a low, rumbling voice that I’d heard more than once coming from the speakers of my laptop before I’d known he was Kane’s boyfriend.
He was wearing a tank top and shorts along with his customary cocky smile.
If you didn’t know him well, you’d have said it made him look like an asshole.
Kane assured me Austin was still an asshole, just a loveable one.
“Yeah, I thought I’d spoil you all,” Theo said. “Actually, I made two so I get some this time. Last time I made one for a party I didn’t get any, and what’s the fucking point of making trifle if you don’t get any?”
“So that’s why there’s another bowl of it taking up an entire shelf in our fridge,” Laurie said.
The gothic man almost looked out of place in the sunshine, with his pale skin and long dark hair.
I knew Theo had managed to get the pair of them roles as extras, and I wondered if I could talk Jenny into letting them make it into one of the ball scenes.
Laurie would look stunning dressed in a dark frock coat—mysterious and almost vampiric—and he’d perfectly suit the masquerade ball scene we’d be filming in the next few weeks.
“Duh, how else are we going to get some?” Theo threw up his hands. “Bringing it here is like exposing it to a flock of seagulls.”
“Hey! We’re not that bad,” Alex said. “And if you didn’t want us to eat it, why did you fucking bring it?”
“Because otherwise you’d grumble about me not bringing it. Honestly, I can’t win.”
“You’re such a fucking brat,” Alex muttered fondly, walking over to lean against me. He’d become more casually affectionate over the last few weeks and every time he was, it made my chest bubble with happiness. “Laurie, control your… whatever.”
Laurie looked at Theo but didn’t say anything. Theo grinned at him and then glanced at Alex. “Whatever? That makes me sound like a cockroach he found under the bed. A dead cockroach. I’m much prettier than that.”
I snorted and Alex sighed like he knew he wasn’t going to win this argument and wasn’t even going to try.
“You are,” Austin said.
“Thank you,” Theo said, fluttering his eyelashes. “But don’t think taking my side gets you out of your promise. You still owe me a guinea pig.”
Austin held up his hands. “No, no, no, I already told you, baby. I’m not overriding Laurie. If he says you’re not getting a guinea pig, you’re not getting one. You need to convince your boyfriend first.”
His words hung in the air for a second, and everyone in the vicinity suddenly looked between Theo and Laurie.
I had no idea what was going on between them, but when I’d first met them, I’d automatically assumed they were together since the way they acted around each other made it really fucking difficult to believe they weren’t.
Alex had told me afterwards that nobody was really sure but none of them wanted to ask.
I’d never heard anything so fucking British in my life.
By the stunned looks on Theo’s and Laurie’s faces and the awkward flush quickly gathering on Theo’s cheeks, I guessed Austin had just struck a nerve.
“We’re not… he’s not…” Theo stammered, his face turning Barbie pink as he looked at Laurie and then back at Austin. “We’re not together. We’re just friends.”
Austin raised an eyebrow, his expression incredibly sceptical. Around us, everyone suddenly looked very interested in whatever they were holding.
“Okay,” Austin said finally as he took a long swig of his drink. “I’m still not getting you a bloody guinea pig.”
“Fine,” Theo said, putting up much less of a fight than usual. He was clearly still flustered. “I’m going to get the trifle.”
“I’ll come too,” Laurie said.
“No,” Theo said. “It’s fine.” He hurried off and the rest of us stared at him, wondering what the fuck had just happened.
“Sorry,” Austin said as he looked over at Laurie, who was still staring at the space Theo had been standing. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward.”
“It’s fine,” Laurie said. He smiled but it looked pinched. “Don’t worry about it.” He glanced around at us. “I’m going to get a drink. Does anyone else want one?”
A couple of people asked for one and I thought it was mostly to dispel the awkwardness. It worked and a low hum of chatter began to return as more food appeared and everyone began to help themselves.
“Well,” Alex said as we took our plates away from the table and grabbed a few chairs that someone had dragged out of the dining room. “That was weird as fuck. It’s not just me, right? That was fucking strange.”
“Yeah,” I said. “Definitely a little strange. It feels like…” I trailed off and picked up a piece of delicious-looking rosemary and sea salt focaccia.
“Like we’re missing something?”
“Yes… I’ve only met them a few times but it seems like there’s something between them.”
“That’s because there is. They just haven’t figured it out yet,” said a gruff voice. Alex and I looked up to see Will and his boyfriend, Jamie, stood next to the chairs, both holding plates of food. Alex frowned and gestured for them to sit down.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means,” Will said, “there’s a good chance they’ve got feelings for each other, but they’ve not figured out what that means yet.
Same as Lane and Oliver—it was bloody obvious when Lane brought Oliver to the pub last year he still had feelings for him, but the pair of them still had to work through everything, even if it was fucking painful for us to watch. ”
“You mean like you and Jamie?” Alex asked with a wry smile and Jamie laughed.
“We weren’t that bad, were we?”
“You came here from London for a bloody week away and ended up staying here just because,” Alex said. “I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, but Lane insisted you were both head over heels but too fucking stubborn to see it and too busy faffing about.”
“I wouldn’t say stubborn,” Will said.
“I would.” Jamie grinned and put his hand on Will’s thigh. The look on his face was one of warm amusement, and it was full of love. My heart ached suddenly because I wished someone would look at me like that.
I turned to look at Alex and saw him watching me. My eyes caught his and he blushed, suddenly looking away like he’d been caught. I smiled to myself as I half listened to Will and Jamie talking about life on the farm and their lambs, thinking about what Alex’s smile might mean.