Chapter 13
Gabby sat in his room at The King’s Book Club staring at the wall, insurmountably overwhelmed by the task ahead of him.
The charity lectures would be tonight. Was he ready?
No. Not even close. There were so many little things that he needed to do and check before they began, and all he could do was stare at his outfit and wonder if it was the best one.
Should he have chosen the green dress? For science.
Or the blue one with black and yellow stripes sewn onto it?
Maybe he should have found one with actual roses embroidered on it.
A light knock on his door made him blink.
“Gabriel?” Edmund’s voice was softened by the oak door. But simply hearing it was perfection. Gabby leaped to his feet and pulled the door open – with slightly too much vigour – and there he was. His beautiful, rugged gardener.
“You are early,” he blurted. And oh no, he wasn’t ready. Tonight was going to be a disaster. He still had so much to do. So much.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“Why do you ask?” He was doomed. He really should’ve started getting through his list hours ago.
“You look anxious.” Edmund put a box on the side table and pulled him into his arms, and Gabby let himself sink into the hug.
He rested his head on Edmund’s strong chest, just breathing in his earthy scent that had a hint of rose and the mossy comforting smell of a forest just after the rain.
He didn’t want this to end and could easily imagine them standing under a tree in the woods at whatever Edmund’s family house was called, while the rain drizzled around them.
In summer, obviously, he wasn’t a fan of being cold for the sake of an atmosphere.
He might be prone to dramatics, but even he wasn’t going to risk illness for melodrama.
“Can I help you?”
Gabby nodded. He was at the point where he would take any help he could.
Edmund and the other scientists needed to be on stage, and he needed to check on the dome being built behind them to help project their voices out to the audience.
One of Walt’s friends worked in a theatre and had given him excellent advice on how to build a structure that would help his audience hear the speakers. And then ... He breathed in slowly.
“I can’t decide what I need to do. There’s too much and I’m overwhelmed by indecision.
“I have something for you. I hope it will help.” Edmund kissed him on the forehead, then guided him to his side table. “Open it. These are for you.”
Gabby swooned, his heart galloping as he stared up at Edmund. “You got me a gift?”
“Yes and no. It’s a gift but also one which I hope will help you, so if it doesn’t you can say no thank you.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Edmund released a big breath. “I’m sorry. I remember you saying that you get distracted and you waste a lot of time trying to remember what you were doing and where you were up to, and so I thought it might help if you carried your list around with you.”
Was Edmund nervous? He was babbling and Gabby placed his hand on Edmund’s strong bicep and Edmund breathed in deeply. And then he opened the box.
“Dance cards? You got me dance cards?” Gabby didn’t understand.
“No. These are little lists for you.”
“They look like dance cards.”
Edmund nodded, and his face lit up. “Yes, they are inspired by dance cards.” He pulled one from the box. “You can tie it to your wrist and write down all the things you need to do, and then it’s right there with you, so you can check anytime you need, and...”
Gabby grabbed Edmund’s face with both hands and kissed him. He understood. “You had these made? For me?”
“Yes.”
Gabby covered Edmund’s face with kisses.
He didn’t know if it would help—maybe nothing would—but the idea that Edmund had thought about what might help and had gone out and made something for him was so amazing and overwhelming.
“I love it. I love you.” He dropped to his knees, wanting to show his thanks in the most obvious way.
“Gabriel. You love me?”
“Yes.” His heart skipped a beat—what if Edmund didn’t love him back—but he realised that he needed to tell the truth and the truth was simple.
He loved his strong gardener who saw him and who didn’t judge him and who cared deeply for the people around him.
But Edmund simply joined him on the floor, kneeling with him.
“Thank goodness for that. I thought I was a fool to have fallen in love with you. My brother is going to rise off his death bed and murder me for this.”
Gabby roared with laughter. “No, he isn’t. Together we will thrive without him, and one day he’ll be irrelevant in our lives.”
“Our lives?”
“Yes. I want to build a life with you. I don’t know how that will work as I love the city and you are a country boy, and you need to be with your roses.”
Edmund gasped, then shook his head. “I can learn to love your city and you can learn to enjoy the country and we can have both together.”
“Spoken like someone who is accustomed to wealth.” Gabby made sure Edmund knew he was teasing because he didn’t want to ruin this moment with any of the logistics truths of their situation.
Edmund loved him, and nothing was more important than that.
He kissed him again, this time, cradling Edmund’s face in his palms.
“Gabriel.” Edmund whispered against his lips, and damned if it wasn’t the most precious thing Gabby had ever heard.
“I love it when you call me Gabriel. Everyone, even myself, calls me Gabby and so it feels special, a name just from you.”
“Because you are my angel. Gabriel.”
“And you are my Edmund, my teddy bear.” Gabby knew from the flash of Edmund’s eyes as they widened, that he’d probably use that nickname again.
Edmund shook his head. “Look at us. An angel and a teddy bear.”
“And what a glorious romance it is going to be.”
“Romance?” Edmund’s mouth flickered in a smile. “People put too much into the notion of romance.”
“Says the rose breeder.”
“Some say that roses are a language for love. From now on, all my roses are dedicated to my love for you.”
“Oh god, your talk. We are late!” Gabby scrambled to his feet. “I have so much to do.”
Edmund rested his palm in the centre of Gabby’s back and reached around him to pick up one of the dance cards from where it had fallen. He gently turned Gabby to face him, and tied the ribbon around Gabby’s wrist, then picked up the pencil. “Tell me what you need to do.”
Gabby couldn’t think, his heart was racing too fast, and all he could think was how much Edmund cared for him.
He reached for the dance card and flicked through the tiny pages.
The front cover had an angel printed on it, with his name in a delicate scroll – Gabriel’s list – and each page simply had lines.
He couldn’t speak, it was too much, too perfect, and oh why hadn’t he thought of this before?
He waved his arm helplessly towards the list on the wall, his non-linear list of things to do with messages to himself scribbled all over, and .
.. Oh. Edmund slowly copied out all the things into his little dance card.
“Now all you have to do is keep checking your wrist, and cross off each item as you go.” Edmund kissed him again, and Gabby pulled him into a hug.
His heart was going to burst with the immensity of the moment.
Not only did Edmund say that he loved him, he had demonstrated his love by finding a solution to Gabby’s biggest problem.
He stroked his fingers over the ribbon tied so nicely around his wrist and suddenly everything seemed possible.
“Thank you.”
Edmund smiled. “Go and conquer.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, I’m going to sit in the main room, and stress about my talk.
” A little flicker of Edmund’s brows stripped away all of Gabby’s horniness.
His veins were bubbling with energy and usually he’d release it with sex, but the only person he wanted for the rest of his life was nervous about his upcoming speech, and so there was only one thing Gabby could do.
“We’ve already practiced it. You are going to be amazing.”
“And so you are.”
All he wanted to do was undress Edmund and spend hours worshipping him, but he had a show to run and things to organise, and he needed to make sure everything was perfect so Edmund could show everyone how amazing he was.
Was this love? Or was it simply being given proper support? And wasn’t that love anyway?
“I love you so damned much, my teddy bear.” He kissed Edmund once more, then danced away, wanting to run or fuck or something with all this energy coursing through his veins.
“Go on with you. Thrive, and then we can celebrate when it’s done.”
“I want that.” And he did. He had never delayed fucking before, and now it was all he wanted to do.
He wanted to reward Edmund for a speech well done.
He rubbed the ribbon on his wrist again.
And thanks to Edmund’s gift, he wasn’t going to get distracted either.
He sighed. Yes, he was. He was already distracted, but he had a solution to try and damned if that wasn’t swoon worthy too.
“Come on. I’ll get you a cup of tea and you can read over your notes while I finish everything up.” Gabby grabbed Edmund’s hand and pulled him from the room. He had a show to organise.