Chapter Thirty-Six
Kendrick
How had he gotten to the age of forty-two and never experienced the nerves of meeting ‘the parents’?
Kendrick couldn’t say, but fuck, he sure as hell felt them now.
He tugged at the tie that felt like it was strangling him, one he’d just finished tying not ten seconds ago.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn one.
In fact, he’d had to go out and buy one.
A feat in itself when he couldn’t remember ever going into the one posh shop they had in town that sold such things.
Rue had told him not to bother, but Rue lived in suits mostly and no doubt his parents did too.
Accordingly, Kendrick had sucked it up and gone shopping to buy one, along with a new shirt.
He eyed the gray silk and tried not to think too hard on the cost for something he was likely never to wear again. Would he?
He had every intention of having a future with both men, so suits could most certainly get tucked in there. When nearly a week back at work Kendrick felt stressed from the separation, how the fuck would he feel when they had to return to Hazardville?
Christ, the very idea caused a flare of panic to grip his throat, making him want to rip off the tie.
Being reasonable, he understood that Rue and Monty had important jobs.
That they had to work Monday through Friday and occasional weekends.
Kendrick’s job wasn’t important. It paid the bills for him.
How would life be if they made a commitment to each other?
Kendrick was not averse to being home. Cooking, cleaning and taking care of his men's needs. Dang, the vacation proved how much he loved it. It was a thrill, which he missed now he was back at work. He could be a househusband. And wasn’t that a shocker.
He’d come to that conclusion late on Tuesday when all he wanted was to tell Trey he was done, and hadn’t that given him lots to think about.
“Are you coming?” Monty shouted from the bottom of the stairs.
“Not in the way I want to,” he muttered under his breath, before shouting back, “I’m coming.”
He’d not gotten three steps when he heard Monty coming up the stairs, the thud of his footfall revealing his impatience.
He appeared in the bedroom doorway. “We’re gonna be late,” he stated, looking smart in a suit Kendrick hadn’t seen before. Slim fitting, in brown, he had paired it with a cream shirt open at the throat, no tie in sight.
“Why aren’t you wearing a tie?” Kendrick questioned, frowning as he let Monty drag him out of the bathroom.
Monty shrugged, looking sideways at Kendrick, not stopping. “Don’t you like what I’m wearing?”
Kendrick witnessed the smile dim and dragged Monty to a halt halfway down the stairs. “You look gorgeous.” To make his point, he cupped his cheeks and kissed him hard on the lips until they were both breathless.
“As much as I love to watch you pair kissing, can we get a wiggle on? My parents are always early for everything.”
Kendrick glanced at his watch and groaned at seeing they were indeed going to be late. “Why didn’t either of you shout me earlier?” he questioned, taking Monty’s hand to rush him down the remaining stairs.
“I was boxing up the Nutella cheesecake I’d made for Lane and Derick.”
“What about us?” blustered Rue, looking outraged at the suggestion he wasn’t getting any, causing Kendrick to smirk. But he swallowed the laughter seeing how serious Rue was at being denied.
Monty skipped to Rue and patted his shoulder as he passed to pick up the box he’d left on the table in the hallway.
Kendrick’s attention went to the impeccable cut of the expensive jacket Rue wore.
It moulded to his shoulders and tapered down to his waist, highlighting the leanness of his hips.
Kendrick cursed, realizing he should have bought a new damn suit, too!
“I made two, so don’t fear. You’ll get dessert later.” Monty’s comment brought his attention to him.
How he said it suggested he’d be dessert, and Kendrick wished they could stay home.
“Ready to head?” he said instead, holding out a hand to Rue. When he met Rue’s gaze, his apprehension made it impossible to consider doing anything else.
He came to him, and Kendrick kissed him as he had done to Monty, reaffirming his feelings. To leave Rue in no doubt he was in this relationship so deep there was no sky to be seen.
“Aren’t we leaving?” Monty’s laughter brought them apart.
“Yep, I just needed to even the kissing balance.”
A look of interest appeared as Monty glanced between the two of them. “There’s a kissing balance? No one told me. Now I’ll need to keep track. I wouldn’t want to be missing out.”
Heading out the door, Rue rolled his eyes. “There’s no chance of that. You miss nothing.”
The easy banter continued as Kendrick drove them up into the mountains, a road he’d rarely traveled, paying attention to road signs.
A rustic building with traditional style Italian shutters sat far away from the main house, where the Vaughn brothers lived together.
The hotel was a later addition but remained in keeping with the older buildings.
The small cottages they’d also added for anyone wanting a more private stay were at the back of the property and overlooked the vines.
Kendrick parked his truck in the designated area.
He’d barely taken a breath to calm down his erratic, beating pulse when Lane and Derick strolled into sight.
He admired the striking couple, their ease with each other as they strolled towards the truck, hands linked.
Though both men were in their sixties, and despite silver hair, both appeared youthful and full of life.
Kendrick got out of the truck as Rue and Monty opened their doors.
Lane’s attractive smile widened and his pace increased, pulling, it seemed, his husband with him in his eagerness. Derick’s gaze was assessing as it met Kendrick’s, and he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement.
It removed some of the tension within him for reasons he’d explore later. “Good evening, lovely to see you both again.” Kendrick stepped forward with confidence, offering his outstretched hand.
Lane ignored it and came in for a hug, their size difference obvious as he barely reached the middle of Kendrick’s chest. When he spoke, Kendrick blushed hard enough to feel it travel down his chest. “My, aren’t you big.”
Kendrick froze, his gaze darting to Derick’s, who wore an amused expression. “My love, stop teasing Kendrick.”
“Dad, please let go of my boyfriend. You’re going to scare him off.”
Kendrick’s eyes darted to Rue at the ease of his declaration. “No, he won’t. No one will do that, honey.” If they were setting out intentions, then he was on board—fully.
The light in Rue’s eyes made his heart thud painfully against his ribs. Lane surely felt it.
He patted Kendrick’s chest after letting go, his eyes twinkling with laughter. “I believe you and I will be great friends.” He glanced away at the group standing watching them. “Vaughn has the most amazing champagne, a 72 vintage. I think we need a bottle to celebrate.”
“I’ve ordered a bottle for the table,” replied Rue.
Lane hooked his arm through Kendrick's, guiding him towards the door like the force of nature he was. “Tell me about yourself, Kendrick. How long have you lived in Bayfield?”
“And we’re off,” Rue muttered loud enough for Kendrick to catch before they stepped into the plush reception area of the restaurant, the scent of perfume and wealth greeting them.
Kendrick heard laughter, but he couldn’t say who it belonged to.
“Twenty years, and I’ve worked for Trey most of that time,” he explained before Lane could ask.
“I’ve always known any relationship I was in would be a throuple.
I bought my four bedroomed house with that in mind,” he confessed, mentally ticking off what he deemed important questions.
He was distracted from saying more when they were met by the ma?tre’d, who greeted them with warm enthusiasm. “Good evening, gentlemen. Can I take the name of the booking, please?”
“Starling,” Kendrick supplied before Lane.
The ma?tre’d nodded, then promptly escorted them to a secluded table in the corner of the room.
Plant positioning ensured no one overlooked the table, not that Kendrick knew anyone else in the nearly full dining room.
The suit he wore was most unquestionably the right thing to wear in such opulence.
“Nice,” Lane murmured, bringing Kendrick with him. “You can sit next to me.”
He helped seat Lane and took the chair he indicated to his left. Derick sat on the other side of him, and Kendrick heard Rue curse.
He gave Rue an ‘I’ve got this’ smile when he sat across the round table from Kendrick, tension evident in the stiffness of his posture.
Monty laid a hand on Rue’s shoulder, bending to whisper something in his ear, bringing a light to his eyes that Kendrick knew well.
Intrigued, his brows rose in question at the two men.
Rue licked his lips, sharing nothing of his thoughts as Monty sat next to him, looking rather pleased with himself.
Kendrick listened as the wine server brought the champagne, explaining the flavor notes, and offered Rue a taste.
He nodded his approval, and the server moved to pour wine into gorgeous flutes.
The wine was so fucking good, Kendrick moaned in delight.
The bubbles tickled his palate as the delicious sweetness of the grape hit his tastebuds.
“Wonderful,” he murmured, nodding his approval of his man’s taste in wine.
“What’s in the box, Monty?”
Lane’s inquiry had Monty slide the white box between the wine glasses and around the flower centerpiece that none of the other tables held. Had Rue ordered flowers for them? A glow of romance he’d never experienced before warmed his chest.
“I made a Nutella cheesecake for you and Derick for your anniversary.”
Damnit all! Why hadn’t Rue mentioned this to him? It explained the champagne and the flowers.
Rue gave him an apologetic head tilt while Monty directed the conversation to all things baking and took the pressure off Kendrick from having to answer anything more personal. It gave him some breathing room to watch the dynamics between Lane and Monty.
What struck was how easy they were with each other and the genuine affection Lane had for the other man. Their relationship was much more than employee and boss. They were friends, too.
“Kendrick is fabulous in the kitchen too. His grandmother’s recipe for apple pie is amazing,” bragged Monty, making Kendrick fight to stop squirming in his seat with both Derick and Lane looking at him with interest.
“Better than mine?” Lane questioned Rue.
“How do I answer that?” Rue looked at Dad.
“Carefully,” said Derick.
This brought laughter, and it somehow relaxed everyone. The meals they ordered were so delicious that the conversation slowed, but the questions didn’t stop. Lane was the culprit, with an occasional one from Derick.
Understanding it came from concern made it easy to ignore the intrusiveness he’d not experienced to this level before. Love. Love between father and son, husband and husband, even employer and employee. Somehow, he fit into their mix with ease.
“Have you witnessed Rue on a stampede yet?”
“Dad, not you too,” groaned Rue, his skin decidedly pink in the flickering candlelight and lamps lighting the room.
Caught off guard, Kendrick probed, “A stampede? I haven’t seen Rue’s rhino or Monty’s otter.” He was intrigued by Derick’s assumption, not Lane’s. “Does he stampede often?”
“My darling, our boy loves a good stampede.” Lane’s expression was one of mischief as he gave Rue a cheeky wink.
“I need to see this,” Monty said as Kendrick spoke.
“He does?”
“I haven’t needed to act like that in some time,” Rue muttered, the embarrassment darkening his cheeks further.
Derick hid his mouth with his napkin, coughing—laughing.
To shift the attention, Kendrick grinned at Rue. “My bear would love to meet your rhino,” he twisted to look at Monty, “and your otter.”
His bear went from not paying attention to fully alert.
“He’s the cutest thing when he’s swimming.”
“Which one?” Kendrick glanced at Lane, unsure who he was referring to, brows arching.
“Actually, both, but I meant Monty. We had a pool party last year, and as it’s saltwater, Monty let his otter out. Such fun to watch him play in the water.”
“Was this before we came home? I’ve never seen your otter.” Rue was looking at Monty, pouting.
Kendrick had to pick up his napkin to hide his quivering lips, much the same as Derick.
“It was. If we can find a pool, we’d love to play,”—Monty looked between both of them—“with you both.”
“Won’t that be fun?” Lane looked innocently at them all, but Kendrick didn’t miss Derick’s eye roll or the huffed-out breath as Kendrick choked on his own saliva.
Rue appeared to give in to his own amusement and met Lane’s stare. “You have no idea.”
Kendrick’s lips flapped open as everyone else burst out laughing at the double entendre.
Derick patted his shoulder once he’d got himself under control. “If you can’t beat them, I suggest you join them.”
He could find no fault in Derick’s logic.