Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
JON
On the morning of my fortieth birthday, I woke to the delicious aroma of bacon and fresh coffee. I took a deep breath and stretched before burrowing deeper into the blankets. The sheets smelled of sex and Seth and felt good on my bare skin. The morning sunlight poured in through the tall windows, and I could hear Seth singing along to an Elton John song downstairs in his kitchen.
Seth had taken me to Pascal and Sabine for a pre-birthday dinner the night before. Then we’d walked hand in hand to the boardwalk and onto the beach. The sky had been clear, with just a sliver of the waning moon giving its faint light. The ocean was cool but not as cold as at the beginning of summer. We’d let it wash over our bare feet as we stood with our arms around each other and our toes wriggling in the wet sand.
Then we’d come to Seth’s place and made love. It was the only way I could describe it. The emotions I’d felt while he moved inside me were more than I’d ever felt with any other man. It occurred to me that even though I’d only known him for a little more than a month, I was falling for this wonderful, complicated man. I just wasn’t sure if he was ready for something like that again. I didn’t know if he ever would be.
I must have drifted back to sleep because I was drawn awake by the feeling of soft lips pressed to my forehead. I opened my eyes to find Seth smiling down at me. “Happy birthday, beautiful.”
I slid my hand behind his neck and drew him down for a kiss. “Thank you.” I lost myself in the kiss for a moment before I remembered I hadn’t brushed my teeth. I pulled back. “Sorry. Morning breath.”
Seth smiled tenderly. “No problem at all.”
I took a deep breath. “I smell bacon.”
He chuckled. “Yes, you do. I made bacon and waffles.”
I groaned. “So good. And so bad for me. I can’t wait.”
He gave me a mischievous grin. “It’s your birthday. Calories don’t count.”
“Don’t I wish,” I said.
He kissed my cheek. “It’s almost ready. I left a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt out for you to wear.”
“Okay. I’ll be right down.” I got out of bed and headed into his en suite to use the toilet and brush my teeth. I thought about taking a shower but decided I’d wait until after breakfast so I could persuade Seth to join me. I put on the clothes Seth set out and followed my nose down to the kitchen.
When I got downstairs, Seth was setting a plate of waffles and a bottle of maple syrup in the middle of the dining room table. “Those waffles look delicious,” I said as I walked around the table to give him a kiss.
He threaded his fingers through my hair and wrapped his other arm around my waist to deepen the kiss. He finally pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “I like you in my clothes.”
“That’s good,” I replied. “Because I like wearing them.”
“Come sit,” he said. He got the bacon from the kitchen counter and joined me.
I moaned with pleasure when I took my first bite of waffle. “This is so good. It’s light and fluffy on the inside and just crispy enough on the outside. You’re a really good cook.” When I looked over at him, he was staring at me with a heated gaze. “What?”
“If you keep making sounds like that, we won’t be finishing breakfast.”
My lips curled up in a smile. “Well, I was going to invite you to join me in the shower.”
He leaned over to kiss me. “You have the best ideas.”
Despite his protests, I helped Seth clean up after breakfast. “I’m trying to speed up the process,” I insisted. “That wonderful shower of yours is calling to me.”
“But it’s your birthday,” he objected.
“You can treat me like a princess after we fuck in the shower,” I retorted.
He snorted a laugh. “You’re too much.”
After we put the dry dishes away, I hung up the dish towel and headed upstairs. Seth stopped me with a hand on my arm. “Before we go back upstairs, I have something for you.” He led me into the living room, where I noticed the back of a framed canvas leaning against the wall on the floor next to the fireplace.
Seth kissed me before going to pick up the canvas. “I found this when I was in my storage unit getting the painting for Moonlight Inn. I thought of you.” He turned it around to reveal a painting of the same couple who’d posed for the ones in my bedroom. One big difference was that David had painted the two men close-up. In this painting, they looked older. Their hair was now mostly gray. One of them looked thinner and more careworn. The couple held each other in a tight embrace, their eyes alight with love and joy. Tears streamed down both their cheeks, which seemed to belie the happiness on their faces.
I reached out and gently brushed my fingers over the canvas. “Seth, it’s gorgeous. They look so happy together. Why are they crying?”
Seth brought one hand around so he could point at the painting. Indicating the thinner man, he said, “Ed had undergone treatment for prostate cancer, and they’d just gotten the news that he was cancer-free.”
Tears welled in my own eyes. “That’s wonderful. David captured it perfectly.”
“He really did,” Seth agreed. He looked at me with a tender expression. “I wanted you to have it. So you’d know that there can be happy endings.”
I saw a brief flash of pain in his eyes. He and David hadn’t gotten their happily ever after. My heart squeezed. Seth didn’t have to give me this gift. Everything he’d done for me up to this moment had been plenty. I took the painting from his hands and leaned it against the sofa. I took him in my arms and held him. “I’ve always believed in happily ever after.” I was starting to hope I would get mine with Seth.
My parents loved Seth. They were thrilled when I told them I was bringing someone to the party. They’d hated my last boyfriend—rightly so, as it turned out. My mother had been bugging me for years to settle down. She didn’t want me to be alone as I got older. My sister, Bethany, was there with her husband. My best friend, Carrie, had come with her girlfriend. Liam and his husband, Marco, stood by the grand piano talking to Sean O’Neil, owner of the hotel and Liam’s brother. To my surprise, Sean’s husband, Jeremy, showed up a few minutes later. It was then I realized they were also joining us for dinner.
Seth came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “We’re in illustrious company tonight.”
“I know, right? I didn’t know my parents knew Sean and Jeremy.”
Seth merely hummed in acknowledgment and said, “Let’s go sit.”
I loved the restaurant in Moonlight Inn, in part because it had been so lovingly renovated to reflect its Victorian roots. The ornately carved mahogany crown molding and wainscoting were reminders of a bygone era brought to life in the twenty-first century. Sean had done an excellent job combining Victorian charm with modern convenience.
A long table set for twelve awaited us. My parents insisted Seth and I sit in the middle seats so everyone could talk to me since it was my birthday. I ended up with Seth on one side and Liam on the other. I noticed my bestie sitting next to Seth. I rolled my eyes. Carrie had told me she would give Seth the “shovel talk” when she finally had him to herself. I leaned over to catch her eye and scowl at her. She just winked and laughed.
Liam leaned in and said, “I’m so glad you and Seth hit it off. He’s a great guy. It’s nice to see him smiling again.”
Warmth filled me at his words. “I really like him,” I said. “Probably more than like him, to be honest.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” he replied. “He’s a good man.”
“That he is.”
We all fell silent when the food arrived, eager to dig into the delicious meal. To be honest, I was mostly looking forward to dessert. The chef made the best chocolate mousse cake. My parents had promised they would order a whole cake for the table. Seth leaned over to kiss my cheek. “How are you doing?”
I smiled and kissed him back. “Really good. I’m so glad you’re here.”
“I am too,” he replied.
“I hope we get to do this more often,” I said. “I like being part of this extended family.”
Liam leaned over and said, “There’s a lot more of us. Just know, if you’re ever in a bind, there’ll be someone to help you out.”
I believed him too. I’d heard about some of the ways this found family had helped other members of the LGBTQIA+ community. It even included Marco rescuing Liam from Syrian militants four years before. I never had gotten the full story about that. I supposed there was a reason for it.
When everyone was finally done with dinner and the servers had taken our plates, I said, “It’s time for cake!”
There was laughter around the table. Sean gestured to someone on the other side of the restaurant. Then he and Jeremy got up and went over to the piano. “No way,” I whispered.
Seth grinned at me. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
Jeremy played the introduction and Sean started the chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” Everyone joined in, even the other patrons. A server brought in a chocolate mousse cake with four lit candles and set it in front of me. Of course there was plenty of sexual innuendo when I blew out the candles, and I mouthed an apology to my parents.
My mother shrugged. “We’re used to it.”
The server took the cake away to cut it. I glanced at Seth and said, “Would you all excuse us? We’ll be right back.”
I rose and gestured for him to follow me out of the restaurant and into the hallway that led back to the front lobby. I drew him into a shadowed corner and kissed him deeply. “Thank you,” I said when we came up for air. “That was a wonderful surprise.”
“I like spoiling you,” he said with a smile.
I pulled him closer. “I like being spoiled by you. I’m looking forward to returning the favor.”
Seth drew me into a long, languid kiss. When he finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine. “If I have anything to say about it, we’ll have a long time together to spoil each other.”
Tears stung the backs of my eyes. “Oh yeah? I like that idea. A lot.” I swallowed hard. “I’m falling for you, Seth. I know it seems fast and I’m not trying to pressure you. I just want you to know.”
His eyes shone brightly with tears. “I feel the same way. You’ve filled the empty spaces inside me. I never thought I’d have something like this again. I feel like David is watching over us, laughing at me and saying, ‘I told you so.’”
I let out a wet chuckle. “If he were here, I would thank him for sending you my way. I’d honestly given up on finding my person. And now, here you are.”
We stayed there in each other’s arms for a long while. We probably would have been there longer, but Liam came out of the restaurant and spotted us. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said with an apologetic smile. “They’re asking for the birthday boy.”
I sighed softly. “Okay. We’re coming.” I stepped away from Seth and held out my hand. “Ready for a new adventure?”
He grasped my outstretched hand and grinned. “Absolutely.”