Chapter 32
JOHN
“It’s great to meet you. Chad speaks very highly of you both,” I say to Chad’s parents, and Chad squeezes my hand even tighter as if he’s afraid I’ll let go.
But I’m done with that.
I’m done pushing him away and pretending like he isn’t the very best thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Both of our houses are construction zones at the moment. I’m restoring mine slowly, and Chad’s got my brother’s company renovating his, but he’d probably love to show you what he’s helped with around here. ”
I’ve seen Chad look happy every single day since I met him, but right now might top the list. His smile looks almost painful with how big it is, and I swear there are tears shining in his blue eyes as he stares at me adoringly. I wink at him, and he lets out a short, surprised laugh.
His mom is smiling nearly as wide, and the familial resemblance is obvious. “That sounds great.”
I walk them through my house, and Chad is bouncing next to me the whole time as I explain what I’ve done, how Chad surprised me with the fireplace, and he shows off the tiling he did. “I’m so impressed, Chad! Well done,” his dad compliments, seeming so proud of him.
As soon as we finish up in the backyard, I excuse myself. “Give me a second to run in and grab my keys and then we can go.” I squeeze Chad’s hand before I let go to head back into my kitchen where I hung up my keys.
Chad apparently has other ideas. He rushes in behind me and slams the door. “John! John! John! Holy shit! You called me your boyfriend! To my parents! Oh my God, I can’t believe that happened! I’m so happy!”
God, his enthusiasm is adorable. Pride fills my whole chest knowing I’m the reason for so much of his joy right now. “I’m glad you were okay with that.”
“Okay? I’m thrilled!” he confirms. “I honestly still can’t believe it. What inspired that? I thought you’d need more time to get used to the idea.”
I close the distance between us, taking his hand in mine again. “Well, Princess, I don’t think it’s any secret that I’d kind of written off the idea of sharing a future with anyone before you forced your way into my life,” I tease.
He bites his lip, blue eyes shining with amusement as he holds my gaze. “Yes, I’ve gathered that.”
“Well, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think I cared all that much about the future at all,” I continue, squeezing his hand as I admit that.
“But then I met you, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I realized I was making plans. I can’t help but wonder how you’d react when something interesting happens during my day.
When I look at options for my house, I always think about what you’d like more.
I haven’t had anything to look forward to after work, and now I’ve found myself watching the clock for the first time, counting down the hours until I get to come home to you. ”
“Really?” he whispers.
I nod. “You showed up here and forced your way into my life.” He laughs, and I squeeze his hand again before I continue. “And I don’t ever want you to leave. Thank you for being patient with me.”
He shakes his head, but he looks very ready to cry, so I continue.
“When you tried to tell me I didn’t need to meet your parents today, I realized you weren’t asking me to avoid your family because you were embarrassed about me, or my house, or this town, or any of the other things I’ve tried to convince myself might prevent you from staying here or wanting to be with me.
You were trying to respect my comfort and privacy.
And your parents are here because they love you and want to support your new life here. Because you do plan to stay.”
“Of course I do,” he agrees, voice tight.
“Well, when you talked about me waiting to meet them, I realized it wasn’t a question of if I would, but when. Because you’re all in, and I’ve been planning a future with you too, even if I’ve been afraid to admit it.”
He’s nodding quickly. “I am all in.”
And I believe him. I lean in and bring my mouth to his, hoping my kiss can express to him how much that means to me. How happy he makes me. I pull away, and I don’t hesitate to say the words I never expected to say to anyone again, but I know without a doubt are true now. “I love you, Chad.”
And despite the giant smile on his face, he bursts into tears.
I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help but laugh as I pull him into my chest.
It takes a long time for him to calm down enough to respond. I’m sure his parents are wondering what the fuck happened to us, but I don’t care. Everything about today has felt right, like Chad and I were always meant to end up here.
Finally, he takes a deep breath and pulls himself together enough to say, “I love you too, John. I’ve never been happier than I am with you. I’m so excited for our future!”
“So am I,” I agree, and then I kiss him again.
We spend a couple of hours showing Chad’s parents his house and all the plans he and my brothers have made to restore it.
After, we all head to the farm so they can meet his donkeys.
We’d also promised Liam and Blake we’d get to the festival before it’s open to the public, so his parents should have plenty of “bonding time” to meet their “grandbabies” as Chad has told them.
Wyatt is putting the welcome sign by the parking entrance when we get there.
“Hey, Wyatt! I’d love for you to meet my parents!” Chad calls out as he leads us in his direction and introduces them.
“Hey, kid!” he addresses him before turning to his parents. “It’s great to meet you both! It’s been a pleasure having Chad around more this summer; always brightens up my day when he’s at the farm.”
Chad’s mom nods. “Sounds like our Chad. He’s always had a way of bringing out the joy in others. We couldn’t be more proud.”
“Nice of you to come out for a visit!” Wyatt adds. “Where are you staying?”
His dad huffs. “Well, there’s only the one hotel in town, so there.”
Wyatt nods. “Yeah, folks complain about that quite a bit when they visit the farm. I keep hoping someone will open up another option now that my son and his husband have made this such a destination.”
“Maybe next year!” Chad’s mom suggests, and I can’t help but think about Chad’s big empty mansion that he’ll hopefully be moving out of soon when he’s in my house permanently. But that’s an idea for another day.
“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair!” Blake shouts as he and Liam join us. “So excited that you guys could come out.”
They all exchange hugs. “So good to see you, Blake. We were so sorry to miss the wedding. But we’re happy to be here now to see you and the farm! Even if I have to admit I was even more excited to finally meet Chad’s boyfriend,” she says conspiratorially.
I smirk, and Liam’s eyes go wide. When he meets my gaze, he mouths “boyfriend?” and I shrug a confirmation.
“Can I show you two around the farm before everyone else gets here? These boys don’t let me help with anything now that I’m retired,” Wyatt offers Chad’s parents, and they quickly agree, informing him that they were promised time with the donkeys.
When they’re too far to hear us, Blake practically knocks Chad over with how hard he grabs his shoulders, shouting, “Boyfriend? Oh my God, is it official official? Can we talk about it now? Do you know how hard it’s been pretending like I’m not already planning your wedding?”
Chad laughs, but I decide to really go all-fucking-in. Chad told me he loves me, and I love him. We don’t have any reason to hide things from our best friends anymore, so I tell him the truth. “You’re too late. We’re already married.”
Chad freezes, eyes wide in disbelief yet again. I wink at him, and he’s once again speechless. Three times in one morning has to be a record.
“Sorry… you’re what?” Liam asks in complete disbelief.
I shrug before repeating, “We’re already married.”
Chad nods as a huge smile takes over his face. I think we broke Blake, though. He’s whipping his head back and forth between Chad and me, stuttering, “Wha? Married? You? When? What?”
“In Vegas…” Chad admits slowly, now that his brain is caught back up. He’s probably starting to worry about Blake’s reaction.
“Vegas? When were you in Vegas? Besides… Wait, at our bachelor party?” Blake yells, clearly not expecting his answer. Honestly, I’m still shocked Chad never told him.
“Surprise?” Chad says scrunching his nose and offering a small shrug.
Blake finally seems to remember how to function because he wraps himself around Chad in a huge hug. “Oh my God! Chad! I need to know everything, but I’m so happy for you guys.”
“So am I,” Liam agrees much more subtly, knocking his shoulder into mine.
“Thanks, man.”
“We married best friends!” Blake shouts to Chad as they spin in a circle hugging each other.
“We’re bi best friends who married best friends!” Chad tags on, and they’re both laughing as Liam and I watch this insane display of our husbands experiencing immense joy for where their lives ended up.
“I knew something was up in Vegas,” Liam mutters to me. “I’ve never seen you let yourself get dragged around by anyone like that before.”
“What can I say? There’s no one else like Chad.”
And there isn’t. Chad is special, and he’s mine, and by some miracle, he wants me too.
I want everyone to know that.
This morning might not have gone as I expected it to, but it turned into the perfect start to a perfect day where I get to show off my husband to everyone who comes to the festival, which turns out to be a lot of people.
So many familiar faces and new ones who visit from who knows where, even if not everyone could make it. Jace and Kieran are apparently on some extended three-month delayed honeymoon in Europe, and Ash is off filming for season two of Love Without Labels, so he isn’t here either.
The day is a huge success, and my brother’s band is by far the best one. I’m not biased at all.
I introduce Chad to my parents, and my mother immediately falls in love with him, which doesn’t surprise me at all. My dad likes him too, he’s just a little less obvious because he doesn’t cry and give a big speech about how he was so worried I’d never be happy.
We even introduce Chad’s parents to mine.
Somehow, in one day, I ended up as the center of some cliche one big happy family moment.
I used to scoff at the idea of ever having family beyond my brothers and parents, but seeing our moms talk about how happy they are that we have each other, and seeing my dad brag about Drew’s band to Chad’s dad, who enthusiastically agrees about how talented he is, it all makes me realize how lucky I am to be a part of it all, that Chad never gave up on me, on us.
Even looking around and seeing all the people who have come out because of my best friend and his husband, it all makes it so obvious to me now how sad the perspective I used to have about being better off alone really was.
Chad has shown me how much better life is with more love in it.
I’m really glad I have the rest of my life to try to thank him for it.