Cherish & Blessed (5 page)

“It’s not that he doesn’t think you can take care of yourself. It’s more… not trusting the rest of the world.”

“Cynical.” She looked up, a little smile playing on her lips.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Daisy rubbed a few stray tears from under her eyes. “I’ll let him be frantic on my behalf.”

“It’s all we overprotective men ask.”

“Does Evan mind it when you fuss?”

Matt looked around as if searching for prying ears. “Okay, here’s the thing. You can’t tell him, but—I’m so good at it, he doesn’t even know I’m doing it,” he mock whispered.

“Sneaky!” She giggled.

“Eh, I’m just that good.”

“Good at what?” Bennett’s booming voice interrupted their quiet chat and sent the servers into a frenzy; a far-off door opened, and a line of people carrying trays entered the dining room like this was a banquet for royalty. Small plates of appetizers and salads began to fill the table.

“Good at my job and deserving of another trip to the Caymans,” Matt said smoothly, snagging a plate of shrimp.

Bennett snorted as he leaned down to kiss Daisy’s cheek. “You’ve really taken to this life of luxury,” Bennett teased, sitting down on the other side of Daisy.

“I have, I really have. And seeing as it’s your fault….”

Daisy laid her hand over Bennett’s on the table, entwining their fingers. “I think Matt and Evan might like to use the house this winter. Maybe January?”

Matt swallowed some beer and shook his head. “I was teasing, Daisy. That’s sweet, but we have obligations….”

“You could take the kids over break if that works out better. I can’t really fly anymore, not until after the baby is born, at least.” Daisy reached down to fiddle with her bag. “Let me just e-mail the caretaker.”

“Teasing, remember?”

“Daisy’s right. You should use the house when we’re not there.” Bennett’s dark eyes twinkled at Matt. Their joking about the perks of Matt’s job went back a long way, but he knew Matt was uncomfortable with taking things too far. “An empty house is a security risk.”

“Or, you know, it’s an empty house.” Matt put his empty beer glass down and watched as it was whisked away magically and replaced with a full one.

“Still….”

Matt put his hand up. He knew twin steamrollers when he saw them. “So anyway—the house.” He gave Bennett a little glare.

“I love it, I love it, I love it,” Daisy said, sitting up with her phone in hand. “I love it.”

“I guess that means I’m buying it.” Like there was ever a question.

“Which I guess means the usual setup?” Matt got out his phone as well, wanting to take a few notes.

“Maybe something a little more extensive.” Bennett’s tone was neutral. That meant “we’ll talk about it later.”

Matt shared a sideways look with Daisy, who continued to tap out a message on her phone. She gave him a tiny smile.

“Okay, I e-mailed the caretaker in the Caymans,” she said breezily. “And boring security talk can happen later. Matt, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?”

He had to hand it to her—she was a pretty good actress off the stage too.

“We’re having turkey and drama.” A waiter with a steak the size of New Hampshire appeared at his side.

“Oh no.” Daisy tilted closer as another waiter deposited four pounds of salad on the table.

“Miranda’s bringing a boy home. And his parents. And my liver can’t really handle the amount of liquor I’m going to need to survive the tension.” Matt picked up his knife and fork. “Wait, so the Cayman house is available now, right? I still have time to plot my escape.”

“I can have the jet on the tarmac in two hours,” Bennett said over his steroid-pumped lobster.

Matt twisted his lips into a smoldering smile. “I can’t help but find you incredibly attractive when you say things like that,” he deadpanned.

Daisy’s giggles ended in a snort.

F
ULL
OF
food, beer, and a future filled with hefty paychecks and bonuses, Matt rode in the back of the limo with the air of a satisfied man. Bennett and Daisy were fun to be around. They spent money like water—and when was that not awesome? Plus, their relationship, which gave other people pause, made an odd sort of sense to him. He knew how many of their friends had abandoned them when their relationship came to light. Bennett had been long identified as gay, so his friends considered Daisy little more than an expensive beard. And Daisy’s friends—the ones she had left—saw Bennett as yet another grab for security at any cost. The gay guy and the gold-digger.

And it bugged Matt, it really did, because he saw how honestly crazy about each other they were, but then labels were a hot button in his life, and he mostly wanted to know why the fuck it was anyone’s business who you loved in your lifetime.

They didn’t discuss it, not openly, but there was a tacit understanding among the three of them that it just didn’t matter.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, interrupting his fast-moving thoughts—memories of his problems with Evan about labels and perceptions and how dangerously close they had come to not figuring this out. If Evan’s job kept Matt up at night, the prospect of them not being “them” made him reach for the light to scare away the nightmares.

“Yeah,” he said, not even checking to see who it was.

“Maaaaaaaaaatt!”

Katie, his favorite Cerelli child—a fact he would never reveal, even under torture.

“Is this a money call?” he teased, unable to keep the huge smile off his face.

“No!”

“Bail?”

“Technically that’s money, and no, it’s not.” Her charming laugh filled the line, and seriously—Matt was reaching for his wallet anyway.

“What’s up, Number Two?”

“Just making plans to come home for Thanksgiving break, and I think I can hitch a ride with Naomi, but then Miranda called and she’s bringing a boy! What the hell, man?”

“Kent. And his parents. And Helena and Shane.”

“Hoo boy. How’s Dad’s blood pressure?” She whistled.

“Almost as high as mine.”

“This is going to be the best holiday ever. Can I take video?”

“Sure. We can use it as evidence later at the trial.”

Katie laughed happily. She loved melodrama in the form of her older sister. If Matt knew her—and he did—at some point during the weekend, she would probably pop some corn and settle down to watch Miranda like she was a monster double feature.

“I’m gonna need you on my side.”

“Aww, Matt—always!” Someone screeched her name in the background, and she responded with a “Shut up! I’m talking to my dad’s boyfriend. Jesus.”

He wasn’t going to lie—that felt good in a weird way.

“Ugh, dorms are hell. I can’t wait until I can get an apartment off campus.” Katie came back on the line.

“We’ll talk about that in two years.”

“I’m just saying—I’m the good child. I deserve a condo.”

“Duly noted.”

They chatted all the way back into the city: family gossip, Katie’s first-semester classes and roommate antics. By the time the limo stopped in front of the house, Matt couldn’t get the smile off his face if he tried.

“You let me know if you need to be picked up, okay?” Matt gave the driver a wave as he walked up the driveway.

“Yes, Matt.” Katie blew kisses through the phone. “Love you.”

“Love you too.”

He switched off the phone and deposited it in his pocket as he reached for his house key. A warm feeling filled his veins.

Home sweet home.

T
HE
PLEASANT
day continued as Matt not only found that the laundry had been started but got a “Dad’s getting dinner” grunt from Danny before the boy disappeared into his room. Elizabeth did her homework at the kitchen table, singing along with a CD in the stereo, her perpetually good-natured self not needing much from Matt except a second glass of juice somewhere in the middle of her pre-algebra.

If every day went like this, he would never get another gray hair.

Matt took a shower and then settled down in the living room with a notebook and pen, deciding to get a head start on the Thanksgiving From Hell list.

Liquor. Yes. A bunch of stuff he could get catered from the grocery down the street. Check. Desserts? Multiple. Green beans and stuffing ingredients for the kids. Were the guest rooms up to snuff? Did he care? Would clean towels suffice?

The couch shook as Danny threw himself against the armrest. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Matt put the pen down. “I’m making a list for Thanksgiving. Anything in particular you want?”

“A bus ticket for someplace else?” Danny shot him a look, and Matt couldn’t contain a snicker.

“Only if you take me with you.” He marked down
coconut cream pie
because he knew it was Danny’s favorite.

Danny focused on the television, seemingly fascinated by the muted scroll of scores and sports news. “It’s gonna suck. What if these people are, like, boring. Or….”

“Or?” Matt caught the hesitation in Danny’s voice.

“Or like the neighbors at our other house.”

The bigots next door. The ones that irritated Danny enough to make the move desirable.

“Ahh.” He felt stupid for not thinking of this already. They knew nothing about these people except that their son was probably having sex with Miranda, which meant his life was in serious danger from Evan. “Well, I’m guessing Miranda’s already told them about your dad and uh… me… so we should be fine,” he said, his voice chock-full of false bravado.

Danny’s eye roll would have been visible from space. “Or they’re coming with, like, religious pamphlets or something, and it’ll be all tense.” Danny didn’t see the bright side of things very often, and Matt could understand why. He hadn’t had an easy road so far, and he was only twelve.

“People don’t do that,” Matt scoffed, lying again, because of course people did that. Sweat beads popped on his skin. “That’s, like, stuff that happens in movies and TV.”

“Right.”

Matt sighed. “I’ll talk to Dad, and we’ll… we’ll talk to Miranda and….” The plan died quickly. At least the most recent look Danny shot him included sympathy. “Well, shit.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“S
O
,
ANY
clue on this kid’s parents?”

The question was casual, but something made Evan look up from his beans and rice to give Matt a glance. Danny, sitting to his left, had stopped shoveling food in his mouth for the first time in five minutes, and even Elizabeth looked up from whatever daydream she was ensconced in.

“Uh, no. They’re from Connecticut, and that’s pretty much it.” Evan frowned. He had been so preoccupied thinking about Kent and creating nightmare scenarios of pregnancy and elopement for Miranda he’d forgotten to ask.

“Oh. Okay.” Matt went back to his meal after exchanging a look with Danny.

“I can ask Miranda….”

“No, we’ll let it be a surprise.” The grimace on Matt’s face sent Evan’s stomach plummeting. “To add to the already festive cheer of the holiday.”

“We’re afraid they might be homophobic,” Elizabeth blurted out, resulting in a filmworthy double take from Matt and Danny. She gave them both a pout. “I was listening, okay?”

Evan groaned inwardly.
Fuck
. Because, good point.

“They’re probably not,” Matt attempted. “Because Miranda must’ve told them about us and they’re still coming, right?”

“Right.” Evan leaned back in his chair, surveying his boyfriend and two kids. These people were walking into a less-than-typical household, and God only knew what their attitude was like. Evan might have issues with his own sexuality and labels, but he was also a bulldog about his family. And if these people were going to walk in and start passing judgment….

“See, this is why we weren’t going to be blunt,” Matt said with a sigh. “Stop thinking. The vein in your forehead is about to burst.”

Evan wiped his mouth on his napkin. “Right.”

Dinner ground to a halt as everyone looked at everyone else and tried to smile. It was horrible.

“Right,” he said again. “Let’s go get ice cream.”

Elizabeth looked faintly scandalized. “It’s November!”

“And a school night. I’ve clearly gone mad, so now is a great time to take advantage of me.” Evan pushed his chair back, then stood up. “Who’s coming?”

Danny and Elizabeth vacated their chairs with sonic booms. Evan glanced across the table at Matt, who was scrutinizing him carefully. “Ice cream?”

“Well, you can’t fuck this away just yet, so we’ll start with forbidden desserts,” he muttered.

Matt cackled with delight. “If these people are homophobes, I’m grabbing your ass every chance I get.”

Evan didn’t doubt it.

T
WO
WEEKS
flew by quickly, and as Miranda was conveniently unavailable for the entire time, except for the occasional text message, Evan had no clue what Kent’s parents were like. He managed to get their names—Blake and Cornelia—and the fact they were not vegans but mostly ate organic and would be bringing the wine.