Another pause. “You don’t have to.”
He smiled. “Oh, I think I do. And it’s about time I start to function around the house.”
“Okay, I’ll raid the fridge.”
Adam sat a moment, listening to Paul thumping down the stairs. The natural manner in which Paul had laughed and joked with him went a long way to easing the tension in him. Adampushed out a steady breath, expelling with it all traces of the negativity that had plagued him, and rose to his feet.
He had a long day ahead of him, and damn it, he’d make sure it was a good day.
Then he remembered there was something he’d planned to do that morning.
Paul had to organise appointments for them at the nearest clinic.
It was time they got tested.
Chapter Thirty
Paul carrieda mug of coffee into the library where Adam sat in his armchair, listening intently to the radio through his headphones. The slightly furrowed brow, teeth worrying his bottom lip, eyes closed…
Adam was in a world of his own, lost in intense concentration. A tiny digital voice recorder lay in the palm of his hand. Paul had caught the sound of Adam’s voice from the kitchen and had pushed out a sigh of relief.
Yesterday had been… different.
Damn it, Iknewsomething was wrong.
There wasn’t much to point to, but Paul trusted his gut. Adam was quieter, that was for sure. It was as though he’d regressed, losing something of the warmth that had developed between them. Adam’s bedroom door had been closed when Paul came up to bed, and the sight had sent a flush of cold skating through him. On top of Adam’s reticence to communicate, it was simply one more indicator that all was not well.
The old adage was true: two steps forward, one step back.
Paul had hoped they were past that.
Damn it, this is no way to spend your birthday!
Not when Paul had made plans.
He placed the mug on the table next to the chair and stretched out his hand to touch Adam’s arm. Adam beat him to it. He pulled the headphones from his ears and turned his head in Paul’s direction, a half-smile on his lips. “I smell coffee.”
“Ah, that’s how you knew I was here.” Paul kept his tone light. “Dean should be here soon.”
Adam grimaced. “In that case, I might shut the library door and stay in here until he’s finished. Not that he’d want to see me anyway.”
“But it’s your birthday and he’s your nephew.” Paul didn’t understand how people could be like that.
Adam gave him a gentle smile. “Do you get on with all your relatives?”
Paul huffed. “I don’t have that many to begin with. Mum and Dad were both only children, so no aunts, no uncles. My grandparents bought a cottage in Wales when they retired, and I hardly ever see them.”
Adam picked up his mug. “But your parents are okay with you being gay?”
“They’re okay about it, I suppose, although there was the odd conversation at first about the family line dying out with me, since I wasn’t about to give them grandchildren.”
Adam snorted. “There’s this wonderful new concept, maybe you should explain it to them sometime. It’s called ‘adoption’, I believe.” He grinned, and Paul caught a flash of the Adam he’d come to like in recent days. Adam sighed. “Dean’s a homophobic, lazy prick who wants nothing to do with me. He only helps out around the house because his mothermakeshim. He’s been here twice since I moved back, the time he helped Caroline move me into the house, and once to reattach a cupboard door in the kitchen.” That smile was back. “Keep him out of my way? Please?”
“Sure.” As if Paul could refuse Adam anything when he smiled like that. It always made him feel warm inside. “Should I clean the bathroom before he gets here?” The last thing he wanted was for Dean to report back to Caroline.
The doorbell rang.
Adam leaned back against the cushions. “I’d say that means no. Don’t worry about it, I’m sure Dean won’t even notice. If he asks after me—which I very much doubt—tell him I have a headache.”
