Steven rested his head on Udo’s shoulder. “Patience is a virtue.”
“Not one I’ve been blessed with, I’m afraid.”
Soon enough, light began to creep over the horizon. Steven shifted so that he sat with his back to Udo, who encircled his arms around Steven.
The dawn arrived. Slowly but surely. The dew on the moors glistening as if someone had scattered diamonds everywhere.
“It’s beautiful,” Udo whispered before kissing the top of Steven’s head.
The moors felt as though they belonged to them. All the problems of the world were a million miles away at that point.
Steven glanced at Udo. His handsome face lit by the start of the sunrise. An urge to protect this man flooded Steven’s system. He never wanted him to go through anything on his own again. He would be the arms that Udo sought whenever he was tested.
He loved him.
“Thank you for coming up here with me,” Steven replied.
They sat in silence a little while longer until the sun came fully up.
“What are you doing today?” Udo asked.
Steven closed his eyes. “The family are coming over later. We usually have a barbeque for bank holidays.”
“Oh okay,” Udo replied. “I should probably do some organising at mine.”
Steven shifted so that he could see Udo’s handsome face. “Why don’t you come along?”
“To meet the family?”
Maybe it was too early. Yet the more that Steven thought about it, the more it made sense. He was serious about Udo and hewanted his family’s approval. His mother had made it perfectly clear that she expected him to settle down.
“You’re a colleague and a friend,” Steve said. “Why wouldn’t I invite you over?”
The bashful expression on Udo’s face melted Steven’s heart.
“Don’t you think it’s too soon?” Udo asked. “If this goes tits-up between us, we’re going to be in serious hot water.”
Steven kissed him.
“Then we’ll have to make sure nothing goes wrong. Won’t we?”
SIXTEEN
UDO
Udo was a bag of nerves. He’d changed his outfit twice. Finally he’d opted for a light blue linen shirt and grey linen trousers. The shade of the fabric bringing out his eyes and blond hair.
They were arriving at any moment. He quickly tidied all his things away in Steven’s room and shoved them into his overnight bag, which he stuffed into one of the wardrobes.
Who knew how close this family were? They probably roamed anywhere in the house. Explaining his role as colleague would be difficult with his clothes strewn everywhere.
With that in mind he fled the room and into the lounge area. He stopped and took in the view from the window. Steven had lined up all the meat neatly by the barbecue. This meant a lot to him. He’d catered for everything.
Udo had an in-depth knowledge of the day’s menu, seeing as he’d spent the whole morning shopping and prepping. What had seemed such a romantic gesture at dawn had turned into a full-on mission.
Steven looked stunning in navy shorts and a white polo shirt. His dark skin and muscular body the focal points. Udo shivered.
This evidently meant the world to Steven. He had to nail this. Putting a smile on his face, he stepped out onto the deck.
