Something flashed across Cameron’s face. His eyes widened and a huge smile split his lips.
“That’s not a horrible idea,” he said, pulling his lip between his teeth to stifle his grin. “Eddie is my best friend and he really did deprive me of being a bridesmaid by eloping with Charlie.”
“Groomsman,” Andy corrected.
Cameron rolled his eyes. “Bridesmaid. And if Luke and I aren’t getting married, then it’s the best I can get.”
“Do you think Charlie is going to go for that?” James asked.
“Doesn’t matter.” Theo shrugged. “It’s up to Eddie.”
“What?” Andy squinted at Theo, who flushed and gestured toward the front door of the cat cafe.
“Your brother would do anything for him,” Theo answered quickly, grabbing the door. “Are you ready to go in?”
Theo pulled the door open and Levi, James, and Cameron went inside. Andy stepped in to follow, but stopped in the threshold, turning and leveling a look at Theo. He still didn’t like Theo and he didn’t think Theo was good for Brad, but he did understand the choice wasn’t up to him. He had to trust that his brother would make healthy and educated decisions for himself now, even though he hadn’t done it in the past.
Theo’s mouth parted, hanging slightly open, then he snapped it closed and dipped his chin toward his chest. It was as much of a concession as the younger man had ever given him, as much of an apology as he’d ever seen, even though Theo had never wronged him in any way.
“I get it,” he said, biting the tip of his tongue between his teeth.
“Get what?”
“What it’s like to love someone you shouldn’t.”
Theo’s eye twitched, but the rest of his face softened. “I think I appreciate the sentiment there, Andy, but there’s no reason that I shouldn’t love your brother.”
Theo stepped around him, sliding into the cafe and letting go of the door. It swung closed, banging into Andy’s hip with a definite thud. It hurt, and he stepped into the cafe, rubbing the blooming bruise on his hip bone as the door closed and latched behind him.
He’d been doing a lot of thinking since he’d left Paris, even more since he’d received the postcard from Leonidas, and he’d thought…he’d thought maybe he loved the stubborn, obstinate man who’d fled his bed in the middle of the night. But he lay awake for nights on end trying to convince himself what a ridiculous idea that was. He didn’t know anything about Leonidas Filo besides how pretty he looked on his knees.
And maybe that could have been enough for a good start, but it had turned into a pipe dream the morning Andy had woken up in warm sheets alone. Leonidas had vanished, and the only way Andy knew he’d been real was the worn beanie he’d left behind that smelled like sweat and oranges.
“You came!”
A slim man with big eyes and dark hair slammed into Theo, wrapping him in a tight hug and almost knocking them both to the floor.
“I told you we would.”
“Who is this?” Spencer asked, looking over Theo’s shoulder, his stare heavy and all over Andy.
“This is my other brother.” Cameron grinned. “Andy.”
“Jeez. How many of you are there?” Spencer laughed.
“Too many,” Levi grumbled.
“Andy just got back from a trip around the world,” Cameron continued, and Andy’s cheeks heated when the whole group looked at him.
“Adventure isn’t for me.” Spencer frowned slightly, then looked up again with the same wide smile as a moment before. “But good for you. Anyway, welcome.”
As though on cue, a tuxedo cat purred and snaked his way through Andy’s ankles, wrapping his tail around his leg before moving on to sniff at Cameron.
“He smells that dog your brother has,” Spencer guessed.
“Pumpkin never leaves her room. She’s spoiled.”
“So what’s the deal?” James gestured to the cafe, frowning toward an overstuffed velvet sofa.
