Too good to be true.
“I’m looking forward to it.” Leonidas smiled. “But I’m sorry that I won’t get to see your youngest brother.”
Andy gave him a sad smile. Cameron and Luke had just left for Stanton with little fanfare, since all of the going-away parties and dinners had happened earlier in the month before Leonidas’s arrival in town. Cameron had put off the move for as long as he could, and with school not starting until just after Labor Day, Luke had indulged him the delay, as he indulged him in everything.
Cameron’s eventual goodbye had been quiet and sad, and he’d been quick because he didn’t want his brothers to see him so emotional. Luke had swept him away one afternoon earlier in the week with a promise to return at Christmas with Heath and Beau, and that had been that.
“Me too,” he agreed, forcing a smile in return. “The others are enough to keep you busy, though.”
Andy took Leonidas by the hand and pushed open the door to the dining room, where he found everyone already seated. Even though Cameron was absent, he’d made the tradition carry on, even threatening to come unannounced on Sunday to make sure they’d all kept their word about it.
When the door opened, everyone looked up, and Andy became painfully aware of the weight of what felt like a thousand eyes on him. He swallowed and squeezed Leonidas’s hand.
“I might have been wrong,” he whispered. “This is a lot.”
“This is nothing. I feel more when you look at me than I do now.”
Andy paused and blinked up at Leonidas, still in awe. He wondered if he would nevernotbe in awe of this man, but he didn’t want to dwell. He wanted to appreciate the moment, and live in it. Something he’d also learned from listening to his lion.
“I love you,” he said, because he didn’t know what other words to use.
“And I love you.”
“That’s gross,” James called from the table. “Can you please save it for later?”
“Good to see you too,” Andy greeted, pulling Leonidas to the only two empty seats left at the tables.
“So you’ve finally brought your mysterious boyfriend to meet the family?”
“Can we not?” Andy sighed, sitting down and resting his hand on Leonidas’s thigh with a little more force than he had intended.
“He’s not mysterious,” Theo said, smiling across the table at Leonidas. “We’ve met. Good to see you again.”
“You too,” Leonidas agreed.
“So,” Andy pointed at the far end of the table and worked his way around. “This is Charlie, Eddie, Levi, James, Brad, and you know Theo.”
There came a chorus of soft hellos, which Leonidas graciously returned before reaching for one of the bottles of wine in the middle of the table and pouring himself a glass.
“You don’t need to be nervous,” Theo assured Leonidas. “They’re all harmless, really. Cameron is the one you need to worry about and you’re in the clear until Christmas with him.”
“So.” Charlie scooped some mixed vegetables out of a dish and onto his plate. “Where are you from? How did you meet Andy?”
“I’m from Mykonos,” Leonidas answered. “I met Andy in Paris.”
“That sounds romantic,” Eddie said, hearts in his eyes before he turned them on Charlie.
“I didn’t care for Paris,” Andy grumbled.
“You told Heath a few weeks ago that you thought Bordeaux was beautiful.”
“Oh?” Leonidas raised his eyebrows and smirked down at him. “Did you?”
“I did,” Andy answered. “I still do.”
“Besides,” Leonidas turned his attention to Eddie, “Bordeaux isn’t in Paris.”
“It sounds French.”
