“It’s a collar,” he said with a small shrug, suddenly feeling embarrassed at the gesture. What if he’d missed the mark this time? What if he was on the wrong page? “Two of them, to be precise. Because this is what I’m offering you and this is what I want in return.”
“You’re asking for everything,” Adam whispered, blinking at him. Adam picked one of the chains out of Cooper’s hand and fiddled with the locking mechanism until it opened. He held it out and Cooper bent down, offering his neck. Adam latched the chain at the base of his throat and then straightened his own neck and waited.
“I’m not asking for any more than I’m giving.” He undid the lock on the second chain and fastened it around Adam’s neck, smoothing the links out with nervous and clammy fingers. It set right against the dip in Adam’s throat, and he spun it so the lock was in the back. “Is this okay?”
“I meant what I said.” Adam traced his fingers over the chain around his own throat. “I’m all in with you, Cooper Hendricks. For the rest of my life.”
Chapter27
Adam
The following week, Adam met Cooper at the courthouse on his lunch break. They exchanged copy/paste vows in front of a clerk, signed their names on a piece of paper, and went back to their lives.
While nothing had changed, everything was different.
On the steps of the courthouse, Cooper looped his finger though the chain around Adam’s neck and tugged him down for a chaste kiss. He didn’t even use his tongue. Adam whined, chasing after him, but Cooper made a disappointed tsking noise and held him off.
“We’re having dinner with Grant tonight.” Cooper gave him another peck against the corner of his mouth.
“Did you tell him?”
“No. This is for us, remember?”
“I think we should tell him,” Adam said, squinting into the sun and taking Cooper’s hand. “And Wyatt.”
“You’ll have to invite him to Grant’s,” Cooper said. “We can tell them at the same time.”
“Do you think Wyatt will be okay about it?” They headed down the steps, stopping when they reached the sidewalk. They hadn’t exchanged rings, having already agreed that the rings on their matching collars were symbolic enough, but Adam still looked down at the ring finger on his left hand, the added weight of their new commitment heavy on his shoulders.
“I think Wyatt understands the world moves on around him,” Cooper said, giving him a tug. They started off down the street toward where they’d both parked. Adam pulled Cooper to a stop in front of his car and brought him close, taking a kiss that was far more intimate than the one they’d shared on the steps.
“We’re in public,” Cooper rasped, grinding his hard-on against Adam’s thigh. Adam chuckled and put space between them, unlocking his car.
“You should put that away then.” He slid into the driver’s seat and grinned up at his husband.
His husband.
Cooper Hendricks was his husband.
He was married.
Again.
For the second time in his life.
No…for thelasttime.
“What time is dinner?” he asked.
“Six. Don’t be late.” Cooper blew him a kiss and pointed his key fob at his own car over the roof of Adam’s. “Can you let Wyatt know to come and let Grant know he’s coming?”
“Of course.”
Cooper stole a kiss before jogging over to his car. Adam watched him get inside and back out, then drive away. He pulled his door closed and dropped his head against the headrest with a sigh. The past few months had been a whirlwind, but he was making up for a decade of lost time. He understood that now. He knew he’d never regret the chances he took with Cooper, and that the rest of their lives would be something special.
Adam turned the car on and waited for his phone to connect, then dialed Wyatt, who answered on the third ring.
“Hey, Dad,” Wyatt said, a little breathless.
