“Yes.” He folded his arms and faced her. “We’re partners.”
He felt a presence behind him and instinctively knew, as always, Adam was there with him. Adam’s hand rested on the small of his back.
“I thought so. Not because of anything either of you said, but your body language. I think it’s wonderful.” Her encouraging smile flashed brightly in the sun. “Can you and Gideon do me a favor? I have the camera crew in the kitchen. Could you come for a quick interview?”
At his hesitation, she rushed ahead. “We only use a tiny bit of what we film, and I’ll make sure your privacy is protected. But I want to talk to all three of you on camera together. This really is a great story of the community and the city banding together.”
“I’m game.” He glanced up over his shoulder at Adam. “How ’bout you?”
“Dixon is thrilled with the good press, so I say go for it.”
Rico waved over Gideon. “Hey, wanna be on television?”
Pretending to preen, Gideon fluffed out his dark waves. “Make sure you get my good side.”
Laughing, they headed into the kitchen.
*
“You’re making menervous, and I can’t even see you.” Adam chuckled over the phone, but Rico couldn’t appreciate the attempt at humor. Meeting his father, knowing he planned on coming out to him, was the single scariest thing he’d ever done. Even thinking about it made him light-headed and nauseated.
“How do you think I feel?”
“Do you…I mean, are you regretting it?”
Regret Adam? “Never. That would mean I’m turning my back on you. And that’s not my life anymore. I’m looking forward now. To the future.”
“Me too. I’d almost forgotten what that was. But if you need me there…”
He knew if he’d ask, Adam would find a way to come with him. But not now. This had to be between the two of them—him and his father.
“It’s okay. It’s enough to know I have you.”
“Yeah. You got me.”
The promise in Adam’s voice filled him with that now-familiar warmth. “I gotta go. I’ll talk to you after.”
Waiting for his father in front of the store, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet, Rico thought he knew what to say, yet his mind turned blank at the sight of the black limo sliding silently to a stop at the curb.
“Showtime,” he muttered to himself, but watching his father step out of the car, genuine happiness made him smile. For all their differences, they were all each other had.
“Dad.” Rico strode over to give his father a hug. A few inches shorter than him, his father still possessed a thick head of glossy salt-and-pepper hair, but he looked a bit more weary and thinner than last year when Rico left Miami. His piercing brown eyes raked over Rico’s face.
“You look good.”
They hugged, and Rico smelled his father’s aftershave, Cool Water, and gave him an extra-tight squeeze. “It’s good to see you.”
“Same. It’s been too long.” His father stepped back and pointed to the storefront, alarm flaring in his eyes. “What happened? You didn’t tell me there was a fire. Anyone hurt?”
Rico held up his hands. “Whoa. No. It’s okay. We’re fine. It was in the apartment above us, and luckily no one got hurt. The firehouse is down the block, so they responded really quick. We only had water damage in the front. It was hard at first, but we’re almost ready to reopen.” He held out the key. “Want to see where your investment went?”
His father’s white smile flashed brightly in his deeply tanned face. “Of course.”
Side by side they walked to the storefront. He knew his father wanted him to succeed. His father’s seed money had enabled Gideon and him to buy the business initially, but he and Gideon had made sure to make the monthly payments plus a little extra to enable them to pay off the loan as soon as it was feasible. Neither liked being beholden to anyone.
He opened the door and stepped aside to let his father in. The floors were almost finished, and the new glass display case had been installed only the day before. Everything looked fresh and bright.
“Very nice.” Wandering around, looking up and down, his father nodded. “I like how clean and uncluttered you’ve kept it.”
