“You’ll be seeing a lot more of him.” At his words, her eyes lit up, and even his father couldn’t suppress a smile. “We’re together.”
“I knew it. I said to your father on the way home that Elliot was perfect for you—kind and gentle.” She paused, her voice softening. “In some ways, he reminds me of Kevin.”
At her words, only a sweet ache hit him in the chest instead of the stabbing pain any mention of Kevin’s name once brought.
“I was thinking that too. But I’m not in love with Elliot because he’s a replacement for Kevin or a clone. He’s his own man.”
They might have similar characteristics, but there were also huge differences between them. Kevin had no real life outside of Win, where Elliot had his tight circle of friends, and Win understood there might be times when he wouldn’t be privy to everything between the men. No matter how he’d encouraged Kevin to find a hobby and make friends, he’d insisted on coming home from work and making Win the sole focus of his life. Elliot enjoyed going out to explore New York City, while Kevin was content to stay at home. Win was happy to celebrate the differences between the man he’d loved and the man who now held his heart.
“You’re in love with him. Oh, Win, I’m so happy for you. I wasn’t sure…” Tears streaked down her cheeks, and even his father’s eyes grew shiny and he grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped his eyes.
“What? That I’d ever meet anyone again? I wasn’t planning on it happening and fought against it, almost to the point of losing Elliot. And then I had a choice: stay in my dark place, or step into the light. I didn’t want to live in solitude any longer. It was suffocating me. Being with Elliot is the best thing to happen to me in years.”
“We already love him for bringing you home to us. And next time you have the day off, we want you to bring him over and we’ll have dinner.”
“Thanks, Mom. I know I didn’t make it easy for you, but I think it’s going to be okay now.”
“And Elliot knows about Kevin?”
He blinked and ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “He does now. Until last night, Elliot wasn’t aware of Kevin’s existence.”
“You didn’t tell him you were married before? Why not?” His father frowned. “Was it deliberate?”
When his father caught him doing something wrong as a child, Win could never look him straight in the eye, and now, as a man close to forty, nothing seemed to have changed. “Yeah. I…in my defense, I didn’t start out thinking this would go as far as it did. Elliot hasn’t had the best track record with relationships, and I didn’t want to get attached. We thought we were keeping it casual.”
“I hope you realize now it wasn’t right to keep information like that from him. He deserved to know.”
Cheeks burning, he shifted under the rebuke. “Yeah. It was wrong, and we talked it out. Lucky for me, Elliot is a forgiving person. I never planned for any of this to happen. You know I thought I’d be single forever.”
“You can’t plan love.” His parents exchanged a soft glance, and his mother took hold of his father’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Did you know that I wasn’t supposed to be at the party where I met your father? The girl hosting it didn’t like me, so I didn’t want to go. I was supposed to wash my hair and stay home. But my friend Jennifer convinced me to come with her anyway, and there your father was, standing by the snacks table.”
“I wasn’t stupid.” His father’s eyes twinkled. “Who could resist a man with a little hot dog in a blanket?”
“Both of you were irresistible. Still are.”
Win belly-laughed as his mother kissed his father’s cheek. He hoped he and Elliot could have their kind of relationship, and after he ended the video chat with the promise to speak to Elliot about visiting, he poured himself the whiskey he’d been craving and stretched out again on the couch.
He certainly thought of Elliot and himself together for the long haul. He’d never been a serial dater or the type to sleep around. Growing up with the role model of parents who loved each other and were supportive of who he loved, Win had always wanted a husband and a family—he and Kevin had bought their house thinking they’d like to have a family. He wondered if Elliot wanted the same. Pillowing the sofa cushion under his cheek, Win closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, hoping Elliot could resolve the rift with his mother.
