The SUV purred to life, and they sat silently as Anya pulled out ahead of them and turned toward the street. Nick’s chest tightened as the old sedan drove away.
“What is it?” Oliver squeezed his hand.
Nick cleared his throat. “They’re going to leave again.” Soon. With the truth out about Carson and his harassment, Hayden’s house arrest would be over. Without the thing on his ankle, he and Anya had no reason to stay at the house.
Oliver sighed. “Nick. Baby.”
“It’s okay. It’s fine.” It would be. They wouldn’t go far, and Nick wouldn’t keep the same distance he had for all those years. He was still learning how to be a father, but Hayden needed him, underqualified or not. “Thank you. For coming. For helping him. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“You call me. Always.”
Nick stared out the window. He couldn’t even see Anya’s taillights anymore. “It’s a mess. And every time I think it’s going to get better, there’s another layer, another pile of shit. Something else I couldn’t see coming. Maybe it will be better now, or maybe this is just another calm before a whole new storm. If you didn’t want to be a part of this, I’d understand.”
Oliver’s fingers on his chin were soft but firm. His mouth was demanding. Nick held his breath, not wanting to absorb the hope from that single kiss, in case it was all he’d ever get.
Oliver sat back in his seat. “You always call me. No matter what.”
“But—”
“I love you. You, Nick. I will always want to help you. Take care of you. Nothing you can tell me or show me will change that. Ever.”
Nick tried to breathe now, but the air was trapped by the lump in his throat. “Oliver, I—”
“I love you.” Oliver’s throat worked hard too. “Let me take you home and show you how much.”
He pulled them out onto the street. They were silent for a block or two, until his laughter cracked though the inside of the car. “Want to hear a funny story? It’ll help to break the tension.”
Nick grinned at him. His insides had been in knots for hours. Anything Oliver had to say would be a welcome relief. “Sure.”
“Cooper showed up uninvited at my house last night.”
“Caramel.” This was not a story Nick needed to hear right now.
Oliver grinned and put a hand on Nick’s knee. “Trust me.”
It came out, all the details. Oliver’s face was blank as he talked about Cooper, which was good, because Nick was still fighting the need to hunt the bastard down and punch him for hurting Oliver in the first place, and then again for showing up like he had any right to be there.
“But what did he want?” Nick asked.
Oliver turned onto his street. “Absolution. Maybe a second chance. I don’t know.”
“Well, he’ll have to find it somewhere else.” Nick tucked a strand of Oliver’s hair behind one ear, and Oliver shivered.
“There’s uh—there’s one other thing,” he said, lower lip between his teeth.
“What?”
“One of my customers asked me on a date today. I tried to let him down easy, but—”
“Triple caramel sundae with extra sprinkles!”
They let themselves into the quiet house. Oliver’s house. Still perfect, polished, like its tenant, but homey now. Comfortable.
Like Oliver.
Nick pulled him close, and Oliver melted against him when their lips met. This, too, was like coming home.
“I love you,” Oliver whispered against Nick’s lips.
