“Knot, don’t even start.” Matthew’s father glowered.
Alex shouted something angrily from outside the shot.
Damien shrugged. “Just saying. Looks like we’ve all got our kinks, huh?”
“Oh my god.” Matthew buried his face in his hands. “Why is this already such a disaster?”
“Matthew?” his father asked. “Is that a ring?”
Fuck.
Matthew dropped his hands immediately, but the damage was already done. It wasn’t like he could convince his father that he’d seen things—there was clearly a ring on his finger, and it wouldn’t take a man as perceptive as his father to piece together that it had been on his left hand.
“So, um.” Matthew put on his best smile, which wobbled under the pressure of the moment. “Yeah. That was why I was calling. Damien asked him to marry me, and I said yes.”
A tense moment stretched between them. At last, Matthew’s father adjusted his glasses. “Damien?”
It was the first time Matthew could remember that his father had called Damien by his name instead of his internet handle. Matthew braced himself for the worst.
“Yes, Gwynn?”
“Now that you’re set to become an official part of the Gwynn family, there are some secrets you’ll need to keep. What you saw tonight? It doesn’t leave the chat.”
Matthew audibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Damien winked. “You got it.”
“And Matthew?”
Matthew blinked back into focus. “Yes, Dad?”
“I’m happy for you.” His father smiled, doing away with the last of Matthew’s worries. “Congratulations.”
It was a strange feeling to be treated like an adult instead of a child. Matthew dipped his head to hide his glowing smile. “Thanks.”
“Will you be having the wedding in New York?”
“Nope,” Damien said. “We’re flying the coop.”
“A destination wedding, then?”
“Surprisingly, no, although I’d love a chance to pick up the glitter war in exactly the same place we left off.” Damien squeezed Matthew’s hand, giving Matthew the fortitude he needed to lift his head and look at his father. “Matthew and I have spent the last few months deciding what our future should look like, and our vision didn’t align with what New York has to offer. I’ve quit my job and I’m in the process of starting my own financial consulting firm. We’ll be moving to Aurora in the new year.”
The happiness on Matthew’s father’s face turned to shock. “Are you serious?”
“As serious as TD when he thought xV’s use of the word ‘penal’ was related to things far more phallic.”
“I can’t believe it!”
“You’d better, or it’s going to be real weird when I come knocking on your door for a cup of sugar.”
Matthew laughed. Despite its shaky start, the conversation hadn’t turned out all that badly.
“And so Aurora claims another Single Dad.” His father’s smile turned into a grin. “I guess none of us are so single anymore, are we?”
Damien smiled. “That’s the beauty of a support group, Gwynn—you all grow together. Some just take a little while longer to flourish than others.”
* * *
