Evan got to his feet.If Harry can do this, then so can I.
He took a step, then another. Two more, and he and Harry were face-to-face. “Hi.”
“Hi.” Harry gently bit his lip, but his eyes were full of hope.
A sense of calm washed over Evan as all his doubts disappeared. He took Harry’s hands in his own. “I wanted to let you know that I do. Feel the same way, that is.”
Harry’s face lit up. “Good.”
Evan was sure he was mirroring Harry’s goofy grin as they stood there staring at each other, not knowing what to do. He was lost in Harry’s big brown eyes and the myriad of emotions.
It took a little while for the rest of the world to come back into focus, but when it did, all hell broke loose.
“How can you let this happen?” John stormed across the stage.
Evan put his arm around Harry, holding him closely, but John passed them to stand in front of Brian, who’d moved across the stage. Red-faced, he ranted and raved as he pointed at the two of them. “They’re not even a couple on this show. We need to start this segment again.”
Amber appeared at John’s side. “They look like a couple to me.”
John swung to face her. “They arenota couple. He’s supposed to be with you. And Harry is mine.”
Evan stepped forward but didn’t let go of Harry, gripping his hand tightly. “He’snotyours.” He wanted to add that Harry was his but figured that going all alpha male would just piss John off more. It was enough that Harry squeezed his hand in acknowledgment at the words.
“Sorry, John,” Harry said. “I didn’t want it to come to this, but you need to know that Evan means the world to me. I know I signed up to come on the show with you, but we’ve been over since well before filming began, and I did try to back out, but you wouldn’t let me. You know as well as I do that we’re a fraud.”
“I… ahh…” John’s mouth opened, and his eyes darted around in obvious panic at losing control of the situation. His gaze finally landed on Brian. “You need to stop this. This is meant to be my proposal.”
“Well, what’s unfolding is a little unexpected, but it’s going to do wonders for the ratings,” Brian said. His grin was broad as he rubbed his hands together. “So much more exciting than what we had planned.”
“Fuck!” John swore, then turned to Harry, his movements jerky. “We’ll talk about this later. You haven’t heard the end of this,” he hissed before stomping off the stage.
Evan dragged Harry into a hug. “Don’t worry about him,” he whispered against his ear. “I’m sorry about all of this.”
Harry pulled back slightly to meet his gaze but gripped his hands. “Oh, I’m not worried, and there’s nothing to be sorry about. In fact, I think this is one of the best days of my life.”
“Really?”
“If this is a sign of what’s to come, then things with us definitely won’t be boring.” He chuckled, face radiant, eyes shining with happiness.
Evan wanted to kiss him, but—why the hell am I waiting?He released Harry’s hands and dragged him into his arms. Harry met him in a crash of mouths, and Evan poured everything into that kiss. Elation at knowing Harry felt the same as he did, pride that Harry had finally stood up against John, and all the other emotions that welled up inside.
“Oh. My. God. This is so romantic. This is the absolute best.” Amber brought her hands together, clapping as she bounced up and down. “What a story to tell your kids!”
He could feel Harry’s smile against his lips.
What a story indeed!
Epilogue
The kitchen wasredolent with the fragrance of tomato and garlic. Harry’s stomach rumbled as he gave the contents of the pot a final stir before scooping up a little of the sauce and bringing it to his mouth. It was packed full of flavour, and he smiled with satisfaction. Those Italian cooking classes were definitely paying off. Who’d have thought six months ago that he’d be hand-making pasta and cooking his own marinara sauce from scratch?
He took a final look around. The sauce was done, waiting for the last-minute addition of the seafood—minus the prawns, of course. The pasta was ready to be cooked, and the garlic bread ready for the oven. He’d prepped the salad earlier, and it waited in the fridge with the dressing, a special recipe of Evan’s that he’d shared with him. Satisfied everything was under control, he headed outside to the small balcony with a beer and sat in one of the blue-and-white-striped deck chairs while he sipped the lager. The afternoon sun sparkled on the water of the bay below, but he was shaded from the heat by a large awning, and the tall green potted plants made the area into a little oasis. It had quickly become his favourite spot in the apartment, the perfect place to sit and think and watch the world go by.
He hadn’t moved in with Evan yet—not officially anyway—but so many of his belongings had migrated to the apartment overlooking the river that he may as well have. They’d discussed living together but had decided they’d wait until the end of Harry’s current lease. After all, their relationship was still relatively new. He chuckled. Obviously, that hadn’t worked out as intended, because they couldn’t get enough of each other, and he could count on one hand the number of times they’d slept apart in recent months.
“Hey, honey. I’m home.”
Harry warmed at the familiar words called from inside the apartment—it had become a ritual for the last one of them home to utter the cheesy words—but they still had the effect of making him warm and fuzzy inside.Home. It was true. Evan was his home.
