Liam snorted. “Hardly. He had a ten-year plan to save the world. I’m merely seeing it through.”
“He sounds amazing.”
“He was. Cory taught me so much—before you, he was the only bloke I’d ever slept with. But after he’d gone, I looked back on the time I had with him and wondered if I’d always known I wouldn’t have him forever, like it had been too good to be true, you know?”
Zac didn’t. As he absorbed the fact that Liam had slept with just two men in all the years Zac had spent being fucked by more than he could count, Liam’s life seemed like another world to him, the kind of world he’d never have even thought to dream of if they hadn’t met. “You must miss him.”
“Course I do, but I’ve come to accept that we weren’t meant to grow old together. Perhaps he was sent to guide me. I wouldn’t have done half as much with my life if I hadn’t met him, and I’ll always love him for that.”
Zac absorbed the quiet conclusion of Liam’s story. He’d expected to be jealous again of the bond Liam had shared with Cory, but he was only overwhelmed with sadness at what Liam had endured on his path to Zac’s bed. He’d give Liam back to Cory in a heartbeat if he could, if it eased his grief . . . grief that was likely no longer reserved for his lost love. “How’s your dad?”
Liam shook his head. “Honestly? I don’t know. Rosa and I were always terrified that putting him into a home would finish him off, but we moved him a few days ago, and if anything, I think he’s happier.”
“Perhaps he understands that he’s in a different place, rather than staring at his own house and wondering why he doesn’t know it.”
“You’re probably right.”
Liam reclaimed Zac’s hand, though his liquid gaze was a million miles away. It felt selfish to pull him back, but Zac missed him, damn it, even for the few short moments he was gone.
He squeezed Liam’s fingers. “Are you okay?”
“Hmm?” Liam looked up, blinking. “Oh, yeah. I don’t talk about this shit very often, though. Until you came along, everyone I cared about had lived it with me, so I didn’t have to.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
Liam silenced Zac with a brief kiss to his knuckles. “It’s okay. Perhaps if I’d talked about it more, I wouldn’t be such a wreck.”
“Are you? A wreck, I mean. You seem pretty together to me.”
“Why? ’Cause I’ve got money? It’s all bullshit, Zac. None of it means much when you’re so lonely you can’t get out of bed in the morning.”
Zac’s heart ached, eclipsing the pain in his bandaged arm. “I don’t want you to be lonely.”
“Well, maybe we can work on that together, eh?”
Zac couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do. He tugged on Liam’s hand, drawing him down until their faces were inches apart and they were milliseconds from sharing the kisses Zac had missed so much. “I’d like that.”
Liam rewarded Zac with a kiss that lifted him from the bed and cocooned him in the gentle warmth he’d always found with Liam, the comforting fog that was better than any high he’d chased before. Then Liam pulled away with a comical grin.
“What’s so funny?”
“You know what we’ve just done, don’t you?”
Zac frowned. “Um . . . kissed?”
“Yeah, and had one of those cheesy reconciliations you see in crap films, you know, where the hero gets shot or some shit and his lover, who he pissed off at the tipping point of the film, comes rushing to his hospital bedside and they live happily ever after?”
“Are you saying I’ve pissed you off?” ’Cause it’s highly unlikely he’s calling you a hero.
Liam laughed. “No! I’m saying we’ve become a little bit mainstream . . . normal, and I like it.”
Zac was officially mystified, but the rare sight of Liam laughing proved too distracting for him to ponder his confusion much. With his wide smile and sparkling eyes, Liam was fucking beautiful, and he was all Zac would ever need.
Zac pressed the Stop button on the portable CD player in Len’s room. The calming tones of the older man’s favourite Vaughan Williams album shut off with a quiet click. Zac waited a moment to see if he’d stir, but Liam’s father remained peacefully asleep; a sight that warmed Zac’s ever-growing heart.
He left Len to rest and made his way out of the nursing home, waving good-bye to the nurse on the front desk. “Bye, Jan.”
She smiled. “See you soon, Zac. Be safe.”
