“It’s not,” Noah and Benji said as one.
Noah looked up again to see if Benji was going to join him on the couch. But Benji stayed in the living room doorway, scratching his mouth to hide his smile, which was growing softer by the second.
Noah turned back to Max. “I’m in this for the long haul. I want you to know that.”
Max’s giggles tapered out. He rubbed a hand through his curly hair, suddenly bashful.
“Okay. That’d be cool.” Max fiddled with his hair, pulling it in front of his face. “What do I call you?”
Noah caught Benji grimacing near the door. He could imagine Benji’s thoughts:anything but Daddy.
“Uncle Noah?” Noah suggested.
“Okay!” Max bounced on the spot, then turned to Benji. “Benji! I have an Uncle Noah!”
“We’ve met,” Benji said dryly. But there was no hiding his smile anymore. It was in his eyes, so joyous and beautiful that Noah could hardly stand to look away.
But he forced himself. The wedding was tomorrow, and he had somewhere to be.
“I’ll be back in an hour,” he told Benji as he pulled on his shoes.
Benji eyed him suspiciously, his soft smile still in place as he leaned on the doorway. “And it has nothing to do with the wedding?”
“Nope,” Noah lied. He kissed Benji lightly, then turned toward Max’s room. “Max! I’ll be back in an hour to take you to dinner!”
Max yelled an unintelligible agreement, then went back to jabbering excitedly to his friends. The first thing he’d done after wrapping Noah in a tight hug was announce he had to tell his friends and then ran back to his room to start a group call.
“See you.” Noah turned to leave, only stopping when Benji grabbed his tie.
“If it’snotabout the wedding, can I come?”
Noah took his hand. He pressed a slow, tender kiss to the ring resting on Benji’s finger.
“No,” he said sweetly. “See you soon.”
Benji rolled his eyes. But he was still smiling when Noah closed the door between them.
Riona raised her eyebrows when Noah gave her the address. But then she shrugged and started driving, falling into a chatter about a new sandwich shop that opened on the next block that she was eager to try.
Noah sat back and let her chatter wash over him. He always wondered how he’d feel the night before his wedding. It felt like he always dreamed: like he was on the brink of something. Now he just needed to get these last two errands down before he could get back to where he was supposed to be, and the night would be complete.
The car pulled up outside the familiar condo. Noah got out and walked to the door, making sure to walk around the stretch of tiles that got slippery when it rained.
He knocked three times and stood back. Heard a flurry of footsteps, then cursing. It faded into a confused silence as, predictably, a security camera was checked.
The door swung open. Michael stood there in a too-short dressing gown. His stubble was even worse than last week, and his hair was unwashed.
“Noah,” Michael said. His throat was hoarse. He cleared it and continued, “Finally come to your senses?”
Noah shook his head. “I want you to help me arrange something for me. A wedding present.”
Michael snorted. “For your wedding, that is obviously the worst idea you’ve ever had?”
Noah stepped closer and watched Michael’s flimsy confidence crack. He was trying to be aloof, but it was working about as well as the dressing gown belt, which was obviously not made for someone as broad as Michael. Noah assumed it had been left behind by a short-lived girlfriend. It was small enough.
“You’re not sure about that anymore,” Noah said. “You saw Benji, back in that resort. You really saw him. And your brain is insisting on all your old beliefs that got drilled into you when you were twenty. But the thing is, Mikey, you’re actually a smart guy. Eventually, you’re going to realize this is real. So, are you in or out?”
Michael blinked rapidly. For a moment, he just looked shellshocked. Then a small smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. Noah recognized it: pride. It only lasted a second before Michael’s face smoothed out into the Aloof Asshole persona he’d crafted so carefully all those years ago, a persona that Noah once used to share before he—unlike Michael—grew the fuck up.
