Raoul grinned. It was the first time Carmine had seen this since he’d come home.
“It’ll all freezable. I’ve written the instructions on each carton.”
Carmine squeezed his arm. “Thank you. I appreciate it. Very much. How much do I owe you?”
“Don’t insult me.”
“Raoul. I can’t ask you to…”
“You didn’t. I offered. Don’t worry. I’ll write it off as marketing. Tell them I want to see all their faces in the next month.”
He winked at Carmine. For the first time, Carmine saw Raoul in his own light. Finally out from behind their father’s shadow.
“That I will do,” Carmine said. “I’ve made a start on design ideas. I know you’ve not got a property yet but I’ve been playing with vibes.”
“Why don’t you come up in the week and show me?”
Carmine nodded.
After he and Samantha had loaded her Fiat 500 up with food, they made the short drive to Noah’s apartment.
“Do I detect a thaw on the horizon?” Samantha asked.
“I think you do. Bloody hell.”
It was so unexpected Carmine hadn’t had a chance to process it. He would unpack things at the end of the night. Hopefully in bed with Noah, all cosy.
Before that he had a dinner party with a gang of footballers to get through.
Must not give them food poisoning.
The pressure was real.
Once Samantha had dropped him and the food off, Carmine set about helping Noah to unpack it.
“Hey,” Noah said, sidling up to Carmine and putting his arms around his waist. “Don’t I get a proper hello before the others get here?”
Carmine kissed him. Instant relaxation hit his body. He could melt into Noah’s arms any day of the week.
He nuzzled Noah’s neck.
“Can’t we cancel?”
Noah shook his head. “They’ll be here any minute. You’ll have to hold that thought.”
Carmine reached down and squeezed Noah’s cock.
“I’d rather be holding something else.”
Noah wriggled out of reach. “Down, boy. Now let’s see what we have.”
“Raoul’s sent spaghetti with Papa’s special seafood sauce, Tuscan stew, a ton of different salads and yes, he sent more meatballs than I know what to do with.”
Noah smiled. “We can let Steven and Udo take some home. Any dessert?”
“Tiramasu and a polenta cake.”
Noah stared wildly at everything.
