“He’s very lucky he didn’t touch you today.” Sean’s voice was a low rumble I’d never heard from him. Even when he’d advanced on Pierce, he seemed in control.
Now his body was tense, like a lion ready to pounce. It was the first time I got a real sense of the power he kept so well contained. It probably shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, but right then, I wanted to climb him like a tree.
“You’re incredibly sexy,” I said.
His eyes crinkled in amusement. “You think so?”
I turned so I was fully pressed against his hard body. “I know so.”
Sean slid his hands down to cup my ass. “But I’m just a thug in a dirty T-shirt.”
I wove my fingers into his thick hair and pressed my lips to his. “Better than a knight in shining armor any day.”
* * *
Sean gota permit to have a bonfire on the beach after the rehearsal dinner, so most of us made the trek down there. We spread our blankets on the cool sand under the full moon and celebrated the joining of two families. Someone brought a guitar and started an impromptu sing-along.
Sean sang with them for a little while, but he soon drifted away, and the two of us walked hand in hand down the beach a little ways apart from the group. He stood behind me with his arms wrapped around me while we watched the light from the full moon dance on the ocean waves. A light breeze ruffled our hair and chilled our skin. I snuggled in closer to Sean for warmth. He pressed a soft kiss to the tender skin behind my ear and hummed in contentment.
After a while, he said, apropos of nothing, “You know, you’ve only got two more nights in that room.”
A cold lump formed in the pit of my stomach. I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that my time at Moonlight Inn had an expiration date. A shiver ran up my spine. I wasn’t ready to leave him yet.
“I…didn’t…I forgot?” It came out more like a question, and I felt foolish.
Sean just wrapped his arms tighter around me. “I can’t extend your stay in that particular room,” he began, “but I do have this other room available. The view’s not as good, though, and you’d have to share it. On the plus side, it’s got a big bed and a shower big enough for two.”
Relief swept over me, and I grinned from ear to ear. I turned in his arms and looked into his moonlit eyes. “Oh really? And what’s this person like? The one I’d have to share with?”
He kissed my nose. “He’s kinda messy.”
I put my arms around his neck. “I like messy.”
“Me too,” he murmured. He kissed me deeply. “Stay with me a little while longer, Mr. Fitzgerald.”
“I’d love to, Mr. O’Neil.”
THIRTY-TWO
SEAN
The weather gods blessed Evan and Raphael with a perfect day—a nearly cloudless sky and temperatures in the low to mid-seventies. It certainly made my perimeter check with Tony more pleasant.
We were checking the hotel property to ensure there were no gaps in security a malicious protester could take advantage of. The protesters had been relegated by the police department to the sidewalk across the street from the hotel.
There were between twenty and thirty people gathered, some with signs that said:It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and, of course, the ever-popularGod hates fags.
There was a police car with its lights flashing and two police officers standing watch over the crowd. Marco’s motorcycle club was out in force. Fifteen veterans, women and men from different military branches, stood as a silent presence around my hotel to let the protesters know they weren’t getting any closer.
Eight choirs had shown up, and we set up canopies and chairs for them to use while they were waiting to sing. Some of them brought their own signs, which read,God is loveandLove one another. The Gay Men’s Chorus group was dressed loud and proud because they knew it would piss off the homophobes.
When we got around to the front of the building, I heard singing from one of the choirs. It took me a second to recognize what song it was and when I finally did, I turned to face the haters and gave them a big cheesy grin. The choir sang “Gift of Love,” a song based on St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. The guy directly in my line of vision flipped me off, and I just laughed.
“Nice,” Tony murmured.
I was about to go back into the hotel when I saw Sister Beth, one of the nuns I knew from the Catholic church around the corner, walk over to join the protesters. That broke my heart because she and my mother were quilting buddies. I turned away, wondering if I should tell my mom, but Tony’s bark of laughter made me look back.
The nun, all five feet of her, was berating the protesters—with the wagging finger and everything. I started laughing so hard I was bent over. I pulled out my phone, took a picture, and sent it to my mother, who was at work.
