"Friends," I gave him my hand and when he took it, I corrected. "Family. Well, dysfunctional family maybe, but?—"
"Still family," he agreed and squeezed my hand.
It wasn't good enough. I walked around the bar and gave him a hug, too. It seemed like he needed it. And unless something changed drastically in his life, he'd need a lot more of them.
"I better go. I promised Zach I wouldn't be long."
"Does he know? About me—us?"
I took a deep breath before I answered.
"He figured it out. I didn't tell him. Your jealous ex-boyfriend act at my house when I was sick was kind of a dead giveaway."
Wyatt grimaced.
"Sorry about that."
I chuckled.
"You don't have to. It's fine. He won't say anything either. We'll respect your secret."
He thanked me again and walked me to the door. I waved goodbye to him and went back home. Back to the man of my life. They said there was a reason for everything. It was hard to believe that before I met him, but now I could buy it.
It felt like maybe what I went through with Wyatt wasn't for nothing. It was to show me that when Zach came into my life that he was the right person for me so that I didn't do anything stupid and let him go.
No chance of that happening.
"Hey," he said when I walked in, baking tray at hand. "Are you ready to tell me what you were doing out there so early?"
I nodded and walked up to him, wrapped my arms around his waist and planted a kiss on his neck before I told him what I'd done.
"Oh wow," he said when I finished. "I didn't realize you'd already gotten there emotionally."
I shrugged.
"It was long overdue. Being with you helped me realize it faster."
He smiled and the brightness of it lit up every inch of my body and soul.
"I'm so glad you've let go of the past."
"Now," I said and held on to him for dear life, "we can build our future. One day at a time."
"I'd like that," he replied and I kissed him.
I kissed him so hard my lips ached.
"Come on. Help me with these cinnamon buns," he said after a while and I did. We spent the morning baking, the afternoon making love, and the evening watching movies. Like people ought to do on a holiday.
At some point as we were about to put another movie on, there was a knock on the door and I watched as Zach walked casually to answer, no hint of distress on his face or posture.
“Parker! Merry Christmas,” he said before I could see who was at the door and our friend walked inside.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.” He turned a pink envelope in his hands before he offered it to Zach with a semblance of a smile. “I just wanted to drop this off.”
I narrowed my eyes as Zach opened it.
“What? No way!” he exclaimed and passed me the envelope.
