“What made you do that?” Nico asked.
Stone exhaled heavily. “I wanted to remember what I walked away from.” He paused for a beat but then continued. “For a long time after I left, I was unhappy. But I was determined to make somethin’ of myself. And to resist the urge to come back.”
He glanced at Stevie’s name on his other shoulder. “I told myself it was for the best. That Stevie was too young to know what she’d be signin’ up for if I had stayed. I wanted more for her.”
“She mourned you like you’d died,” Nico told him. “She went through the five stages. It started with denial, which lasted for about a month. She insisted you would be back. The anger stage lasted the longest.” Nico met Stone’s gaze. “Two years, I think. She hated me as much as she hated you.”
There was surprise mixed with guilt in Stone’s hazel eyes. “Why’d she think it was your fault?”
“She needed someone to blame. She accused me of interfering. Said if I hadn’t been there, that night wouldn’t’ve happened, and you wouldn’t’ve left.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know that,” Nico admitted.
He didn’t bother telling Stone he’d had his own stages of grief. He’d been pissed at himself for thinking he even had the right to grieve the loss of something he’d never had in the first place.
“I felt somethin’ that night,” Stone said, holding his stare. “Somethin’ I’d only ever felt for Stevie. Lookin’ back on it, I don’t understand how I could. I hardly knew you. It didn’t make sense.”
No, it didn’t. But Nico understood what he meant because he’d felt something, too.
“I’d never done that before,” Stone continued, now leaning on the counter, mirroring Stone’s posture. “Been with two people like that. I haven’t done it since.” He nodded toward the bedroom. “Not until tonight.”
“And?” Nico hated himself for asking, but he needed to know if this was just Stone’s way of reminiscing.
“I felt everything I felt back then.” Stone looked away. “Even if I don’t have the right to.”
“She’s not as tough as she pretends to be, Stone. She doesn’t love easily. It’s still there, though. She’ll pretend it’s not if you take it away, but it’s gonna hurt.”
Stone stood tall, his arms falling to his sides. “I wouldn’t be here if I only wanted one night.”
Nico’s heartbeat picked up speed as Stone approached.
“What about you?” He moved closer. “What is it that you want, Nico?”
He didn’t know how to answer that because his feelings for this man had never made sense. That one night had altered him mentally and emotionally, and the result was devastating. Even after fifteen years, Nico still hadn’t found what he was looking for. He hadn’t been sure it even existed. Until last night. Until he was with Stevie and Stone again. Everything felt right. Like all the puzzle pieces were present, accounted for, and securely locked into place.
Feeling a little too raw and exposed, Nico pushed off the counter and took two steps forward, placing his palms on the island. It prevented Stone from meeting him face to face. He didn’t want the man to see that much of him yet. He didn’t want Stone to know that he’d felt whole twice in his life, and Stone had been there both times.
Nico was aware of Stone standing behind him, his warmth blanketing him even before Stone pressed his chest to his back.
“I can’t explain it,” Stone whispered, his breath fanning Nico’s shoulder. “It doesn’t make sense, but at the same time, it’s the only thing that does.”
“I know,” he admitted, then closed his eyes when Stone’s lips grazed his shoulder.
Stone’s hands joined the fray, sliding around his waist, then up over his chest as his lips got bolder. Nico found himself leaning into him, tilting his head as the sensations tore through him.
“You love her,” Stone whispered, his lips trailing along Nico’s neck.
It took a second to process what he meant.
“I do,” he admitted. “I have for a long time.”
“It’s more than obvious.”
“Not to her.”
“She deserves to know.”
