“I was going to steal it.”
Wade transformed with laughter, eyes crinkled gently at the edges, lips very pink in the light of the room . . .
Noah jerked his head away. The piles of clothes, the open suitcase at the wardrobe registered properly now.
Quiet descended between them. It seemed fitting that they should begin and end in this room. This had to be done swiftly.
“I-I know you want us to be friends, Wade. But for the time being, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Maybe later, once you’re settled and I’ve had some distance to see it all makes sense. You and him. Maybe I’ll be happy for you then.”
“Happy for . . . What are you talking about?”
Noah rolled his shoulders and met Wade’s dark eyes. They seemed genuinely confused, and . . . fair. Noah had blurted all that out. “It’s okay. I knew it was coming. Your sister confirmed it.”
“Confirmed?”
“You and Luc. She was horrified, seeing you kissing. I’m sorry you had to go through that hate.”
“Me and Luc?” Wade blinked at him, then took an abrupt step forward, stealing half Noah’s oxygen. “No. No, Noah. You’ve misunderstood. It took everyone by surprise—Luc, too, I think. It wasn’t me who kissed him. Robby did—”
The single tear that had escaped before multiplied, ten, twenty times over. The pressure in Noah’s chest punched up his throat into a single heavy sob. He pivoted sharply, shutting the wardrobe door with a bang, palm burning on the wood. He pressed his forehead against it and banged his palm again.
“What are you saying?”
“Noah. Luc and I aren’t together. I dropped him at Delaford Road. With Robby.”
Another sob wrung through Noah, his wet breath bouncing back to him off the door. “Christ, sorry, I can’t . . .”
Wade’s hand settled between his shoulder blades and Noah felt the outline of each finger through his shirt, branding his skin like a tattoo. He wished it was. Permanent.
“Luc said he was still in love with you. I thought you knew, I thought you wanted to be with him.”
“Luc and I . . . I care about him. As a friend. More like a brother. We’ve been on and off for years, mostly platonic. We both knew it wasn’t an all-consuming kind of love. We broke up because I want to start a family.” Wade pried Noah from the wardrobe, gripping both his arms. “With a man I love passionately.”
Dark eyes bored into him and Noah convulsed with another shiver. “I didn’t think it would happen so soon. I certainly didn’t think it could happen at first sight. But, there you go.”
Noah’s focus dropped to lines of pink and the hint of beard. “You let me go. In the car, after the pub with Luc. I thought you needed time to choose . . .”
“I didn’t slow us down to make a choice between you! Is that what you think?”
“What was I supposed to think?”
Wade’s grip tightened on Noah’s arms. “I slowed us down so you’d know I took us seriously. Since we met, it’s been a whirlwind of feeling. That feeling has only been for you.”
Suddenly, Noah could breathe again. And he was moving, shoving Wade up against the wardrobe, slotting one thigh between his, pinning him in place. “First sight?”
Wade flushed, submitting to his hold, gaze a burst of fire. “Standing there in the doorway, demanding I drop my sack and leave, so clear-headed and firm. So in control. It was like being hit by lightning. I was so desperate to get to you I forgot about the glass; I barely felt the pain. When you left, I lay on the bed—your bed. My bed.” Wade’s wrists flexed under Noah’s grip, and Noah tightened his hold. “I didn’t sleep that night.” Lips twisted. “But I dreamed.”
Noah dropped his forehead against Wade’s shoulder and let the heat of Wade’s hard body seep into him. He never let his feelings out, always tried hard to keep it together, and now . . .
“You can let go with me, Noah.”
A sigh.
Noah’s lips sought the edge of Wade’s t-shirt and pressed against the base of his throat. Everything bubbled. His stomach, his chest, his thoughts. His toes and fingers curled. “I miss Dad. I miss this house. I miss you. You’re right here, and I miss you.”
“Noah.”
Noah let his arms go, and Wade folded him into an embrace.
Noah’s eyelashes combed Wade’s pulse. “When you came back from New Plymouth, you didn’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You said you were messing with both of us.”
“I talked about you, you know. A lot. Until I caught that I might be hurting Luc. I felt guilty. It didn’t change how I felt about you, Noah, but I worried I’d misunderstood the depth of his feelings for me. And I hadn’t told you about our history. I still hadn’t come out to Mum and Franny. It wasn’t right to forge ahead with you, no matter how much I wanted to.”
