Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 78853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Lucas Vallois, billionaire philanthropist, was married…to a man. They’d all thought he’d get married, but Rowe, Snow, and Ian had all worried that it would be some sham marriage to a woman purely because she offered him connections and completion to his image. But Andrei had changed his life, and now they had a perfect little girl who was currently asleep on Jude’s chest.
Snow was never supposed to get married. Hell, the way he was living, they weren’t entirely sure the man would see forty. But Jude was the one to perfectly take the grumpy doctor in hand and heal all the wounded parts of Snow they couldn’t reach. Now they had plans to marry and grow their family through adoption.
If anyone deserved their happily ever after, it was Ian. The young man had an enormous heart and a strong spirit. He loved everyone he met and wanted them all to be happy. His own dark past never dimmed or crushed his capacity for love. And he found the perfect person to love in Hollis Banner. The former cop might be a little rough around the edges, but he completed Ian.
They’d been back from their honeymoon for only a few weeks when Rowe and Noah invited everyone over for a backyard cookout. They kept it simple. Just fired up the grill, set up a cooler filled with beer, and lit some candles to keep the mosquitos away.
Now with their bellies full and the sun setting behind the trees, they relaxed in cushioned chairs as they told so many ridiculous stories of their youth. Rowe dropped down in his chair next to Noah and took a sip of his beer. As he set it on the table, he looked around at the men gathered and released a happy little sigh. His family. These were the people he lived and died for. Something inside of him relaxed to see them all safe and happy.
“That was a very contented sigh,” Lucas observed. “Feeling pleased with yourself?”
“Yes, I am.”
“It was just hamburgers and chicken on the grill,” Snow teased.
Ian reached over and smacked Snow on the shoulder. “Hey! It was good. And some of us appreciate having a night off from cooking every once in a while.”
Rowe’s smile grew when Noah reached over and threaded his fingers through Rowe’s. The food was not what Rowe was feeling so contented about and Noah knew it. After their long talk, he felt more settled and secure in the life that he was building with this family, and most importantly, with the man at his side.
“I know that look,” Andrei said softly, catching everyone’s attention. “You’ve made a decision about something.”
Fucking Andrei. It was like the man had a sixth sense about these things. Rowe had no idea how the hell he read people so well, but he did. There really was no getting anything by him.
“Really?” Ian gasped. Rowe looked over to find the smaller man practically vibrating in his chair, and Rowe wanted to groan. “What is it?”
Rowe looked over at Noah, who grinned and shrugged at him, seemingly amused by Ian’s excitement. Yeah, he could guess what they were all thinking, and it was time to lay that all to rest once and for all. No more jokes or evasions.
“You’ve got the floor, babe,” Noah said.
Grabbing up his beer, he took a quick drink and cleared his throat. He hoped this was something they could understand. It was what he and Noah needed. What they wanted for their happiness.
“Noah and I have done a lot of talking recently. About what we wanted and needed individually. Also, what we needed and wanted as a couple,” Rowe started. He glanced down at the fingers twined with his, and he knew he wanted to see that for the rest of his life. “And we’ve decided that we’re not getting married.”
“What?” Ian cried. His wide eyes darted from Rowe to Noah with worry. Rowe knew in Ian’s mind that love and forever equaled marriage, and if they weren’t getting married, it spelled trouble.
“We’re not separating,” Noah said quickly with his trademark warmth and smile.
“I love Noah. Love him just as much as I ever loved Mel. I want to spend the rest of my life with him doing weird and crazy shit. And even the boring stuff.”
“Like laundry?” Noah teased.
“Fuck the laundry.” Rowe turned serious when he looked back at Ian. “But I don’t need or want to get married. It’s not who I am.”
“And it’s not who I am,” Noah added. “Or who we are together.”
“But you married Mel,” Hollis said. He reached over and placed a hand on Ian’s shoulder, pulling his husband closer as if he was worried he needed comforting. “I don’t mean to sound like a dick.”
Rowe shrugged. “Mel and I got together and married almost ten years ago. We were young and relatively bright-eyed. We were still sure we could conquer the world. We both saw marriage as the logical next step for us.” He paused and looked over at Noah. His smile had dimmed a little in the face of the sadness that now lingered in his beautiful eyes.