Truth & Tenderness (28 page)

T
HEY
LEFT
their tux jackets on the kitchen counter amongst the empty champagne bottles and remnants of the caterer’s prep for the buffet. Griffin kicked off his shoes in the hallway, pulling Jim toward the last door on the right.

This was the only room people weren’t allowed in.

This was a secret until Farrah delivered and Jim and Griffin could bring their daughter in here for the first time.

“Isn’t it a little weird to drink champagne in a nursery?” Jim asked as Griffin opened the door.

“Only if you’re sharing with the baby.”

A tiny lamp in the shape of a ceramic bunny was all the light Griffin allowed. He opened the sheer white curtains across the trio of windows so the lights from the wedding reception below cast patterns across the polished wood floors and dark red area rug. He knew the entire room by heart—the cherry-blossom wallpaper, the blond wood crib and matching dresser and changing table. The pale pink linens and assortment of bunnies on every surface.

Everything was ready and waiting for Caroline Kelly Shea-Drake (or Drake-Shea—they were still negotiating).

Griffin’s face ached with the smiling he’d been doing all day—all week, really. The utter joy that was marrying Jim left him giddy and stupid and breathlessly happy. And right now? Imagining their baby here took the rest of his breath away.

He turned around to find Jim sitting on the floor, leaning against the tall dresser, sprawled and gorgeous, with a bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne in his hand. Griffin’s heart stuttered.

“What?” Jim asked. Tie askew and bathed in shadows, he looked like a supermodel trying to entice you to buy… anything. Let’s face it, Griffin would buy anything Jim was selling, for the rest of their lives.

“Nothing. You’re just so handsome, and now you’re all mine,” Griffin said lightly before dropping to the floor and crawling toward Jim.

Jim laughed, low and dirty. “Oh my goodness, that’s quite interesting, Mr. Drake.”

Griffin shrugged as he straddled Jim’s lap. “Mr. Drake-Shea.”

“Shea-Drake.”

“We’re going to need to make a final decision on this at some point,” Griffin said, reaching for the bottle of champagne. “I vote that point is not now.”

“I’m not having sex with you in our daughter’s nursery.” Jim declared it in his full authority voice, and Griffin squirmed in his arms.

“Agreed, so stop using that voice.”

“We can make out a little, though,” he teased, rubbing his hands down Griffin’s back.

They kissed slowly, enjoying the build. Griffin closed his eyes, sucking Jim’s bottom lip as he fought to keep his hips still. Because they weren’t going to have sex in their daughter’s room.

Jim pulled back, his smile so delightful and pleased that Griffin kissed his nose.

“I love you, and I’m glad I married you,” Griffin murmured, wrapping his arms around Jim’s neck, resting against his shoulders. “And I’m also glad you and my sister are having our baby, which doesn’t sound weird at all.”

They shared a laugh.

Through the windows came the sounds of music and conversation, their families and friends mixing together.

“We have to say thank you and good night.” Sighing, Griffin curled up in Jim’s arms, thinking about how many apology calls he’d have to make if he just didn’t move.

“Yeah, we should do that,” Jim said, reaching for the champagne beside them. “Right after we drink this bottle.”

There was so much to celebrate—the wedding, the baby, their lives being settled in a way it had never been before. They were anchored now, with a home and a future they’d decided on. Everyone had been drinking the caterers dry for the past three hours, but this felt like something else.

Griffin shifted just enough so Jim could pop the cork with both hands.

“We don’t have glasses,” Griffin pointed out as the cork came free and Jim conveniently used his mouth to suck up the stream coming out. “Ah, never mind,” he added as Jim did rude things to the opening of the bottle.

“First toast,” Jim said, licking his lips. “To cheeky young men who strong-arm dates from cranky old cops.”

“That cupcake thing was pretty awesome.” Griffin preened as he took the bottle and drank.

“You sang me happy birthday,” Jim murmured. Even after all this time, the look on Jim’s face when he remembered that first night was pure bliss to Griffin.

“I never wanted to leave.”

“Technically you didn’t….”

They laughed and passed the bottle a few more times.

“Second toast,” Griffin said, taking control of what was left of the champagne. “To my hero, James Shea. The best person I’ve ever met in my life. Gorgeous and sexy and smart and amazingly brave. You make me a better human being, and I hope our Caroline turns out exactly like you in every respect. Except for the hair.”

Jim ran a defensive hand over his shorn hair, still holding on to its color; Griffin suspected gray was actually too frightened of Jim to grow in. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

“Baby with a buzz cut just doesn’t do it for me.” Griffin leaned down, grinding his hips slowly.

“Mmmm.” Jim took the bottle away—Griffin heard it clink against the floor—and returned both arms around Griffin’s middle. “Caroline should have your gorgeous hair,” Jim murmured, rubbing his warm hands against the length of Griffin’s back.

“Don’t talk sexy to me and say her name,” Griffin whispered, slotting his hips just enough to catch their straining erections against each other. “So stop saying her name and keep talking sexy.”

J
IM
OPENED
his mouth, trailed his hands down to squeeze Griffin’s spectacularly tuxedoed ass. His husband (that would take some getting used to) flicked their tongues together and then gave him a lap dance that Jim was sure sparked out his brain.

Let those people keep laughing and dancing down there. The DJ was paid until ten, the champagne stock holding on….

He just wanted to stay here with the love of his life in his arms, in this room that symbolized everything about the beautiful future ahead.

Everything else could wait.

“I
CAN
’
T
believe no one has figured this out,” Evan murmured into Matt’s ear as they twirled around the dance floor.

Matt tightened his arms around Evan’s waist, slotting them close together in a way that bordered on dirty.

Evan didn’t care.

“Especially since they’re such nosy sons of bitches.”

They moved slowly, trading off who was leading like it was second nature. They were getting good at this, the give and take, letting instinct be their guide instead of thinking too hard.

Evan knew, in the quiet of the moment, that this was their real secret. How they made this work—made them work.

Trust.

Letting go.

“Stop thinking so loud. This is romantic,” Matt whispered, ending his words with a kiss against the curve of Evan’s ear.

It
was
romantic, cradled in Matt’s arms, the whirling dervish of the night settling around them.

“We could make an announcement,” he said, thinking of the kids’ excitement, Jim and Griffin’s support, Helena and Shane’s enthusiasm.

“Or we could keep it a secret like we agreed.” Matt moved his head just enough to give Evan a look.

“Fine.” Evan laid his head back on Matt’s shoulder. A secret just for them. Yes, that seemed right.

The DJ switched songs but not tempos: an old Motown song that invited more couples to the dance floor. Evan saw love in every stage—blushing teens to folks just grateful to have an intimate moment away from the kids to the smooth dancing moves of those who’d been doing this for decades.

This wasn’t the way his life was supposed to go, but this was exactly where he decided to be.

Faith, Love, & Devotion:

Book One

Faith & Fidelity

By Tere Michaels

Reeling from the recent death of his wife, police officer Evan Cerelli looks at his four children and can only see how he fails them. His loving wife was the caretaker and nurturer, and now the single father feels himself being crushed by the pain of loss and the heavy responsibility of raising his kids.

At the urging of his partner, Evan celebrates a coworker’s retirement and meets disgraced former cop turned security consultant Matt Haight. A friendship born out of loneliness and the solace of the bottle turns out to be exactly what they both need.

The past year has been a slow death for Matt Haight. Ostracized from his beloved police force, facing middle age and perpetual loneliness, Matt sees only a black hole where his future should be. When he discovers another lost soul in Evan, some of the pieces he thought he lost start to fall back in place. Their friendship turns into something deeper, but love is the last thing either man expected, and both of them struggle to reconcile their new and overwhelming feelings for one another.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Faith, Love, & Devotion:

Book Two

Love & Loyalty

By Tere Michaels

Seattle Homicide Detective Jim Shea never takes work home with him—until now. A judge banged his gavel, declared a defendant not guilty, and laid waste to a family. The emotional fallout of the trial leaves Jim vulnerable and duty-bound to the victim’s dying father.

It’s that man’s story that screenwriter Griffin Drake and his best friend, actress Daisy Baylor, see as their ticket out of action blockbusters and into more serious fare. But to get the juicy details, Griffin needs to win over the stoic and protective Detective Shea. Their attraction is immediate, and Daisy encourages Griffin to use it to their advantage: secure the man, secure the story. Neither man has had much luck when it comes to love, and when their one night together evolves into a long weekend of rapidly intensifying feelings, both Griffin’s fierce loyalty to Daisy and his very career is put to the test.

Because the more Griffin is drawn into a new life with Jim, the more his Hollywood life falls apart. Secrets and broken trust threaten Griffin’s relationships, and he’ll have to choose between telling the truth or writing a Hollywood ending.

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com

Faith, Love, & Devotion:

Book Three

Duty & Devotion

By Tere Michaels

A year after deciding to share their lives, Matt and Evan are working on their happily ever after—which isn’t as easy as it looks. As life settles down into a routine, Matt finds happiness in his role as the ideal househusband of Queens, New York, but he worries about Evan’s continued workaholic—and emotionally avoidant—ways. Trying to juggle his evolving relationship with Evan and his children, Matt turns to his friend, former Seattle Homicide Detective Jim Shea.

The continued friendship between Matt and Jim is a thorn in Evan’s side. Jealous and uncomfortable with imagining their brief affair, Evan struggles to come to terms with what being in a committed relationship with a man means, and the implications about his love for his deceased wife, the impact on his children, and how other people will view him. His turmoil threatens his relationship with Matt, who worries that Evan will once again chose a life without him. But now, the stakes are much higher.