Page 20 of Protecting his Heart

“No, you don’t—” The silence on the other end of the line advertised that he’d hung up without Evan needing to check. He huffed. At least he wouldn’t be bored. And Matteo had the entire day off, so maybe he could keep him occupied until Owen got home. Besides, he had news to share. Matteo didn’t know about the past rockiness with Owen, but he would by the end of the day. Not their dynamic in the bedroom, but everything else. Although Evan was seeing a new side to Owen he hadn’t expected—a possessive caretaker role outside of the bedroom. It seemed they swapped roles depending on their situation, which was eye-opening.

Matteo wore a completely different look when he wasn’t working, and when Evan opened the door to him, he couldn’t help but smile. His bleached light grey hair was designed to be messy, and his thick-rimmed glasses stood out against his pale skin tone, making the artfully done makeup look like he was ready for the catwalk. He wore skinny black jeans, so tightly fitted that Evan had no idea how he could move. A dark purple shirt with collar jeweller and a skinny black jacket with the sleeves of both were rolled up to the middle of his forearms, and his shoes had at least a three-inch heel. He looked absolutely stunning, and Evan—not for the first time—wondered how he had the energy to do it. Evan could barely throw on jeans and a shirt if he wanted to look decent.

“I can see I need to do something about your look again,” Matteo said, brushing past Evan and making himself at home.

Evan snorted and closed the door. “Coffee?”

“Of course.” Matteo sat on the sofa and pulled out his phone. “I’ll make a note of what a disaster you are while you make it.”

Evan smiled and headed for the kitchen, making the coffee just like Matteo liked it—a lot creamier than Evan and Owen did. When it was ready, he handed it to the man, who cradled it like a newborn baby.

“Looks worse than you said it did,” Matteo said, nodding at Evan’s arm.

He lifted it and rotated it a little. “It’s a long cut, but it’s not deep. A couple of places were deeper than others, hence the stitches, but it’s fine. It’ll heal in no time.”

“Sometimes, I wonder about our job.” Matteo’s frown deepened.

“Are you thinking of leaving?” Evan wasn’t sure what to think about that if he was.

Matteo shook his head, though it didn’t seem like he was sure. “No. I just…it’s a lot, isn’t it? The hours, the shifts, the patients.” He sighed. “It’s not the easiest job to do.”

Evan chuckled. “Not even remotely, but with every job, there are pitfalls. I try to remember the good things instead of the bad.”

“Like Italy?”

Evan’s heart thumped painfully as his thoughts drifted to Antonio. “Yeah,” he breathed. “Antonio was a wonderful man, and it’s a shame he was taken from the world so soon, but he touched people for the time he was here. Myself included.”

“Are you ever going to tell me what made you leave Italy?” Matteo asked. “I know something did, but you never expanded on it whenever I asked.”

Evan sipped his coffee, staring into the cup when he rested it on his thigh. He sighed. “To explain that, I need to go back to before I left for Italy.”

“I have all day,” Matteo said, kicking off his heels and tucking his feet beneath him.

Evan had never told his story to anyone except Antonio, but he told Matteo everything. What happened between him and Owen that night, his choice to flee the country to get away, but also not going as far as he could’ve because he didn’t truly want to leave. How he spent his time working as an in-home carer for people and was given the position at Antonio’s side, where he spent the final year of his time.

“Antonio wormed his way into my life, and I ended up telling him everything, just like I am to you. Little by little, he got more out of me until I had nothing left to tell him. Before he died, he made me promise to come home and fix things with Owen.” He chuckled, though the humour was missing. “I kept the promise.”

“You’ve fixed things with him?” Matteo asked.

“We went back to the way things were before but with strained silences between us. I wasn’t sure we were ever going to properly get back to where we had been.” Evan couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “But then yesterday…”

Matteo leaned forward, and Evan dragged it out. His friend grabbed a cushion and hit him with it. “Tell me!”

Evan laughed, holding his cup away from the attack. “All right! I had to call Owen to pick me up from the hospital because I couldn’t drive. When we got home, we talked. About everything. I found out why he pushed me away, and we made up.” He peered at Matteo. “We’re trying a relationship now.”

Matteo squealed, almost spilling his coffee. “Yes! Oh, my god. I’m so happy for you.” He grabbed his phone. “This deserves a treat.” He pressed some buttons, smiling, and Evan couldn’t want for a better friend. He’d have to get him, Owen and Dominic together properly. He was sure they’d get on well. “There we go. They will deliver lunch soon.”

They spent the next hour catching up with Matteo’s life, which was in his own words “as exciting as it ever was.” When the doorbell rang, Matteo waved Evan down and fetched the food, depositing it on the coffee table. The scent of spices filled the air.

“I went with spicy pasta dishes because I know how you like them.”

Evan hummed and reached for his plate. “Smells delicious. Not as good as pizza but still delicious. Thanks.”

“No worries.” They ate for a few minutes before Matteo said, “Are you worried about your relationship with Owen?”

Evan inhaled, letting it out slowly. “Mostly, no, but there is that lingering doubt at the back of my mind. I know he’s sorry. I know why he did what he did, and although I have forgiven him for it, I doubt I will ever forget. I need to trust him, and I do, but…”

Matteo nodded. “You’ll have to work through that because you don’t want it to fester and make things a thousand times worse. If you don’t trust him, you may as well end it now.”

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