Page 39 of Twice Shy

God, that would make things so much easier. But it was too generous. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Well— Don’t you need it?”

“Not really. I prefer to cycle, and I certainly don’t have kids to ferry around.”

“But, Joel, it’s too much—”

“It’s a simple favor, Ollie. I’d—” He looked down at his plate, fiddling with his knife and fork. “I’d like to think we’re becoming friends.”

I’d like to think we’re becoming more than friends.

But when he searched Joel’s cool gray eyes, he saw only concern and kindness—everything else was locked away. “You really are the good Samaritan,” Ollie said, standing up to clear the plates into the kitchen. “No, stay there, I’ll do it. Or go sit on the sofa, it’s more comfortable. I’ll grab us a couple more beers.”

After he’d dumped the dishes into the sink, squirted detergent over them all and left them to soak, he snagged two more beers from the fridge and headed into the living room. Joel was not on the sofa but standing next to the low table that held the TV, gazing at the framed photo sitting there. “Is this your sister and her husband?” he said when Ollie came to stand next to him.

“Yeah, Jules and Ellis.”

“It’s a great picture. She was a beautiful woman.”

“She was.” He offered Joel a beer and he took it with a smile of thanks.

“Do you mind me asking what happened?”

Ollie’s gaze slid past him to the photo. “I don’t mind. She and Ellis had been out for the evening—date night, you know? It was only the second time they’d been out since Luis was born. They were driving home on I-495 when a truck swerved out of its lane and hit them head on. They both died at the scene.” He swallowed a mouthful of beer, tasting the bitterness. “The driver was distracted by his phone. Texting.”

“Jesus. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah.”

“And you became Rory and Luis’s guardian?”

He nodded. “Jules and Ellis had both named me in their wills. I mean, we’d talked about it in the abstract, but obviously none of us imagined…” He cleared his throat, the familiar ache returning. “Ellis’s parents contested it in court. Truth is, they don’t like that I’m gay. But in court they said I was too young. Flighty, irresponsible, financially unstable—you get the picture. But in the end the judge ruled in my favor because it’s what Jules and Ellis wanted.”

“A lot of people your age wouldn’t have taken it on.” He was studying Ollie carefully, that cool assessing gaze seeming to see right through him. “It’s admirable that you did.”

“Is it? I made a promise to my sister.” It was as simple as that. “I was never not going to be there for the boys.”

“Doesn’t make it any less admirable.”

After a pause, Ollie said, “So what about you?” He led them over to the two-person sofa. “You’ve mentioned your wife…?”

“Ex-wife.”

Ollie inclined his head in acknowledgment and took another sip of beer as he folded himself into one corner of the sofa. Joel arranged himself carefully in the other. Everything about him was careful and precise. It made Ollie want to ruffle him up, see what he looked like undone.

“Her name was Helen.IsHelen. We married young and…” He spread his hands. “Short version is that, in the end, we weren’t…compatible.”

“You mentioned before that she didn’t want kids…”

Joel took a long swallow of beer, pressed his lips delicately to the back of his hand. “That was part of it. But in fact it turned out that she didn’t want kids withme. When she found herself pregnant by someone else…? That’s when she left.”

Ollie grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Yes, well. Turned out there were some…things about me she couldn’t live with. So what else could she do?”

“Not cheat on you?”

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