Page 92 of Twice Shy

Applause broke out around the room, and Joel thought he heard Rory yelling Ollie’s name.

“Uh, thank you,” Ollie said when the applause faded away. “This is a surprise. I—Oh God, you’re going to make me cry again.” He gave a shaky laugh and swiped at his eyes. “I’ve really enjoyed my time here, and I wish…” He shook his head, choking up. “Sorry.”

Before he’d even thought about it, Joel had put a comforting hand on Ollie’s back, the sharp edge of his shoulder blade painfully familiar beneath his fingers. Ollie startled at the contact and Joel quickly dropped his hand, face heating. Fingers tingling. “That’s enough speeches, I think. How about more music?”

Thank God the DJ was paying attention. As the music started up, people gathered around Ollie and Joel stepped back. But through the crowd, Ollie met his eyes. Neither of them spoke; Joel wouldn’t have known where to start.

And then Rory bundled into Ollie’s legs. “What did you win? What did you win?” And Alyssa and Jackie crowded in too, hugging Ollie. Joel felt extraneous. There was both too much and not enough between them now, and that distance set him outside the moment. He backed up to give Ollie more space, but he didn’t go far because, to his heart-stopping relief, Moretti and Theo were making their way toward Ollie.

This! This was what the evening had all been about. Well, that’s what Joel kept telling himself…

He held his breath as Moretti came to stand close by. Ollie’s gaze was fixed on him, his expression entirely blank. But he clutched the edges of the certificate’s frame so tight Joel was afraid he might break it. For an airless moment nothing happened, and then Moretti crouched down and spoke to Rory.

“Hey, it’s Rory, right?”

Rory nodded shyly as he clung to Ollie’s leg.

“I like your lightsaber.”

“It’s not a real one.”

Moretti smiled. “No? I guess that’s lucky. Kinda crowded in here for a real lightsaber.” He glanced up at Ollie, who was staring, wide-eyed, and then back to Rory. “My name’s Luca. You can call me Uncle Luca, if…” Another look at Ollie. “If that’s okay?”

Ollie pressed a shaking hand to his mouth, nodding. “Of course. Of course it is.”

“And this,” Moretti added, taking hold of Theo’s hand, “is Theo. He’s your uncle too.”

Rory clung tighter to Ollie’s leg. “Ollie’s my uncle. We live with Ollie now.”

“It’s okay,” Ollie reached down and put a reassuring hand on Rory’s head. “That’s not changing, buddy. But it…it looks like now you have two more uncles to be friends with.”

Moretti pushed to his feet, Theo standing at his shoulder. “It’s… It’s been pointed out to me that, when you let old wounds make your decisions for you, they just go on hurting you—and others. I made a mistake before Christmas, Ollie. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Are you kidding? There’s nothing to forgive. I shouldn’t have ambushed you like that. I should have written first or—”

“No, stop.” Moretti rubbed a hand through his hair. “Look… How about we just start afresh?”

Ollie paused. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

“I’m Luca.” He held out his hand and Ollie took it. “Nice to meet you.”

Joel’s soul lifted to see the smile breaking out over Ollie’s face, despite the regret of not being the one to put it there. But Moretti was the reason Ollie had come to New Milton, this was the ending he deserved.

While Ollie and Moretti shook hands, both awkward but smiling, Joel backed further away. It wasn’t his moment, but his plan had worked—at least, half of it had worked. As for the rest, only time would tell whether he could earn his second chance with Ollie. Nevertheless, he felt happy. Between them, he and Theo had brought Moretti and Ollie together, and that wasn’t nothing.

He busied himself for the remaining hour of the party helping to start the clear-up so they could all get out of there at a reasonable time. God only knew what kind of mess would be revealed once the lights went up, and he hoped Moretti and Theo wouldn’t be too dismayed by the state of their lovely hardwood floor.

He was bagging up the unsold cupcakes to sell off in bulk at the end of the party, when Alyssa sidled up next to him. “Well?” she said.

“Well what?”

“Have you spoken to Ollie?”

He frowned. “You know that’s not what tonight was about. But see? He and Luca are still talking so… Looks promising, right?”

Alyssa’s gaze darted toward Ollie and back to Joel. “Yeah. But, listen, he only had eyes for you when you made your little speech. Not sure you noticed because you were staring straight ahead like a freaking robot, but, Joel, hisface…”

He couldn’t hear that, it gave him too much hope. “I just want him to stay,” he said, grabbing another bag and shoving four squashed cupcakes inside. “I want him to find his family here and be happy.”

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