Page 93 of Twice Shy

“Happy with you.”

He shook his head. “Alyssa…”

To his surprise, she reached over and kissed his cheek. “Go get him, tiger.”

“What?”

Alyssa just winked as she slipped out from behind the stall. He watched her go with a frown until someone else said, “Hey.”

Ollie.

Joel caught his breath as he turned to face him, fumbling the bag of cupcakes he held. “Oh, hey.”

Ollie looked…transformed. Happy. Eyes glittering, and face flushed, he was a different person from the tense and vulnerable looking man who’d arrived earlier this evening. “Was this…?” He gestured around the hall. “All of this, was it you?”

“Not just me. Jackie, Alyssa… the whole PTA helped, actually.”

“No. I don’t mean the Valentine’s Ball, I mean… Luca and the award? Theo said it was part of a plan.”

“Did he now?” Joel would need to have words with his co-conspirator. For now, he just sighed and came out from behind the table. “Look, I just wanted to try and make amends. I was a complete ass and I get why you ended…” His voice quavered, he cleared his throat. “Theo and I, we both wanted to help make things right between you and Moretti.”

Ollie watched him intently, his gaze darting from eye to eye as if looking for something. “That’s all?”

Joel shrugged, looking away to avoid that searching gaze. “It’s not all. But, look, I know it’s gonna take a long time for you to… I mean you might never want to give me a second chance. But Jackie and the others insisted I needed a grand romantic gesture, so—"

“Wait. What?”

“A grand romantic gesture. I know it’s dumb—”

“No.” Ollie waved a hand, cutting him off. “I mean, Jackie…knows? About us?”

Joel glanced up under his lashes. “Oh. Yeah. I kinda spilled everything after you left the meeting that night. I was…not in a good place.”

Ollie stared, limp with shock. “You…came out to the whole PTA committee?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my God.” He laughed, pushing a hand through his hair. Shorter now, but still lovely. Joel’s pulse started racing like a train, hope flaring dangerously bright. “What did they say?”

“They said I needed a grand romantic gesture.” He took a hesitant step closer. “They said I was an idiot for not trusting you—well, not in so many words; it was implied—and they said we couldn’t let you leave New Milton. And I don’t want you to leave, Ollie.”

Ollie’s hand twitched as if he’d been about to reach out but had checked himself at the last moment. “Luca asked me and the boys over for lunch tomorrow, to get to know each other better.”

“That’s great.” Joel smiled, happy and aching at the same time. What a damned fool he’d been to let Ollie go. “Really great.”

“If I…” He huffed out a breath. “If I did stay, would you…?”

Joel’s heart stopped. His breath stopped. Everything stopped bar the buzzing in his ears. “Would I what?”

Ollie bit his lip nervously. “I’m sorry I kept the truth about Luca from you. It was stupid. I should have told you from the start who he was, but I didn’t think I had the right. I felt like I was a…a dirty secret. I didn’t want to embarrass him or—”

“Christ, Ollie. You could never be a dirty secret. You’re—” Except that Joel had kept him a secret, hadn’t he? He stared in horror. “Oh my God, did you think I…?” His eyes swam, vision blurring. “I was never ashamed of you, Ollie. I was scared and stupid and, God, I wish I’d shouted about you from the rooftops. I wish I’d told the world.”

“You still could,” Ollie said, and this time he didn’t stop himself from reaching out to brush tentative fingers across the back of Joel’s hand. “If you wanted to…to try again?”

“IfIwant to?” Joel grabbed his hand. “Doyou?”

Ollie nodded, laughing despite the too-bright gleam in his eyes. “Yes. Of course, I do. I never wanted it to end, I was just—”

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