Page 95 of Twice Shy

Epilogue

Summer Carnival, Saturday June 6th

“One cheeseburger, coming up!” Ollie held out the bun and Joel slid the burger off the grill and onto the bread with a practiced flip of the spatula. Turned out, they made a great team. In lots of ways. “Lettuce and tomato with that?”

Rory made a face. “Lettuce is gross.”

“You used to think tomatoes were gross,” Ollie reminded him, finding a nice juicy slice.

“Lettuce is leaves,” he said, with a roll of his eyes that was a disturbing new development. “Mateo says—”

“Okay.” Ollie had had more than enough of Mateo’s opinions. “Go take your burger over to Uncle Luca. Try not to get ketchup on your shirt.”

“I won’t!” he called as he disappeared through the thinning crowd toward the blanket where Luca and Theo were picnicking with Luis. They were taking the boys over to Joel’s later, getting them out from underfoot while Joel and Ollie helped clear up after the carnival. And that reality was still enough to blow Ollie’s mind when he stopped long enough to think about it.

Uncle Luca and Uncle Theo.

“Hey.” Joel touched his hip, a subtle affectionate gesture. He still wasn’t entirely comfortable with public displays of affection—the Valentine’s Ball notwithstanding—which made these subtle touches even more meaningful.

Ollie turned, smiling. “Looks like we’re nearly done. People are heading home.”

“Mmm.” Joel’s eyes drifted over to Luca, Theo, and the boys. “They’re getting on great, huh?”

“Like a house on fire. But don’t worry, the boys still like you the best.” He nudged their shoulders together. “And so do I.”

Joel nudged him back. “Well, the feeling’s mutual.”

“Yeah?”

“Very much yeah.”

“You know, I’m beginning to regret your decision to host the PTA end of year party tonight.” Ollie wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “We could have asked Luca to take the kids up to the Majestic and had ourselves a little afternoon delight.”

Joel eyed him speculatively. “I guess there’s always the PTA shed.”

With a snort, Ollie shoved him away just as Alyssa and Cam strolled over. “You guys are so adorable,” she said, grinning. “And Jackie says start breaking down the stand. If you need help with the grill, my ‘other half’ can help out.”

“Hey,” Cam objected, good-naturedly.

“We’ve got it,” Joel said. “Luca’s taking the boys. You guys are both coming over right? I’ve got enough potato salad to feed a small town.” He gave the grill a rueful look. “And more stuff to grill.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Alyssa said. “Dalia’s psyched to see inside a teacher’s house. I have no idea what she’s expecting.”

Joel laughed. “I’ll be sure to set up a whiteboard for her in the garden.”

Once the exodus started, people left the carnival in a flood. Amazing how quick people moved when they thought you might ask them to lend a hand with clear-up. Not that Ollie minded too much. He didn’t mind a lot of things these days; everything was better with Joel at his side. He felt like he could take on the world. And Joel was at his side most of the time. As often as they could manage between work and trying to keep things stable for the boys. But they—all three of them—had slept over at Joel’s several times now, and it had been good. Great, even. Joel was fantastic with the kids, they liked him, and they often went out together at the weekends. Ollie didn’t dare call it going out ‘as a family’, he certainly hadn’t voiced the thought to Joel, but that was exactly how it felt. He’d even introduced Joel to the Palmers, and that hadn’t gone terribly.

“Hey, Ollie!” Luca called. “We’ll head out now.” Ollie glanced up from tying a black trash sack to see Luca, with Luis on his shoulders, heading his way. Theo followed, holding Rory’s hand.

“Thanks, Luca. Joel gave you a key?”

Luca tapped his pocket. “And I know where his cooler is.”

“Awesome. Everything’s set up in the yard, so just make yourselves at home. Everyone else should show up in dribs and drabs.” He glanced over to where Joel was scrubbing at the grill. “We’ll be there once we’ve got all this packed away.”

“We’re gonna have s’mores,” Rory announced. “And I’m gonna toast the marshmallows all by myself.”

“Uh, if that’s okay with Ollie?” Theo added quickly.

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