Page 54 of Daddy's Christmas Elf
“Lead me to him, if he can get me a better deal on business insurance for Super Spud,” Eli said with a grin.
“I’m sure that can be arranged.” David gave a serious nod before his face broke out into another wide smile.
Eli listened as David and Grey chatted, interspersed with lots of laughter. The affection between the two friends was as clear as the summer sky above. Eli’s attention began to drift, and with a quick kiss to Grey’s cheek and a squeeze of his hand, he left them to catch up.
Eli snagged another flute of champagne, and took a chance on another canapé which, this time, didn’t need to be deposited into a paper napkin. Winding his way through the assembled guests, he found a space against the far end of the balustrade, partially hidden by a large potted ornamental shrub, and gazed out over the golf course.
The day was growing warmer, and Eli loosened his tie a little. The silk was smooth against his fingers, just as his pale duck egg blue silk shirt was, and so too the soft, fine wool of his dark grey suit, handmade for him just as the shirt was. He leaned forward, clutching the stem of the glass and stared out, unseeing, over the landscaped course.
Sometimes, Eli felt he had to pinch himself, to remind him the life he now lived was truly real. His ambition to start his own business had been achieved. Eli smiled as he recalled Grey’s frustration when he’d refused outright to let Grey buy him his mobile catering wagon, or a new van to transport it. This was his venture, he’d told Grey, and he needed to make it happen himself.
Searching the internet, Eli had found somebody who had both a wagon and a small van to sell, both perfect for him. They’d been a good price, but he’d got a much better one for letting Grey do the negotiation. Business was good, with more fairs and festivals in and around London than he could handle. The one small cloud on the clear blue sky of his life was his friendship with Benny, which hadn’t survived.
Benny hadn’t been able to hide his glee when, on the day he and Lenny had returned to the little house in south London, Eli had told him he was moving out there and then. Benny and a grinning Lenny had made themselves scarce as he and Grey had bundled all his possessions into Grey’s car, but before leaving the house that had been his home for a couple of years, Eli had ‘relocated’ Benny’s stash of artisan vodka to the boot of the big Range Rover. Eli’s lips quirked with the memory; as far as he was concerned, he was owed.
Eli tipped his face to the warm sun, so different to the bitter winter weather of Christmas Eve, when Grey swept him up in his arms and brought him home, a home Eli had never left and that was now his as much as it was Grey’s.
“Hello, Eli.”
Eli jumped, sloshing some of his Champagne; he’d been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed Peter come up beside beside him.
“It’s good to see you. I was hoping to be able to have a chat, but best man duties have kept me busy.”
How can he be David’s brother?
The two men were so different in appearance it was almost laughable. Breathtaking. It really was the only word to describe Peter, but the stomach plummeting inferiority Eli had felt when he’d opened the door to the former model and very much former Mr. Gillespie was as far away as that freezing winter’s day.
“Hi, Peter. You’re looking well.”
Eli didn’t know which was the more dazzling, Peter’s big, sunshine filled smile or his perfect teeth, glowing white against his golden tanned skin. Peter swept his fingers through his lustrous dark hair. In his suit that fitted like a second skin, the man looked every inch the fashion model he’d once been. It didn’t bother Eli one bit because whatever advantages Peter had in this world, he’d lost the one that really and truly mattered.
“I am. Life is good. For all of us, I think.”
They fell into silence, both of them looking out over the golf course. Eli sipped his drink, casting furtive glances at Peter. The man hadn’t stumbled upon him by accident and, as Peter shifted from foot to foot and scratched the back of his neck, Eli waited for him to say whatever it was he’d sought him out for.
“I was talking to Grey earlier, just for a few minutes, but it was all I needed. I wanted to say thank you.”
“What?” Eli’s whole body jerked, Peter’s words taking him aback. He hadn’t known what to expect Peter to say, but it hadn’t been this. “Sorry, I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you?” Peter’s eyes locked on Eli’s. “I’ve never seen him so content.” He paused, as though taking a moment to work out what he was going to say next.
“He’s so happy, it just shines from him. It’s as though he’s found the missing piece of himself — a piece ultimately I couldn’t give him. You’re that piece, Eli, and I’m glad of that. So, so glad. Grey will always have a special place in my heart, and to see him so complete and content…” A flush washed over Peter’s face. “That’s all I wanted to say, really.” His lips twisted in an awkward smile before he regained his composure. "You’ve got a very special man in Grey, very special, but I think you already know that.”
Peter cocked his head to the side before looking over his shoulder.
“Ah, I can hear my name being called. Best man duties are set to resume.” With a quick smile, Peter was gone.
Eli leaned against the balustrade, letting the old, sun warmed stone take his weight. Peter’s words, although unexpected, weren’t news to him. Eli knew, in his blood, bones, in every part of him, he completed Grey as much as Grey completed him. They were two sides of the same coin, the last two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that slotted into place, making it whole. Each were night to the other’s day, winter to summer, spring to autumn.
You’ve got a very special man in Grey…
Eli finished up his champagne and pushed away from the balustrade. Special didn’t even begin to describe what and who Grey was to him, and would always be.
Making his way back across the terrace, Eli was determined to find his very special man.
* * *
“Please don’t make me dance,” Grey whined when Eli grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to his feet.
