Page 13 of Gift of You
“But as I eased into my thirties and there was still no Prince Charming in sight, I realized I’d been pinning all of my hopes and dreams on some guy I hadn’t even met. I started doing all the things I’d wanted to do. I took a trip to Europe by myself. I got a cat, though she passed about three years ago. I learned to cook, and I hosted dinner parties on my own. I have a great condo and a car I love. So when I looked around this apartment and it didn’t feel like Christmas, I bought the supplies and decorated. It made me happy to do it. I didn’t need any other reason than that.”
Matthew took a bite of his prime rib, chewing but not responding. I thought maybe I’d put my foot in my mouth again, but then he said, “I’m glad you do those things for yourself. I think it’s... nice.”
“Thank you. You know, you could do them for yourself too.”
“I don’t need a tablecloth when I eat.”
“It’s not aboutneedingsomething. It’s about doing it simply because it makes you happy.” He frowned at his mashed potatoes, and thinking I’d probably pushed him enough, I changed the subject. “So, tell me about the bookstore.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Actually, I think I want to go back a step further. Why did you choose this town? Did you have a connection here?”
“There’s a little bed and breakfast about three miles outside of town. I booked a weekend there for our one-year wedding anniversary. We spent a day in town and she fell in love. So much so that she insisted we come back the following year. On that visit, she noticed a ‘For Sale’ sign in the window of the bookshop. She chatted up the owners who were looking to retire and head somewhere south where the winters are milder.
“It turned out the place had been on the market for months without any offers. By that point, she was already looking into getting out of teaching, so she talked them into giving us a year to save up and come back. It was a ridiculous proposition, but when Ally got her mind set on something, she was impossible to say no to. Her excitement was contagious.”
It was the most animated I’d seen him, the most words he’d spoken to me at one time. He was so damn beautiful lit up like that. Ally had been damn lucky to have him.
“Well, you should be proud of it. It’s an adorable little shop.”
He nodded but didn’t say anything else in response. We continued to eat, and when the silence stretched past the point of being comfortable, I tried engaging him in conversation again.
“So when you’re not running the bookshop, what do you do for fun?”
He looked up with an expression of confusion as if I’d asked him what the color purple smelled like, so I continued. “You can’t spend all your time at the shop. What do you do when you’re not working?”
I watched in fascination as a little bit of color crept up past his beard line and into his cheeks. “I’m a narrator. I narrate audiobooks.”
My eyes widened in fascination and absolute delight, and I leaned forward, food forgotten in my haste to learn more. “Really? What kind of books?”
“Romance.” He mumbled so quickly, I almost didn’t catch what he said. “And before you ask a bunch of questions?—”
“How do you know I was gonna ask a question?”
“Because you always ask questions.”
“Someone has to keep the conversation going,” I snarked.
He glared at me, but went on. “As I was about to tell you, I got into it as a surprise for Ally’s birthday. She sent my amateur recording off as a demo, and I got a contract.”
“That’s amazing! Would I be familiar with any of the books?”
“I think I’d rather keep that information to myself. I’d also rather you not say anything to anyone. No one around here knows that I do it.” I watched in dismay as his eyes shuttered. He was closing down on me.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” I rushed to reassure him. “It’s not like I really know anyone around here anyway.”
He glared at me a little longer, as if he could will me into compliance with just a look.
“I promise I won’t say anything. Cross my heart.” I made an X over my left pec as though I was back in grade school.
As silly as it was, it must have convinced him, because he relaxed, scooping up a forkful of mashed potatoes. Still, I couldn’t resist a little ribbing. “I don’t promise that I won’t try to find one of your books, though.”
“I use a different name when I narrate, so good luck finding one.”
“Never underestimate a gay man who’s on a mission to dig up information about someone.”
He shook his head, but apparently wasn’t too concerned since he didn’t comment further. We finished our meal and took our plates back into the kitchen. Matthew insisted on helping with the cleanup, so we packaged up the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher, standing side by side at the sink, scrubbing the pans I had used.
