***
Steve turned the car off and looked at Matt. “You sure you want to do this. You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to.”
Matt rolled his shoulders in and effort to ease some of the tension. He had to go in and talk to Cam. Maybe for the last time. He could forgive his brother for a lot of things. He could forgive him for the accusation that he was back on drugs. He could forgive him for the way he handled things after their father died. He could forgive him for not ever letting him live things down and for always treating him like a kid, but he didn’t know if he could forgive him for accusing Steve of abusing him.
Matt reached over unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Steve followed Matt inside the building, but he didn’t reach for him or try to hold his hand. Matt appreciated the show of support. Steve was there for moral support, but he understood that Matt wanted to handle this his way.
Matt breezed past Suzie with a nod. She opened her mouth to say something but must’ve thought better of it. Matt found Cam in his office. Cam had pale skin and had dark circles under his eyes. His hair was messy, like he’d been running his fingers through it.
Matt didn’t sit in the chair across from Cam’s desk. He stood his ground and crossed his arms over his chest. “You have a lot of nerve, demanding to see me after you caused a scene at my friend’s engagement party.”
Cam didn’t say anything. He opened a drawer and pulled out a manila envelope.
“I cut a check for what I owe you. You can email me your bank information, so all future profits can be direct deposited for you on a quarterly basis.”
Matt took the envelope from Cam. “That’s it. That’s all you have to say for yourself.”
Cam shrugged a shoulder.
Matt suppressed the urge to throw something. Instead he pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and tossed it in front of Cam.
Cam’s gaze flickered between Matt and the envelope. “What’s this?”
“Those?” Matt sneered. “Those are my lab results. There’s nothing in my urine or my blood. If you still don’t believe me, I can do a hair follicle test.”
What little color that Cam had left in his face drained. “Matt. I’m sorry.” Cam started to stand.
“Don’t, Cam. Don’t you fucking dare. I don’t want you to apologize.”
Cam stilled and eased himself back down in his seat. “Then what do you want?”
“I wanted my brother to believe me.”
“Matt, come on.”
Matt shook his head. “I wanted you to see that I’d found a great guy. I wanted you to be happy for me. More than any of that, I wanted you to believe me, Cam. When I came out of rehab, when you weren’t there to pick me up, I cried, Cam.” Matt hugged himself tighter. “I sat on the sidewalk and I cried. I’d fucked up so many times. You had to go to our dad’s funeral alone because I was in rehab and I hated myself for doing that to you. I swore that I’d never put you in a position like that again. I cleaned up my life and I kept it that way and you never gave me any credit for it.” Matt sniffed. His eyes burned and his control on his emotions had slipped a bit, but he managed not to lose it totally. “I’m clean, Cam. I’m clean and you don’t care. I think you want me to fuck up so you can feel better about fucking me over.”
“Matt, that’s not fair.”
Matt nodded. “You’re right. It’s not fair, is it? It’s not fair that it took lab results for you to believe that I was clean. It’s not fair that I didn’t know that my dad didn’t hate me so much that he cut me out of the will.” Cam’s eyes widened but Matt didn’t give him a chance to interrupt. He kept going. He had to get it all out and then he could leave. “I thought dad hated me. I’d fucked up so much, you know. I had been a screw up before I came out and then shit got so much worse and then he was dead, and you had this place and I had nothing. I thought he hated me, Cam. I thought he didn’t want me as a son and that’s why he cut me out. I get why you did it, you know. I hadn’t exactly made a ton of stellar life choices. My shredded credit is proof of that. I don’t blame you for protecting this place, but I should’ve known about it, Cam. I should’ve known that dad didn’t hate me.”
Matt turned and started for the door.
Cam surged to his feet. “Matt, wait, please.”
Matt didn’t wait. He kept going. He heard Steve behind him, quietly, and sternly order Cam not to follow. Fists and faces might have been mentioned, but Matt didn’t stick around for any of that. He headed for the door. Relief flooded through Matt when he was back out in the fresh air and away from Cam.
He waited beside Steve’s car and only climbed in when he did.
Steve waited until they were several blocks away before he spoke.
“Are you okay, Matty?”
Matt shrugged. “Probably not, but I’ll get there.” He looked over at Steve and forced a smile. “I will be okay, though. I have you.” Matt reached over and put his hand on Steve’s thigh. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I’d do anything for you, Matty. You know that.”
Matt nodded. “I do.”
“So, any idea of what you want to do with your new-found fortune. I’ll understand if you need to think about it for a while.”
“The first thing I’m going to do is pay you back. I know you said I didn’t have to worry about it, but I need to clear my own debt. Then, I think I want to finish high school. After that, I don’t really know.”
“I think it’s a brilliant idea, Matty.”
“Yeah?”
“Of course, I do.” Steve nodded. “Tomorrow you can start looking for a way to get your high school diploma, but for the rest of the day I want you to rest. I’m going to take you home and draw a bath for you and then I’m going to order dinner. After we eat, we’re going to curl up together and watch a movie.”
Matt leaned against the window and shut his eyes. “That sounds like heaven.”
“Good.” Steve said. “You deserve a bit of heaven.”
Matt opened his eyes and looked at Steve. “Thank you.”
Steve smiled at him. “For what?”
“For not giving up on me.”
“I’ll never, ever give up on you, Matt. No matter what.”
Matt smiled, then leaned against the window and closed his eyes. Back when Matt first met Steve, he’d had all kinds of fantasies about what a life with Steve would look like, but none of his fantasies ever came close to the real thing. Never before had Matt felt so valued, appreciated, so loved. Matt reached over and put his hand on Steve’s leg and smiled at him. He would never let him go.
The End
Acknowledgements
This book would not exist without Kate Hawthorne and Courtney Basset’s encouragement. They loved Steve and Matt every step of the way. They cheered me on and kept me going and they’re still cheering for me. I owe them everything for that.
I want to thank my pervy soul sisters, and brother, for being there for me while I wrote this book. Your friendship has been nothing short of awesome. I wish I had something more articulate to say besides thank you, because it doesn’t seem like it’s enough. You bring me friendship and laughter and acceptance and that’s everything.
A special thank you to Jessie Charles and Qhuinn Alexander (pup). Your comments might not have meant much to you, but they helped me make a good book into a great book. Thank you.
About The Author
E. M. Denning is a married mom of three and a writer from British Columbia. She loves her family and her animals and anything cute and fuzzy. She writes romance for the 18+ crowd because she is both a hopeless romantic and a dirty old woman.
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Other books in the Desires Series
What He Needs (Book One)
Other books by E. M. Denning
Bright Lights
*Christmas Lights
&nbs
p; *(available only in the box set The Bells of Winter)
All For Him
Boomerang
Revenge
Little Love on the Prairie
Measure For Measure
The Studio Collection
Alpha Tango
At The Barre
Jazz Hands
Break
The Forbidden Dance
What He Craves Page 16