Wayward Love
Page 24
All the lies I told myself—that I didn’t care for him, that I didn’t want him back, that I could live without him—disappeared. They were never true.
And all the lies we told the world about us, well, those we’d have to deal with sooner or later.
But we’d do it together.
Epilogue
Kyle
5 months later
“I didn’t sign up for this,” Nathan groaned as he came in with another box of liquor that needed to go on the brand new bar display.
We’d gotten rid of the old, rotting wooden bartop, replacing it with marble. Front and back.
It was easier to clean and looked like a million bucks.
“Hey, you offered to help,” I said.
“I changed my mind, stepdad,” he said.
“Too late now, stepson,” I said and flicked him in the head as he carried the box to the counter.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you two,” Andy sighed as he wiped one of the new tables for the hundredth time.
“You don’t have to get used to it. You just have to accept it,” I said.
Rachel grabbed the cloth away from his hands, gagging.
“You two make me sick,” she said. “And stop cleaning those. They are clean.”
“What should I do then?” he asked.
“Help me put these away,” Nathan called from the bar.
Andy nodded and was about to go help his son when Rachel stepped in front of him.
“I’m sure Nathan can handle this on his own. There’s nothing else to do. We’re ready.”
“Babe, relax,” I said pulling him into my arms to the sound effect of Nathan’s gagging. “Do you want me to make you clean the toilets, stepson?”
“Ha,” he gasped. “I’d like to see you try, stepdad.”
“I’ve got my ways to make you do what I want,” I told him. “Ask your dad.”
More gagging noises.
“Gross. I do not want to know what you do behind closed doors.”
“I meant my condescending tone and the Greek glare your Yaya taught me.”
I stuck my tongue out at Nathan and he made a face but then turned his attention back to the bar and to restocking it.
It had been an interesting five months to say for sure.
Moving into the big family home with the rest of the Karagiannis members had been stressful. But all of the family was excited to have me there.
Andy had asked me to move in with him a few times over the last few months before I said yes.
Yaya had cooked the entire Greek cuisine to entice me to accept Andy’s offer, Summer had made space in her room for our playtime, and Luke had chopped, carved, designed, and put together a desk specifically for me to go into Andy’s home office.
The entire family had been more than welcoming.
But then again, I couldn’t expect any less from them. They had embraced me straight away, long before anyone knew about Andy and me.
Did it feel strange to be living with my best friend’s dad, at his house, with his younger sister and his entire family?
Yeah, it sure did.
But being with Andy trumped any weirdness.
And being in a relationship with him—a real one, not a secret, pretend one—was surprisingly easy after everything we’d been through.
It didn’t mean we didn’t argue, mainly about the bar, but never about being together. There was no argument there.
We were made for each other.
“Stop stressing,” I told Andy.
“You know me,” he said with a nervous smile.
I did know him. And even though we’d made miles of progress, I still hadn’t managed to subdue the worrier in him.
But he was better at managing it, which was why we had managed to pay all outstanding bills and loans by the end of December, giving us the freedom to reinvest in the bar and make it both of ours.
Had we lost some business because Andy had come out as bi? Hardly any that made a difference.
If anything, his public act of love had helped get rid of some terrible regulars.
The kind of regulars who came in every. Single. Day, only have a glass of beer and think they owned the place and everyone in it.
We’d worked hard for this. To make Andy’s Bar our bar.
It was one of the many ways Andy had shown me how much he loved me. By making me an equal owner of the business.
So now it was our bar. A place people wanted to be, an escape from crap in life, a place to celebrate the big events and the small things.
And after a two-month refurbishment, it was finally ready to be open again.
Thanks to a generous contribution from Leo and Dawson, we were able to invest in new furniture, new decor, new kitchen, new everything.
Boy, had it been a bitch to convince Andy to take the money. But I had my ways. And no, it didn’t involve my tone or the Greek glare.
“Everyone is waiting outside,” Rachel said and pointed outside, peering through the blinds we’d installed.
They would only ever be down at night, but they added a lot more vibrance to the place.
Plus, I was sure they wouldn’t hurt when Andy and I stayed late. For work, of course.
“Is everyone ready?” I asked.
Eric, Ciannan, and their third chef nodded from the open plan kitchen pass, as did the guys at the bar. Nathan had already poured himself a beer “for my hard work” as he claimed and was sitting on a stool texting. Probably his boyfriend outside.
I approached the door and turned the key to open the door. My key. The one that had the keys to the bar and to the house, along with a blue glass keyring.
It was meant to ward off the evil eye and bring good luck, and I couldn’t help but put a lot of my trust in it to do the trick.
Yaya had only given it to me the week before when I finally moved into the house.
“Is everything okay?” I’d asked her when she pulled me away from Andy and Paul carrying my boxes into the house. Not that I had many.
“Of course everything is okay, sweetie. Everything is more than okay since you came into our lives,” she’d replied. “I just want to give you this.”
And then she passed me the keys with the keyring.
“He forgot to make a copy, but I didn’t.” She giggled.
Andy had been very busy co-ordinating the refurbishment and making sure we’d be ready for the relaunch.
“You’re the best, Yaya. I can’t believe you embraced me after everything,” I’d told her, and she’d given me one of her warm hugs.
“You gave my grandson his smile back. It was the least I could do.”
“Do you need help with that? Doors can be so hard,” Andy said, and he rested his hand on mine, still gripping the key.
“Why? Is their name Andy?”
Andy slapped my ass and called me a jerk, and Nathan gagged—again—and I flipped him the bird.
“Come on. If we don’t open the door soon, they’ll break it,” he said, and I turned the key.
There was a big crowd outside waiting to come in, but Andy had a few words to say before they did.
“Today is an important day for me. Not only am I celebrating the first week since my partner moved in with me. After months of begging,” he said, and the crowd laughed, “but we’re also reopening the bar with some serious upgrades. We’ve been changing things for a while now, and I know you’ve been looking forward to coming in and enjoying our food and drinks again, but I wanted to point out that Andy’s Bar is no more. It’s closed.”
Everyone’s face dropped. Right at the front was Gordon, his arm around someone younger and hot. Yaya was with Summer and Maya, next to my mom and Melody.
Melody and Mom met after Andy and I became official, and they became friends on the spot.
“I introduce to you, Andy & Kyle’s Place,” Andy said and pulled the sheet covering the bar’s new sign.
He’d insisted we changed the name. It wasn’t
my idea. He wanted people to know it belonged to both of us.
That was one of the other ways he’d shown me he loved me.
He was showing it every single day with the things he did, the things he said.
He showed it to me by the way he looked at me as if I was still forbidden.
The way he made love to me as if he still had to convince me he was sorry for what he did.
His love was in his smile, which he never kept from me.
He showed it by letting me come into his life and turn it upside down.
By always listening to me and what I had to say, even when he didn’t agree or we didn’t see eye to eye.
He showed me he loved me when I played with Summer, and he looked like he couldn’t believe his luck for meeting me.
There were many ways he showed me he loved every day, and I couldn’t wait for every single day yet to come.
Do you want to know what life looks for Andy and Kyle down the line?
Check out this bonus epilogue that jumps two years into the future where the family gets together for a special day in both their lives.
A Letter from Rhys
Thank you for reading Wayward Love.
Andy has been begging for his happy ever after for some time now, and I’m glad I was able to finally give him one with Kyle.
Here’s some of the things I knew before I started writing this book.
-Andy was a miserable bastard.
-Andy would fall for Nathan’s best friend.
-Said friend would save both Andy’s bar and Andy’s heart.
Here’s all the things I didn’t know before I started writing this book.
-How much fun Kyle is.
-How sassy Kyle is.
-How amazing they are for each other.
-What a bunch of horndogs they both are.
-How much I love public declarations of love.
-How much fun Nathan and Kyle’s scenes would turn out.
Kyle basically abducted me and took over writing this book. So he’s to blame for everything.
I have a serious book hangover right now (I hope you do too), but there’s no rest for the wicked.
After all, Nathan needs his happy ever after.
If you want to find out what other projects I’m working on, get first hand updates on new releases and exclusive teasers, you can join my Facebook Group Rhys Everly After.
Or you can keep up-to-date with the latest via my newsletter, which I send once a month.
See you in the next adventure.
Rhys Everly
June 2020
Also by Rhys
Rhys Everly
Sexy romance with all the feels
Cedarwood Beach Series:
Fresh Start, Book 1
Wayward Love, Book 2
Rhys Lawless
Killer romance. One spell at a time.
Blade & Dust Series:
Killer Heart, Book 1
Demon Heart, Book 2
Vampire Heart, Book 3
A Blade & Dust Short Series:
The short stories can be read as standalone, but if you’d like to read them as part of the series, follow the numbering.
Foxy Heart, Book 0.5 (Free)
Daddy Heart, Book 3.5
Audiobooks
My books are coming in audio. For an up-to-date list visit my website at rhyswritesromance.com/audio
Rhys Everly
Sexy romance with all the feels
Cedarwood Beach Series
Narrated by Nick Hudson
Fresh Start, Book 1
Rhys Lawless
Killer romance. One spell at a time.
Blade & Dust Series
Narrated by John York
Killer Heart, Book 1
About the Author
Rhys writes gay romance. He has been writing since the tender age of 11 and hasn’t really stopped since.
He publishes urban fantasy and paranormal romance under the pen name Rhys Lawless and contemporary sweet and steamy romances under Rhys Everly.
Rhys currently lives in London, UK with his husband and their 12-year-old puppy.
You can find out more about him and his works-in-progress by joining his Facebook group or visiting his website rhyswritesromance.com