by Ella Frank
“Don’t worry about that,” Felicity said. “If there’s yelling it just means they’re still alive, which is a bonus, considering all of this.”
Robbie took in a gulp of air and then let it out on a rush. “I think I should go—”
“Out there?” Felicity laughed. “Nah, just give them a minute. Pa’s been looking forward to meeting your guys.”
Her slightly maniacal grin didn’t bode well for them, and just as Felicity finished talking, the back door opened and Sofia stepped inside carrying four bottles of wine.
“Well, don’t just stand there, you three. Felicity. Valerie. Go help your father and bring in the rest of the alcohol.”
“We can help,” Julien suggested, but Sofia shook her head.
“No. You’ve already done plenty. Penny, you can help me, and Robert? Why don’t you three head into the living room? Your father and I will be in shortly.”
As the girls hurried to the back door, Valerie winked at Priest, and Felicity mouthed, Good luck.
“Living room’s this way,” Robbie said, and then led them down the hallway.
Well, here we go, Priest thought. God only knows how this is going to play out.
Chapter Nine
Damn, how in the hell are they mine?
~ Robbie
ROBBIE’S LEG WAS doing a nervous jig as he sat on his parents’ couch between Julien and Priest. It’d been around ten minutes since his mother had told them to go in there and wait, and the longer she took, the more nervous he became. He’d gone from sitting, to standing, to pacing, and now he was back to sitting again.
This was crazy. He knew he had nothing to worry about, and yet he felt worried about everything. Breathe, he told himself for the umpteenth time. Isn’t that what Julien always says? Deep breath in. Aaaand a deep breath out. Yeah, okay, that wasn’t doing shit for him.
“Relax,” Priest said by Robbie’s ear. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this nervous.”
Robbie’s head snapped to the side, and he pinned Priest with a stare. “Thank you for pointing that out, Mr. Priestley.”
When Priest’s lips curved, Robbie shook his head and pointed. “Stop that.”
“What?”
“Smiling at me. I told you, you look all wolfish.”
Priest leaned in until barely an inch separated them, and said in a voice designed to tantalize, “Get through this and I’ll eat you later for dessert.”
Robbie shook his head. “Mean. That was just mean.”
Julien smoothed his hand along the thigh that Robbie was bouncing up and down. “Why are you so nervous, princesse? You said yourself your family knows who you are. I can’t imagine your father is clueless.”
“No, he isn’t. That’s the thing,” Robbie said. “He was so amazing when I came out. Never once made me feel that I was any different from anyone else, even though he’s a—” Robbie laughed. “A total Italian. And by that, I mean boisterous, loud, and very Catholic. I just…” Robbie sighed. “I don’t think he ever expected something like this.” Robbie gestured to the three of them.
Priest eyed him. “You’re worried this will be too much for him.”
“No.” Robbie chewed on the corner of his lip and then whispered, “Yes.”
Julien brought Robbie’s hand up to his lips, and Robbie shut his eyes and tried to calm his hammering heart. “Let’s take it one step at a time, oui? Priest and I will follow your lead.”
Robbie nodded, and as Priest ran a hand up his back, he let his eyes fall shut. Okay, maybe I can do this. But when the sound of the back door opening met his ears, Robbie stiffened and shot to his feet. Or maybe I can just run now and never come back.
He could feel both Julien’s and Priest’s eyes on him and wished he could calm the hell down, but yeah, that ship had sailed.
As the familiar, heavy sound of his father’s footsteps got closer, Robbie reminded himself of his father’s words when he’d come out.
“I don’t care if you like girls or boys, wear blue or pink. You are my son, Robert. My son. I will always be proud of who you are and who you’re going to become. I’m especially proud of how brave you are being right now…”
Robbie wondered if his father would feel the same way when he was face to face with the reality of who exactly Robbie had become.
His mother entered the living room first, and as she did, Robbie heard Julien and Priest get to their feet. Shit. Shit. Shit. Just breathe. Don’t forget to breathe.
“You don’t have to do that. Sit, please,” she said as she waved both men down to the couch, but neither moved, and Robbie knew that had everything to do with the next person who entered the room—his father.
As tall as he was, but with broader shoulders, Robbie had always thought his father larger than life, and when he walked into the room and his piercing brown eyes swept over the scene, Robbie swallowed a nervous gulp of air.
Oh Jesus. What is he thinking? Say something, Robbie told himself. Say anything.
But as the silent seconds passed, and his father took the measure of the two men standing behind him, Robbie lost the ability to speak.
He wasn’t sure how long they all stood there, but after what felt like hours, his father’s eyes found his, and he walked across the room and said, “Hey there, gorgeous. It’s about time you got your ass back home.”
As he pulled Robbie into a warm embrace, Robbie wound his arms around him and closed his eyes. Then his father kissed his cheek and said in his ear, “You ever avoid this house or your mother again, I’m going to give away all your clothes to Goodwill.”
Robbie pulled back, his mouth dropping open. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His father shrugged. “You make my lady sad, I make you sad, pal. We came to that agreement years ago, remember?”
Robbie lowered his eyes, shame flooding him. Nothing cut deeper than knowing he’d hurt his ma, and as he turned in her direction, she said, “It’s all water under the bridge. The important thing is that you’re here now.”
“Just remember what I said,” his father said, and as Robbie nodded, he caught Felicity poking her head around the corner from the hallway. He glared at her. “Now, why don’t you introduce me to your guests,” Pa said.
Robbie brought his attention back to his father and searched for any sign of disapproval. But all he saw was curiosity. Deciding it was now or never to just lay it all out there, Robbie stood beside his father, and when he caught sight of Julien and Priest side by side, his breath caught in his throat.
Damn, how in the hell are they mine? He had no idea. But somehow, someway, these two impressive men were his, and it was time to acknowledge that with the people he loved the most.
“Ma? Pa? This is Julien and Priest—or, sorry, Joel. My boyfriends.” There. He’d finally said it out loud, face to face. And the world hadn’t ended.
Priest was the first to step forward, of course. Always bold, always brave, but most of all, Robbie knew that Priest stepped forward to test the waters before Julien approached.
Always watching out for his men, that was Priest, and in that moment, Robbie loved him more than he thought possible.
“Hello, Mr. Bianchi. I’m Joel Priestley.”
As Priest extended his hand and Pa took it, Robbie held his breath as they shared a firm handshake. Priest’s grey eyes then found his, and Robbie instantly felt the message he was trying to convey: Everything’s going to be all right.
“The lawyer, yeah? We’ve heard a lot about you.”
Yeah, I’m never going to run my mouth around this bunch again, Robbie thought.
“That’s right,” Priest said. “That’s me.”
“Antonio Bianchi.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Priest said, and released Pa’s hand to turn to Julien. “This is my husband, Julien.”
Oh shit, Robbie thought. Priest just put it all out there, didn’t he?
Julien stood beside Priest, and as Robbie’s father looked between them, Robbie thou
ght that this might be the moment. You know, the one where he decided that Robbie had lost his mind and told him to get out of his house?
But instead, his father said, “The chef?”
Julien held his hand out. “Oui. I am a chef.”
As Pa took Julien’s hand and gave it a hearty shake, he shook his head. “No, that’s not what I mean. You’re that French chef from the television.”
Julien chuckled. “That’s right. I was on the first season of Chef Master.”
“He won the first season,” Robbie’s mother chimed in as his father continued to look between both men, and Robbie wished like hell this was already over.
One thing about his father? If he didn’t want you to know what he was thinking, he was like a vault, kind of like Pr— Oh, hell no. Don’t even go there, Bianchi. You do not have daddy issues.
“And you two are married?” Pa asked Julien, as though testing the truth of Priest’s words.
“Oui. We are.”
Robbie winced at that, and as his father let go of Julien’s hand, he looked back at Robbie, who wondered what exactly he saw.
“Are you okay with that?” Pa said, and Robbie blinked a couple of times before managing, “Huh?”
“What have I told you about saying that, Robert?” his mother said, as Robbie continued to look at his father. “It’s excuse me or pardon.”
Robbie caught Priest’s lips quirk at the reprimand, and reminded himself to make Priest pay for that later. Right now, Robbie was trying to work out whether he’d just imagined what his father had said.
When it became clear he was having a few issues, his father repeated himself. “Are you okay with the fact that your boyfriends are married, Robert?”
Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought he said. “I am, yes.”
His father nodded, and then turned back to Priest and Julien. “Then I suppose you two have a busy weekend ahead of you, don’t you?” When they said nothing, Pa continued, “You have four women to win over before you get my stamp of approval. And trust me, they are the hardest crowd to convince you are worthy of this one. You make them happy, you make me happy. Capito?”
When Priest and Julien stared blankly, Robbie translated Priest’s favorite word for them: “Understand?”
Julien was the first to react, and his grin as he looked at his husband wasn’t lost on Robbie. Julien saw the similarities there too, and nodded. “Oui, we understand. Don’t we, Joel?”
“We do.”
“Good,” Robbie’s father said, and slung an arm around his son. “Now that that’s settled, where are your bags? I know you have to have a few. Your ma thought it best we put you in the guesthouse above the garage, since your room is a little small for, uh, all of you.”
Robbie was still trying to catch up with everything that had just happened. But then he realized he had to tell his mother they weren’t staying there, and that suddenly seemed worse than if he’d been about to confess to a murder.
“We, uhh…” Robbie started, and then looked at his mother. “We booked a room down at the waterfront.”
“Robert. You are not serious,” his mother said, and Julien—thank God for charming Frenchmen—quite possibly saved Robbie’s life.
“Veuillez m’excuser, Sofia. It was my suggestion. We didn’t want to inconvenience you any more than we already had, since there are three of us.”
“Oh,” she said, and offered him a bashful smile. “Nonsense. It’s no problem. We want you—both of you—to stay here with us.”
When Julien glanced at him, Robbie knew he was testing to see how he felt about that. And how did he feel? Less panicked, that was for sure, and he wanted his family to get to know Julien and Priest. So Robbie found himself nodding, and Julien said, “In that case, we’d love to stay. I’ll cancel the hotel.”
“Perfect,” she said. “It’s all ready and made up for you. We can show you there if you like.”
“Actually, Ma?” Robbie said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take them and make sure they know where everything is. It’s been a long day, and I think we’d like to all freshen up a little.” And maybe have a shot of alcohol.
“Of course,” she said, as his father gave Robbie’s shoulder a final squeeze and then let him go. “Dinner will be ready around six. Let us know if you need anything.”
Julien, Priest, and Robbie nodded at his parents, and Robbie didn’t miss the quizzical looks on their faces as they looked at the three of them.
His father nodded in their direction, and as his parents disappeared down the hall, Robbie heard his father say, “Felicity, I saw you standing there the entire time. Didn’t I teach you to be stealthier than that?”
His sister’s ringing laughter echoed up the hall, and Robbie looked at his men and said, “Well, now you’ve met my family.”
JULIEN AND PRIEST followed Robbie up some outside stairs that were connected to the double-car garage of his parents’ house.
It hadn’t escaped either of their attention that their princesse had become extremely tight-lipped after his mother and father had left them to settle in. But Julien had suggested that they give Robbie a minute or two to digest the fact that he’d just told his parents he was dating a married couple.
Considering how unusual that situation actually was, Julien thought Robbie’s parents had handled the news extremely well. They had suspected that Robbie’s mother would after meeting her back in Chicago, but since neither of them had met his father, they hadn’t been sure what to expect—and what they got was better than they could’ve ever imagined.
A tall, burly man, Antonio Bianchi had a full head of thick salt-and-pepper hair and eyes that were both intelligent and shrewd. He was an intimidating presence until he cracked a smile. But what had blown Julien and Priest away was how he’d come into the room, sized them up man-to-man, but then taken the time to reel in his obvious curiosity, to first put his son’s anxiety at ease.
The hug and genuine care he’d shown as he kissed Robbie on the cheek and greeted him had spoken volumes, and it was that moment that told them that, even if it took years, they would eventually win this man over, because all he wanted was for his family to be happy—and one thing Julien and Priest knew they did well was make Robbie happy. Something they planned to work on right now.
“This is nice,” Julien said, as Priest shut the door and put their final bags by it.
Robbie had sat on the edge of the mattress, and Julien sat down beside him.
“How you holding up, princesse?”
Robbie shrugged but wouldn’t look at him, and Julien suspected Robbie was feeling a little bit overwhelmed by everything that had happened today.
Julien glanced across the space to Priest, who was watching the two of them. He was leaning up against the door with his hands in his jeans pockets and had a frown on his face. He was letting Julien take the reins here, and Julien swayed into Robbie’s side, bumping their shoulders up against each other.
“Hey?” Julien said, and this time Robbie looked at him. “Thank you for bringing us here this weekend. You have a lovely family.”
“You’re welcome,” Robbie said, and then his lips quirked. “Sometimes I think they’re a little nuts.”
“They are,” Priest said, and when Robbie looked at him, Priest grinned and pushed off the door. “But to us, that’s wonderful.”
As Priest took a seat on the other side of Robbie, he took his hand and laced their fingers together.
“Yeah?” Robbie said, and he sounded almost shy. “I thought they might be a bit, I don’t know, much?”
Wait, Julien thought. Is he worried about our feelings right now? After he just told his parents what he did? Sweet, sweet man.
“They’re parfait,” Julien said. “I wish my parents had one ounce of the acceptance I felt in that house today. If they did, I might have some kind of relationship with them.”
Robbie blinked, and his eyes misted over a little. “They are pretty amazing, aren’t they?”
> Julien nodded. “Oui, they are. But we aren’t surprised.”
“No?” Robbie said.
“No.” Priest shook his head. “You are a very special man, Robert. It’s no surprise to anyone in this room that your family is also.”
Robbie raised a hand and wiped away the tear that had fallen free, relief clearly overwhelming him as it finally sank in that his world wasn’t about to explode because the two halves of it had met.
“Even if one of my sisters wants to get in your pants?”
“Well, we can’t hold her good taste against her now, can we?” Priest said with such a serious expression that Julien couldn’t help but chuckle, and Robbie started laughing and flopped back on the mattress.
As they all lay side by side, their fingers entwined, Robbie blew out a breath and said, “God, I can’t believe that just happened. That you both just met my family.”
Julien winked at Robbie. “And survived.”
“The first round, anyway,” Robbie said. “Pa wasn’t lying. My ma and sisters are going to drive you crazy over the next few days.”
“Bring it on,” Priest said. “Don’t you worry about us. We’re not going anywhere.”
Robbie bit his lip, stared up at the ceiling, and said under his breath, “I’ve never been happier in my entire life.”
Julien rolled onto his side and kissed Robbie’s cheek. “Bien.”
“Mhmm,” Robbie said, and turned to kiss Julien. “And you know what I just realized?”
“What’s that?” Julien said.
“This bed is a queen-sized.”
Their conversation from the night of Robbie’s birthday came flooding back, and as they started to laugh, Julien and Priest rolled into Robbie’s side and kissed him until he dissolved into a fit of giggles.
Chapter Ten
Don’t let the hormonal
pregnant woman out of your sight.
This is advice I never thought
I’d have to take ~ Julien