“What are you going to do about it?”
Garrett scrubbed his face with his hands. “I think I blew it. Did you see how he looked at me?”
“Blew what?” Rebecca asked as she came into the room and settled into Gavin’s lap.
Gavin wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “Garrett’s been seeing Clayton.”
“Is it serious?” she asked.
He nodded. Nausea and pain washed through him. He’d just thrown away the best thing that ever happened to him for a night with a man who’d never been enough.
“But John spent the night here last night.” Her dark brows rose and her mouth twisted into a frown. “Garrett, tell me you didn’t.”
“He didn’t.” John stood in the door, his hair still rumpled from sleeping in the guest room, his bare feet sticking out from the bottom of his pajamas. “Believe me. He definitely didn’t.”
“But you didn’t call Clayton last night either, did you?” Rebecca shook her head and stood up. “When will you men learn?”
Gavin followed her out of the room and John sat down on the corner of Garrett’s desk. “He must be something.”
“Yeah, but I’m a real shithead.”
John picked up Garrett’s mug and took a sip. He winced and set it back down. “I need something stronger than coffee this morning. I called and changed my flight. I’ll grab a shower and head to the airport.” At the door, he turned back. “You know where to find me if you ever change your mind.” Then, with a smile, he added, “I can’t believe the notes didn’t work.”
“I never wanted to play games,” Garrett said. He didn’t bother to try and explain what he wanted again. John couldn’t give it to him.
Chapter 15
Garrett checked his phone for the umpteenth time. Still no response to the three voicemails he’d left Clayton. The theater board meeting ended later than expected, and the concession area of the old movie palace was filled with moviegoers. Gargoyles stared down from the domed ceiling, keeping a close eye on the commotion below. After years of tireless effort, every inch of the historic building had been restored to its original glory and the palace was experiencing a rebirth. Movies played throughout the day in the large auditorium and the smaller venues were used for dance and drama troupes.
Garrett checked his watch. The class Clayton taught should be rehearsing for their upcoming performance. He crossed the polished marble floor of the concession area and passed under a tapestry that hung below the arched entrance of a secondary hallway. He stopped outside the auditorium door and steadied himself before quietly slipping inside.
Onstage at the front of the small, dimly lit auditorium, Clayton interrupted a lackluster attempt at a Shakespearean soliloquy with the clap of his hands. His boots thudded softly across the stage and his jeans moved against his tight ass in a way that caused Garrett’s breath to hitch.
He stopped in the exact spot they’d made love, but didn’t even glance down at the forest floor.
“Monica, sweetheart, throw your heart into it,” Clayton addressed the teenage girl on the balcony. “Romeo’s got a script to follow, too. He can’t wing any curve balls at you. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Give it everything you’ve got.”
His drama student nodded and began again. This time she delivered a much more convincing rendition.
Clayton applauded loudly and the other kids joined him. Juliet beamed and Garrett realized he was beaming, too. The kids all looked the way Clayton’s guests looked after a week at the ranch. He brought out the best in people. Made them feel good about themselves and proud of who they were. Garrett’s heart contracted.
Clayton turned to walk offstage. He caught Garrett’s eye and his steps faltered. “Take five,” he said loudly.
The bustle of kids filled the theater as Clayton made his way up the aisle toward Garrett. Garrett’s heart sped up and regret filled him. How had he ever hurt this genuine, incredible man?
“I’m sorry. Please tell me I can make it right again,” Garrett said as soon as Clayton had come to a stop in front of him.
Clayton gave him a look that melted every bone in his body. “John left, so you came back to me?” He shook his head. “No, Garrett. I’m not anybody’s second choice. Not even yours.”
The words were like a punch in the gut. “It’s not like that.”
“From where I’m standing, it’s exactly like that. I hope he finally makes you happy.” He turned around quickly and clapped his hands again. “Let’s take it from the top of scene two. Love is a tragedy people. Give the audience all the pain they’re paying for.”
His students laughed and took their places. Garrett waited, but Clayton never even glanced back to see if he was still there.
Chapter 16
Two weeks passed. Clayton wouldn’t take his calls. He had turned in his resignation to Gavin the morning after Garrett interrupted his rehearsal.
Garrett had even gone to his house a couple of times, hoping to catch him at home. If he’d been there the first time, he didn’t answer the door.
The second time, Garrett hadn’t even gotten out of his truck. The real estate sign in the front yard had knocked the wind out of him.
Clayton wasn’t playing games. He’d made up his mind. And Garrett didn’t stand a chance of changing it if he couldn’t even see him.
Now at the front of the dark auditorium, the curtain rose for the audience’s standing ovation and Clayton joined his cast onstage for their final bow. Garrett applauded loudly, but the thundering claps didn’t compare to the pounding of his heart.
The beautiful, talented man smiling out at the crowd and beaming at his young protégés deserved the kind of love that never let him down. He deserved a Romeo.
As the patrons filed out of the auditorium, Garrett made his way against the foot traffic like a salmon fighting his way upstream.
By the time he made it to the front, Clayton and the cast had already gone backstage, but Garrett knew every hidden nook of this theater. It didn’t take him long to find him. A young Juliet clung to his neck and wiped tears from her eyes.
“We’re going to miss you,” she said. “No one teaches us the way you do.”
“I know Grier personally,” Clayton assured her. “He’s fabulous. You’ll love him in a minute and forget all about me.”
She laughed through her tears. “You’re unforgettable.” She gave him another quick squeeze and then walked away.
Garrett swallowed the lump in his throat and waited.
Clayton must have felt his presence because when he turned around, there wasn’t any hint of surprise in his eyes.
“Why are you here?”
“Because Juliet’s right.” Garrett reached for his arm. “You’re unforgettable.”
Clayton pulled his arm from Garrett’s grasp and sized him up, obviously not ready to let him off that easily.
“Let me try to make it up to you,” Garrett said.
“Try?”
“Let me make it up to you. I need you. I didn’t sleep with John. It’s over. He finally understands that. You’re the only man I want and I can’t let you walk away.”
Clayton’s expression softened and Garrett’s heart swelled with hope.
“What if you can’t stop me?”
“I have to.” Garrett stepped closer. “You’re more than I ever thought I’d find. You’re everything to me.”
“I can’t cook.” A smile touched Clayton’s lips, but his eyes grew serious. “And I mean it. I won’t ever take second place.”
“We’ll eat out. And I swear you don’t have to worry about John or anyone else.” The door to the theater closed and the last of the voices faded down the corridor. Garrett nodded toward some of the trees and the grass carpet that had been moved off stage. “I want you. Right here. Right now. I have to know you’re still mine.”
Clayton shook his head and his lips curled into a smile so sexy it took Garrett’s breath away. “I think the fairies
in this garden have seen enough. Let’s go home.”
Garrett pulled him in for a kiss. Every brush of lips, every slide of tongue had him thanking his lucky stars he’d found his partner. Clayton cupped his ass and gave it a territorial squeeze.
“I’m sorry about John,” Garrett said when they finally came up for air.
Clayton tightened his grip on his ass. “When I get done with you, you won’t even remember his name.”
“Who’s name?”
“Now that’s my man talking.” Clayton stepped close enough that Garrett could feel his hard cock and the rise of his chest when he breathed. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, cowboy. I’ve got plenty of ways for you to make this up to me.”
“I’m yours,” Garrett said. “Here. L.A. Wherever you want me. Nothing matters to me more than you do. Gavin and I can find a way to make the ranch work without me on property if we need to. I’m yours. And I’ll make it up to you every day for the rest of my life.”
Epilogue
Clayton had just placed the last egg roll on a serving dish they’d gotten as a wedding present and tossed the takeout containers in the trash when a reflection off Garrett’s truck flashed in the bay window. The food would be a waste tonight. He’d never get Garrett to settle down enough to eat a bite.
He poured a glass of wine and set the bottle down as the door to the mudroom closed. The look in Garrett’s eyes as he crossed the kitchen sparked a fever in his chest. The weeks Garrett couldn’t join him in Los Angeles were hell on both of them.
“Somebody missed me,” Clayton said.
Garrett set the wine he offered on the counter and took him in his arms. Their lips met with a passion four years hadn’t dampened. Clayton leaned into the kiss, holding Garrett’s tense neck in his hands, pressing his body close.
“I hate sleeping without you,” Garrett said against his throat.
“I am a much better lover than your right hand.” He felt Garrett smile and some of the tension leave his body.
“How’d the meeting go?”
“The board is in agreement, it’s time to add to the team of designers. But space is limited, and moving the company to a larger building or housing the design department in a separate location is cost prohibitive.”
“So is expansion on hold for now?”
Clayton smiled. “I offered up my office. With minor remodeling it’ll easily accommodate the new design team, and my new home office will be much less expensive than any of the alternatives.”
“So you’ll work out of our apartment in L.A.?”
Clayton shook his head slowly and reached around to caress Garrett’s ass. “I’ll work from here, and sleep with my husband at night.” He leaned in for another kiss. “Every night.”
Garrett backed him into the countertop.
The slab of granite at his back didn’t have anything on the rock-hard cock that pressed against his. “As much as I like being stuck between this rock and hard place, you need to see what I did this afternoon.”
Clayton led the way down the hall, but stopped at the open door of the guest room next to their master.
Outside, the snow had melted from everywhere but the mountain tops framed by the bedroom window. Inside, a new mahogany crib stood where the queen bed had been.
Garrett’s hand in Clayton’s trembled. “She’s not due for another two weeks. The painters don’t come until next week.” Tears shone in his eyes as he searched Clayton’s face. “We agreed not to put the crib up until we knew she was ours.”
A previous attempt to adopt had nearly killed them when the birth mother changed her mind at the eleventh hour, and they’d taken every precaution this time around not to set themselves up for that kind of fall.
Clayton didn’t wipe away the tear that rolled down his own cheek. “I got the call a couple of hours ago. She was born at 12:02 this morning. Her birth mother signed the paperwork this afternoon, and our little girl will be released from the hospital day after tomorrow. She’s healthy and beautiful. My mom and dad are there with her now, so she’s not alone.”
Garrett started down the hall. “Why are we here? We have to pack. We have to get to the air—”
Clayton caught his arm and pulled him close. “Our suitcase is packed. The first flight back to L.A. leaves in three and a half hours.” He kissed him softly. “We can’t get to her any faster than that.”
Garrett inhaled and the overload of emotions poured out of him in a staggered breath that gave a tremor to his words. “You’ve given me everything I ever wanted.” The love shining in his eyes melted Clayton to the core.
He trailed his knuckles along the line of Garrett’s jaw. “And I didn’t even have to learn to cook.”
THE END
www.wendidarlin.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendi Darlin loves to write stories about rural life that take her back to her roots. She rarely ventures far from the places she knows well, but when she does you can bet her heroes will still be wearing jeans and talking in a smooth drawl that will seep straight into your heart..
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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