Made In Manhattan (Made In Series Book 2)

by Ana Newfolk

  “Max, did you say we’re getting married today?”

  “We’re getting married today,” he confirmed as he put his hand around my neck to pull me in for a kiss.

  “How? Where?”

  “We’re going to Jojo’s house in the Hamptons. Lucy, Diogo, Fernando, Micah, and Peter are already there making everything pretty for us.”

  I would always have said yes to a proposal from Max but I didn’t think it would happen so soon, like today. I also thought we needed to talk about the last few days.

  I was so happy I didn’t even know how to quantify how much, but this was on the back of my mind, and if we were really getting married today, we needed to talk first.

  We were getting married today. Fuck. I chuckled.

  Max turned to me, crossing one leg under the other on the leather seat of the car, and reached over to press a button that made the partition between us and the driver go dark.

  “Wow, I thought that only happened in movies,” I said.

  “Isaac, we are getting married today.” He said it and then repeated it as though even he was suddenly realizing it. His hand came up to put some stray curls behind my ear and he let his thumb caress my skin and trace my lips.

  “We have an hour until we get there.” For a moment I thought he meant we were going to make use of the large comfortable seats of the car to make out but Max drew out a breath and started talking.

  “You have no idea how much I want to lay you down on this seat and make out until we get to the Hamptons but we need to have an important conversation first.”

  I took Max’s hands in mine. “I know, Max, I’m so sorr—”

  “—no, baby, please let me speak first,” he said. “I didn’t handle it in the right way when you told me about this trip, but you were right, I needed to tell Joel.”

  “I’m still sorry I pushed you,” I said.

  “Don’t be. I spent so much time hiding that secret from him that I forgot that he is family and loves me as such, and for the record, so are you. Family, that is. You and Lucy, you are my family now.”

  “That’s good, because Dorian called while we were in Lisbon to say they decided to stay in Paris for the next year so Jean-Paul’s mom can be part of Stephanie’s upbringing. I guess you’re stuck with me.”

  “Baby, I’m marrying you because I want to be stuck with you forever.” He chuckled but then his face took on a more serious note. “Are you sure you want to stay in Manhattan? The Rainbow Foundation is your life. I don’t want you to feel you have to give it up. I speak Portuguese; I don’t mind moving to Lisbon.”

  “We have at least a year to talk about it and make a decision, besides, it’s Lucy’s decision too.” I decided we’d covered all of the important topics so I pulled him in for a kiss.

  We’d been so engrossed in our conversation we didn’t realize how close we were to our destination so Max asked the driver if he could drive us around for an additional thirty minutes so we could make the best use of the fancy car to make out.

  “Jesus, Isaac, I haven’t seen you for days.” He sucked my bottom lip as he pushed his hips into mine, making me gasp at the feel of our straining erections under the zippers of our jeans. “There is a strong possibility I might die if I don’t get you naked under me.”

  Max was already on top of me so I stated the obvious. “We’re one step away, baby.” I went for his sweater but he stopped me.

  “Not now or I’ll have to get the driver to take a twelve-hour detour until I’m done with you, and we have a house full of people waiting to see us get married.”

  “Twelve hours, huh? I’ll collect on that,” I said as we straightened up, and I adjusted myself, silently apologizing to my neglected cock, promising all the fun later.

  “I should hope so, future husband.”

  The house was a hive of activity and the second we stepped through the door lots of simultaneous things happened.

  Lucy came to hug us, to tell us off for behaving like spoiled brats, and then directed us to the rooms upstairs.

  Micah and Fernando were placing a decorative garland on top of the fireplace and Diogo was directing them and shouting at them to be quick.

  Joel pulled Max into a room and I barely had a chance to give him a quick kiss before David pulled me into the room opposite.

  “You’ll get plenty of time for that later,” David said.

  Getting dressed in a suit for my wedding wasn’t something I’d ever thought would happen, and here I was, with my best friend fussing over my unruly curls to make sure I looked my best for my future husband.

  David was like a brother to me so I relished the chance to do something like this with him, considering Alex would be my official best man.

  “Your maid of honor is currently sleeping on her dad’s chest,” David said while straightening my tie. “Can’t say I blame her. Alex is gorgeous.”

  “That’s my little brother you’re talking about.”

  “So, you’re saying we can’t appreciate a good specimen of the male species when it’s lying there with the cutest baby on the planet in its arms?”

  I punched his shoulder. “Stop it. I’ll tell Joel.”

  “What? And you think he’ll disagree?” He laughed.

  “Are you happy?” I asked.

  “With Joel?”

  I nodded. David stopped what he was doing and put both his hands on my shoulders.

  “When I used to have really shit days, I always looked forward to getting home, having a shower, and then sitting on my couch facing the window and reading or researching recipes. It calmed me down and also activated my brain in a way I felt energized afterwards.”

  “Yeah, I get that too when I surf.”

  “Every time I look at Joel I get the same feeling. He’s my home, my comfortable place, my safety net, and also the person that challenges and energizes me. So yeah, I’m happy.”

  There was a knock on the door and Alex came in to take me downstairs. I suddenly felt very nervous, I was shaking, and my hands were damp.

  “Isaac,” David said before he left the room, “you and Max are perfect together, as perfect as Joel and I, Alex and Joana. Life will throw shit at you, but as long as you remember what’s at the core of your relationship you can face it all together, and that’s all that matters.”

  My brother smiled at David’s parting words and held out his arms. “I’m so proud of you, big brother. Now let’s go and get you married.”

  There was no groom waiting for the other groom at the altar. I met Max by the double doors leading to the living room and we walked up together toward the fireplace where none other than Judge Benson was waiting to marry us.

  “You look beautiful,” Max said as he held his hand out for me.

  “You don’t look too bad yourself. Still want to marry me?” I winked.

  His eyes were dark but warm. “Every day for the rest of my life,” he said.

  I squeezed Max’s hand as we made our way up slowly, taking the time to look at our friends and family standing on either side of the aisle.

  All the faces looking back at us were full of happiness, love, and pride. Despite everything that had happened to us in the past, both Max and I had been very lucky to be the people we were today.

  As we walked past Lucy, who looked so beautiful in a purple dress with her dark curly hair pinned back, one more piece fell into place in my life. I would be a parent, big brother, whatever Lucy wanted me to be. We would be a family.

  The ceremony itself didn’t take long. I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off Max and even as I said my vows and tears blurred my vision I still held his gaze.

  As soon as Judge Benson declared us married, Max took me in for a kiss amid loud cheers from everybody. Even Sofia was giggling and clapping in her mom’s arms.

  Before they all gathered around to congratulate us, Max held his hands up to request a moment. We’d discussed this in the car on the way here and it felt like the right thing to do but I wa
s still nervous as hell.

  “Thank you all for being here today and for all your help making it happen. I couldn’t be happier sharing the moment I married the love of my life in the presence of my friends, new, and not so new.” Max looked at Joel and they shared a smile.

  “Isaac and I are very much looking forward to our life together. Most newlyweds wait some time after getting married before they make any additions to their family, but we already have someone.”

  Max extended his hand to Lucy who approached shyly since she was being put on the spot in front of lots of people she didn’t know well.

  “Lucy, it’s been a privilege to get to know you and see you grow into yourself since the day we met on the steps of my apartment building. It scared me to be someone’s big brother, and it took my husband to make me realize all I needed to do was love you. That was the easy part.”

  Lucy’s eyes were wet with unshed tears and I wasn’t faring any better, unlike Max who looked strong and determined as he asked the question.

  “Lucy Lopez, Isaac and I would very much like to adopt you if you would have us. Will you?”

  There was a small pause before Lucy covered her face with her hands and leaned into Max. She nodded and then put her arms around us both.

  My eyes locked with Max. We finally had our own family, one that would never let us face life alone again.

  He mouthed over Lucy’s head, “I love you.”

  I mouthed back, “I love you more.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Max

  “Have you got everything you need?” I asked for the hundredth time.

  “Yes, Daddy,” Lucy replied with a mocking childish voice.

  “And the presents?”

  “Those too. Gotta go. See you in two days.”

  She hugged Isaac and me and ran out the door to spend the weekend with Diogo. Lucy had started volunteering at the hospital and this weekend they were handing out presents to the children that weren’t well enough to go home for Christmas. I was so proud of her.

  It had been nearly a month since the wedding. Lucy was completely settled with us, and her romance with Diogo was blooming before our eyes.

  Her confidence had grown so much. Lucy was funny, witty, and as fiery as you’d expect from a girl with Latin roots, and I absolutely loved her.

  She was turning seventeen in January. We were travelling back to Lisbon for Sofia’s Christening and Lucy was coming with us. What she didn’t know was that as part of her present Diogo was coming too.

  “So, Daddy…” Isaac drawled as he came close and put his hands around my waist.

  “Not you too.” I groaned.

  “The Christmas tree is decorated, dinner is in the oven, and we have the apartment to ourselves for the weekend.”

  He pressed against me and I felt the hardness of his erection against mine. It was near enough impossible to not get hard when he was this close to me.

  My husband was absolute perfection and I still pinched myself every day I woke up with him in my arms.

  “We don’t quite have the apartment to ourselves, do we?” I looked at where Max, the cat, was curled up on top of his favorite pillow in front of the fireplace. He’d only arrived from Portugal last week but had already made himself at home in the apartment.

  “Do you think he’s going to like it here?” Isaac asked.

  “Look at him. Have you ever seen a more chilled cat? He hasn’t even jumped anyone.”

  “Maybe he’s sad. Do you think he misses his boyfriend?”

  I chuckled at how adorable Isaac was, pulled him closer to my chest, and kissed those soft unruly curls of his that I loved so much.

  “How about in the new year we take him to the animal shelter and see if we can find him a new friend?”

  Isaac pulled back, his eyes wide, and his mouth sporting a grin.

  “You’re serious?”

  “I’m serious, baby. I think it would be nice to have a dog to keep Max company.”

  Over the last few weeks we’d talked about how we felt about being parents and we’d decided we wanted to have our own biological children but also to adopt.

  Our lives had changed massively in such a short time and we had Lucy in our lives now, so we’d decided we’d look into it once Lucy was away at college.

  We didn’t know if she was going to stay local or not so we wanted to keep all options open for now and start with the dog.

  “Anyway, what were you saying about this weekend?” I inhaled the familiar scent of Isaac’s shower gel and ran my hands down his back, stopping only when I reached the globes of his butt.

  “I vote for a naked weekend,” Isaac said.

  “You’ve been speaking to Dorian again, haven’t you?”

  “The man does have some good ideas.”

  “Couldn’t agree more.” I moved my hands to remove his sweater when his stomach growled. I laughed. “Let me feed my husband first. Wouldn’t want him wasting away by the end of the weekend.”

  “Lead the way, husband.”

  We had dinner and then sat in front of the fireplace, finishing wrapping the last presents now that Lucy wasn’t around.

  The apartment looked like a Christmas fairy tale thanks to the creative powers of Lucy and Isaac.

  “Do you think we went a bit overboard with the Christmas decorations?” Isaac asked.

  “What, you mean not everybody has two Christmas trees in their living room?”

  Isaac moved to give me a playful punch but I maneuvered him so he was flat on his back with me straddling him.

  I licked a path from his neck to his lips where I sucked them into my mouth, first the bottom one, and then the top one before my tongue played with his for dominance.

  He was raising his hips to meet mine. My capacity for coherent thought was rapidly evaporating.

  “Baby,” I said, “when does this naked weekend start?”

  “Fucking now.”

  My sweater was removed and I think I heard the buttons on my shirt pop out. It didn’t matter. All that did matter was feeling Isaac’s soft, warm skin against mine.

  We didn’t last long but boy we were noisy. Even Max left us with disdain to go to Lucy’s room.

  “Fuck, that was good,” Isaac said, catching his breath.

  “We’re going to need more of these naked weekends.”

  “You have my vote. Shall we clean up and take this to bed?” he suggested.

  “Absolutely.”

  I felt Isaac’s arms come around me from the back. I don’t know how long I’d been staring through the window at the street outside.

  “Are you okay?”

  I turned and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

  “I was thinking about… well, lots of things. I never thought I would have another Portuguese Christmas Eve celebration, and here we are, expecting lots of friends to join us tomorrow.

  “I was thinking how it’s been a year since Sílvia and Gary died and how much I miss them.”

  My voice caught in my throat, and tears ran down my cheek. Isaac caught them with his thumbs, never taking his eyes off mine.

  “And I was thinking about how we met a year ago and for the first time in my life, even if for those two days, I felt like myself, I felt light, excited, even loved.

  “Isaac, when I think about the dark moments in my life when I didn’t think I was worthy of being loved I never thought I’d find what we have.”

  “Oh, baby. You are worthy. If there is a person in this world that is more than worthy of being loved that person is you, and I do love you with all my heart. Lucy too.”

  I hugged him tight and his curls tickled my nose. Maybe he was right, and damned if I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life making sure of it.

  I saw the phone buzzing on the kitchen table and looked at the screen.

  “Babe, your phone is ringing. It’s Tiago.”

  Isaac came running from the bathroom with a towel around his hips. I turned from where I was s
tanding facing the stove to give him a look of appreciation.

  He grabbed a dishcloth and threw it at me before walking out of the kitchen as he answered the phone.

  “Hey, Tiago, what’s up?”

  I managed to catch up with him and pulled the towel off, leaving him stark naked in the middle of the living room.

  He held up a hand, warning me to stop, as his face went serious.

  “Okay, send it to me. Thanks, Tiago. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “What’s up, babe?”

  “Tiago thinks he found Vítor, Mário’s brother.”

  “I didn’t think he started looking yet.”

  “He hasn’t, apparently the guy walked in the Center asking for help.”

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “Yeah, it’s perfect.”

  “You know what else is perfect?”

  I put my arms around him and kissed a path from his shoulder, up his neck to his ear.

  “Hmm, what is?” he sighed, tilting his head to give me better access.

  “Your soft skin, your big heart. You, baby. You are perfect.”

  Also by Ana Newfolk

  Now you know how Max and Isaac got their HEA you can see how it all started in Made In New York - A Christmas Short Story.

  You can purchase it on Amazon or read it for free with Kindle Unlimited.

  New York. Paris. A friendship across continents and ages.

  In Paris, days before Christmas, and on the most important stage of their lives, Dorian and Jean-Paul stumble upon the many letters they exchanged over the years since they became penpals at the tender age of ten.

  Watch what happens when friendship turns into more.

  Distance, tragedy, and fear.

  Will anything get in the way of their love?

  A sweet gay romance set in the most romantic city with a happy ever after from the author of Made in Portugal, Ana Newfolk.

  Made In Paris is a 10k word standalone gay romance short story with a HEA ending and no cliffhanger.