Loving Graham

by Kenna Knight

  “Oh shut up, Stone. It’s not a party without me, and you know it.”

  “True, come on, get in here with that baby girl. I’m dying to see her.”

  Theo carries the car seat to the dining room table, and I pull off the blanket. Inside is the most precious baby girl I’ve ever seen. It’s love at first sight. I can hardly wait to get my hands on her.

  “Oh dear God, she’s so much prettier in person. Get her out of there. I need to hold her.”

  I’m so enthralled with the baby I don’t notice them looking around for Noah. “Where’s Noah? I can’t believe he didn’t beat you to the door,” Bianca says.

  “He’s not here. He’s still in Ohio.”

  She shoves her hip out and places her hand on it with all of her Bianca attitude when she asks, “Why?”

  “He had some things to sort out,” I answer blandly.

  “Some things to sort out, huh? Boy, we know you’d never leave him to sort anything out alone. What happened? What did you do to him?”

  “I didn’t do anything to him. God, B, who are you loyal to anyway?”

  “I love you both equally. Now tell me what happened.”

  Theo hands me Rose, and I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. Not even Bianca’s incessant bickering is bothering me anymore. “Oh, aren’t you the prettiest girl in the world. Hi, Rosie, I’m your Uncle Liam, and I am going to spoil the sh… heck out of you forever and ever.” I’m going to have to work on my cursing. I love her already and her baby powdery pinkness.

  “Okay, okay, you snuggled the baby, now spill. What happened between you and Noah?” Bianca repeats.

  “All right, he had a panic attack after talking to his father on the phone at the cemetery. He said some crazy things about going to hell for being with me, and it freaked me out, so I came home. End of story.”

  Her face scrunches up like something smells horrible, and she looks at Theo, then Abe, and back to me before she points her finger in my face. “You’re stupid. You’re a stupid, stupid little boy. Get your head ‘outta your ass and call that man. He just lost his mama and his daddy’s playing games with his head, and you go off and leave him alone? What the hell is wrong with you, boy? Stupid, stupid, stupid.” She continues to repeat how stupid I am under her breath while she removes little Rosie from my arms and takes her into the living room.

  I just went from zero to one hundred on the feeling-like-shit scale. She’s right, Noah has been through hell, and I’m acting like a big baby. What is wrong with me?

  “Will you check on dinner, Abe? It’s in the oven, but it should be done any minute. I have to make a phone call.”

  “Sure, of course, go ahead,” he says, and I swear I hear him say stupid under his breath as he turns away from me. Great, how can this be so painfully obvious to everyone else and not me? Oh yeah, because I’m stupid, that’s right.

  It’s been three days since I left Ohio, and I haven’t heard from Noah or Kitty at all. Maybe I fucked this up beyond repair? Maybe he’s never coming home. Maybe he went back to Florida with Kitty. By the time he picks up the phone, I’m covered in sweat and holding my breath.

  “Noah?”

  “Yeah, hey, Liam.”

  I release the breath I was holding and fall limply onto the bed with relief. “I’m so glad you answered.”

  “Is everything okay?” he asks. Is everything okay, hell fucking no, it’s not okay.

  “No, Noah, nothing is okay. I’m sorry for being such a dick. Can you ever forgive me? I should never have left you there. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

  “Sounds like you’ve been talking to Bianca,” he says, but I can hear the smile in his voice. Forgiveness, oh please let that be forgiveness I hear.

  “How’d you know?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, she has a way of getting right to the point and making you feel like an asshole while she does it. Lawyers…”

  I chuckle. “You sure got that right. She’s right this time, though. I’ve been acting like a stupid, stupid baby.”

  “Oh, well I’m a fool-ass white boy so I’d say you got the kinder insult.”

  “Wait, you’ve talked to her, too?”

  “Yeah, she called me yesterday. She wanted us to come and see the baby. She didn’t know I was still here.”

  “She played us. She just bitched me out like she didn’t know what was going on.”

  “I figured. Anyway, I’m sorry, Liam. I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about at the cemetery. My dad had just dumped a big guilt trip on me and…”

  “Stop. You had a panic attack after your mother’s funeral. It’s perfectly understandable. I didn’t handle it well, and for that, I apologize. Now, will you please come home, I miss you like crazy. This apartment is so damn lonely.”

  “Yes. I’m already here, and I miss you, too.”

  His voice gradually sounds louder until I turn around and find my Noah standing just inside the bedroom holding his suitcase. I drop my phone on the bed, and he drops his bag on the floor. The hug that follows is epic, and the kiss after that, legendary.

  With his hands in my hair and mine cradling his face, I don’t waste one more second before I ask, “Noah Miller, will you please do me the greatest honor of marrying me?”

  His mouth falls open, and he gasps. “Yes, yes, I’ll marry you.” I kiss him long and hard and wet, and when I’m done, he starts to laugh.

  “What are you laughing at?”

  “We have company for dinner, and all I want to do is go make rainbows and fireworks with you. Isn’t that horrible?” He laughs harder, and I can’t help but chime in, his laugh is infectious.

  When we catch our breath, I kiss him again and close the bedroom door. I walk us to the bed, and when we fall on the mattress, I reach for my phone and group text our guests that we will be out in a few minutes.

  After we make rainbows and fireworks.

  Epilogue

  Bianca

  It’s wedding day at the Stone residence, and the entire house is buzzing with activity. Noah and Liam wanted to fly to Vegas and have a little ceremony alone, but there’s no way in hell this girl was about to let that happen. My boys deserve a beautiful, elaborate wedding with a reception that no one will ever forget, and I’m giving it to them.

  I’ve known since kindergarten these two knuckleheads would end up together someday. I watched Liam silently take care of Noah in elementary school and junior high. He would scan the playground for bullies when we went out for recess and shared his lunch when Noah forgot his, or when his father wouldn’t give him one, which happened a lot. Noah’s father was a douche. We all knew it, but nobody said anything, we didn’t want to make Noah feel worse than he already did.

  Then in high school, Noah practically lived at Liam’s house. His parents loved him like he was their own, and now, as it turns out, he will be. Liam and Noah are the epitome of meant to be.

  It’s June in Washington, D.C., and the house is decorated from top to bottom. Noah used some of the money his mother left him to buy a beautiful historic home in Georgetown. The house was made for weddings with its long curving staircase and enormous foyer. The happy couple will be descending the stairs to be married by none other than moi at the bottom.

  The reception will be held in the backyard where a zillion fragrant St. Joseph’s lilies are strung upside down and hanging like a floral blanket over the entire yard. That was my brilliant idea because not only am I the best lawyer and the best babysitter, I am the best wedding planner ever.

  I hear the wedding march playing. It’s time to go marry these boys up so I can have more babies to ogle and spoil!

  Happy Wedding Day, boys! I love you both, Bianca.

  Acknowledgments

  It’s time to thank people! I love this part!

  First off, I want to thank everyone at Prism Heart Press for making the sometimes-complicated process of writing and publishing a book go so smoothly. I appreciate your har
d work and dedication so much.

  Second I must thank my editor, Nicki Kuzn. You are wonderful to work with! It was amazing to work with someone who gave constructive criticism and helpful hints. I look forward to working with you more in the future.

  Third, Wow! Did you see that cover? OMG, it’s gorgeous! Louisa Maggio, your talent has far surpassed my expectations! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for book #2 in this series!

  Next up, I want to thank all of the wonderful ARC readers who were willing to take time out of their busy schedules to read and review my first m/m romance. You’re the best, and I hope to have you on board to do the same for book #2.

  And last but never least, I must thank my kids for being so supportive and forgiving while I wrote this book. You mean the world to me, muah!

  Connect With Kenna!

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  Acknowledgments

  It’s time to thank people! I love this part!

  First off, I want to thank everyone at Prism Heart Press for making the sometimes-complicated process of writing and publishing a book go so smoothly. I appreciate your hard work and dedication so much.

  Second I must thank my editor, Nicki Kuzn. You are wonderful to work with! It was amazing to work with someone who gave constructive criticism and helpful hints. I look forward to working with you more in the future.

  Third, Wow! Did you see that cover? OMG, it’s gorgeous! Louisa Maggio, your talent has far surpassed my expectations! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for book #2 in this series!

  Next up, I want to thank all of the wonderful ARC readers who were willing to take time out of their busy schedules to read and review my first m/m romance. You’re the best, and I hope to have you on board to do the same for book #2.

  And last but never least, I must thank my kids for being so supportive and forgiving while I wrote this book. You mean the world to me, muah!

  About the Author

  Kenna Knight was born and raised in the Midwest and now lives in sunny California with her children and her fur babies. Kenna is a laugh out loud extroverted introvert who has a voracious appetite for reading all types of romance stories.

  A former health care professional turned romance author Kenna thrives on working full time from home where she can keep an eye on her kids. Kenna has been writing contemporary romance for five years under other pen names but only recently read her first m/m romance novel. She liked it so much she decided to try writing the genre herself and found that she loved it.

  Kenna enjoys writing emotional stories with a touch of heartache; a pinch of disappointment, a smidgen of healing and a king sized helping of happily ever after.