His father saw right through him. “I’ll bet.”
Chapter Fourteen
Landry
DOVER CAME over to his booth close to three o’clock. The plan was they’d take their turn in the windows, and then Landry would dash off to his performance in the Postcards show, leaving Dover to close up shop; then the two of them would drive their separate cars back to Landry’s and pick up where they left off until the last possible moment. Dover had said he was on holiday break from his job with the school district, and Landry had already planned to take the day off to recuperate from the weekend, so they had many hours of bliss ahead of them.
“Are you ready to become the most talked-about event in the history of the Dickens Family Christmas Fair?” Landry whispered in his ear, inhaling Dover’s incredible scent.
Dover’s eyes darted around at all the people gathered. Trudy had told a few people, which at fair translated to everyone and their brother and cousin showing up outside Landry’s booth.
“So we’ll do what we rehearsed, yeah?” Dover shoved his hands in his pockets and fidgeted with them.
“Of course. If you don’t want to do it, I totally understand.”
“No. I said I would. I want to do this for you.”
Landry knew how hard that had been for Dover, coming out of his comfort zone. He’d been elated when Dover finally explained his reluctance to get involved. Landry could understand. On the surface Landry knew he projected confidence and a carefree spirit, but it took effort at times to keep up that façade. There were many times when he too felt nervous. Like now. This act they were about to perform for the Dickens crowd was intensely intimate. While Landry was affectionate and had many dear friends, he hadn’t had a serious boyfriend in a very long time, and he kept his affairs private. Going public with Dover was an intentional step for both of them, for different reasons.
“Let’s do this.” Dover kissed his cheek and stepped past him into the small booth. He stood with his back to the opening and unbuttoned his shirt. Gasps and squeals sounded outside the window, and Landry could imagine the picture Dover made with his long hair flowing, his tattoos on display, his proud jaw lifted to give that aristocratic air he was totally unaware he had.
Landry stepped in behind him and slid the shirt from his shoulders as he stood perfectly still. Dover raised his arms to the side in a T position, and Landry produced a tape measure, stepping close to wind it around his waist. Being this close to him made Landry’s heart pound so loud, he was sure the audience could hear it.
“Your hands are freezing,” Dover whispered, and Landry cracked a smile, attempting to hide his face.
“We’re not supposed to talk, silly.”
They held that pose for a few more beats, and then Dover placed a hand on Landry’s and turned to face him.
“I have something for you,” he whispered.
He pulled something out of his pocket that was wrapped in a maroon pouch made of suede. Dover cradled it in trembling hands. All of this was done incrementally, their attempt to keep the show authentic. Dover looked up and locked eyes with Landry.
“A peace offering. Happy Christmas.”
He slowly moved his hands forward and presented the pouch to Landry.
“What is it?”
Dover gave him his special smile. “I made this for you. Open it.”
Landry frowned, totally forgetting about the audience and untied the laces that closed the pouch. He pulled back the sides and sucked in a breath.
Inside was a set of sewing implements used to make corsets. A pair of shears, an awl, and an eyelet setting tool, all with handcrafted handles made of deep burgundy polished wood. They were absolutely beautiful.
“How did you…? When did you…?”
“I ordered some of these kits a while ago. Remember my teacher Mrs. Ramirez? This summer? She was asking me if I could make sewing tools for her. I researched what tools you’d need to make something as beautiful as you made for me, and sure enough, I had what I needed. The wood, I thought, complements the color of the corset. I hope they’ll be useful.”
Landry wiped at a tear and a sob escaped. It was truly the most wonderful thing anyone had ever done for him, and here he was blubbering in front of everyone.
Dover quickly pulled him in for a hug, and Landry buried his face in Dover’s hair.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t. I’m… overwhelmed. These are incredibly thoughtful. I will be so careful with them.”
Applause broke out on the other side of the window, and the two men had trouble getting their awkward laughter and tears under control.
“We have to finish,” Dover whispered. “The holes in the pouch are there so you can slide it on a belt and wear it, but you don’t have to, you know.”
“Of course I will! I’m so in love with these, Dover. I will treasure them.” He slid the pouch into the inside pocket of his suitcoat and took his time measuring Dover’s torso from the sternum down to below his navel while he tried to get his emotions under control.
“I was going to give them to you yesterday. I’m sorry. I probably should have done it a little more privately.”
Landry thought back to the perfect night they’d had. “You gave me so much last night,” he whispered coyly. “Why not this?”
“Well, I planned on it, but when I found you, you were nearly naked, and then I had other things on my mind.”
It was time to end their display. Landry knew they had a mixed audience, and that he’d have to behave, but he couldn’t go one more minute. He looped his tape measure around Dover and pulled him closer, planting a kiss on his lips.
They held still with only their lips pressed together while the crowd cheered them on, and that was their reminder not to take the kiss deeper. The passion building between them was akin to a leaky dam ready to burst.
“Happy Christmas, Dover,” Landry whispered.
“I can’t wait to take you home,” Dover replied.
Landry pulled back and found his smile mirrored in Dover’s. They turned and took very gentlemanly bows for their audience and then closed the curtains. Landry pulled him in for one more kiss, this time with lots of salacious tongue action, and when Dover made that groan that curled Landry’s toes, he knew it was time for them to go.
Chapter Fifteen
July
Dover
“ARE YOU almost ready?”
It was nearly impossible to get out of the house on time with Landry Malcolm, and they needed to get set up at the TreasureFest. They’d babysat at Darwish and Miranda’s the night before for little Adhira and then stayed up for hours talking about babies.
“I’m nearly there, babe,” Landry said. “Sorry. Can you grab the coffee and bagels for the ride?”
“Already done.”
Dover could only shake his head. He’d been up since five, had showered and made coffee, packed breakfast, hooked Landry’s trailer to his truck, and was waiting for Landry to finish getting dressed and whatever else he needed to do to be Landry for the day.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Landry said, finally coming out of the bedroom. He walked straight to Dover and kissed him before walking out the door. “It’s really your fault, though. If you hadn’t kept me up late—”
“Just get in the truck,” Dover said, laughing at his boyfriend’s excuses.
The last six months had been both thrilling and insane at the same time. They’d spent all of their free time together, only apart for work and Dover’s band practices, which Landry often crashed with his entourage. They’d been doing the monthly art and craft shows on Treasure Island with adjacent booths as well. Landry insisted on stocking Dover’s wares in his shop and asked Dover repeatedly to move in with him. Dover finally agreed when school was out for the summer and he could take some time off before he needed to start getting the Chromebooks cleaned up and ready for the next set of students. It had been a month, and Dover had not a single regret.
“I love waking up with you knowing we get to spend the whole day working side by side, then we get to go home and live side by side, and sleep side by side….” Landry ran his hand up Dover’s thigh, causing him to swerve a bit.
“It’s a little dangerous to be groping the driver,” Dover said, not at all upset that Landry loved to touch him all the time. He’d become addicted to Landry’s affection and attention. There were times when Landry’s penchant for the dramatic got on his nerves, but he’d learned to give himself space by slipping outside to the patio to play his guitar or paint under the covered section of the yard and be fine. In a week or so, Landry was going to help him move his workshop from Darwish’s garage into one of the new pair of sheds Landry’d had built on the second level of his backyard. Landry told him he’d been planning to do it anyway, as he needed the storage for his inventory, but Dover insisted on paying for the second one. He’d made plenty of money at Dickens this year, and now that he had shop space to sell his goods during the rest of the year and was renting out his town house, he had additional steady income. He’d thought it would be hard to give up his privacy, but he found he didn’t need or want it now that Landry was in his life.
“How’s your back this morning?”
The injury had been a recurring issue. Dover would think he was fine, and then he’d work too long or lift something too heavy and he was back on the ice and anti-inflammatories. Landry took care of him when it was bad. He explained that it was the universe’s way of telling Dover to take the time to take care of himself.
“Better after you gave me such a nice massage. Thank you, by the way.” He brought their linked hands up to kiss Landry’s knuckles.
“It was completely my pleasure, love.”
Love. Dover had allowed himself to fall in love with Landry and life was good. If someone had asked him last year at this time whether he’d ever find love with an outgoing, life-of-the-party tailor to the stars, he’d have said they were crazy. But that’s exactly what he’d done, and he’d been grateful every day since.
“I love you,” Dover said, glancing over at Landry. He didn’t say it enough; it was weird to say it out loud, but he wanted Landry to know.
“I know you do, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me.”
“Mission accomplished.”
TREASURE ISLAND was packed on this spectacular weekend. Dover loved being on the island that had once been a military installation and that was now mainly used for various vendors, food trucks, and music festivals. Their booths were close to the water, with a phenomenal view of the Bay Bridge.
“Dover! So good to see you again.”
Mrs. Ramirez was back. She was so sweet to continue supporting his art after all these years.
He gave her a hug. “How are you, Mrs. Ramirez?”
She squealed. “Your paintings!” She covered her mouth and stepped away from him to get a closer look. “You finally brought them! My God, you’ve grown so much! These are absolutely stunning.”
He’d done a series of paintings based on photos taken at Dickens, of Landry posing in the French Postcards show, of the two of them in the windows together. He’d been so inspired by his newfound love that he’d been driven to paint. Landry had even sat for him, which allowed Dover to worship him with his paintbrush. Those paintings now adorned the walls of the bedroom they shared.
Landry must have seen her come up and decided to join them.
“You remember Mrs. Ramirez?”
Landry took her hand and bowed to kiss the back of it. “Wonderful to see you again.”
“It’s Ramona, and my goodness, is this you?”
“It is indeed.” Landry put his arm around Dover and pulled him in close. “Isn’t he fantastic? I’m his biggest fan.”
Ramona’s eyes widened and darted from the happy couple to the gorgeous paintings. Dover was very proud of them. He thought they were some of his best.
“It’s amazing what you can do when you are inspired, isn’t that right, Dover?”
Dover gazed up at the man who’d brought good cheer into his Scroogey life. He’d probably smiled more than he ever had in his entire adult life since the night Landry kissed him in a bathroom.
“Absolutely.”
Once upon a time... a teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ’n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and started purging her demons. R.L. MERRILL is still striving to find that perfect balance between real life and happily ever after, and she’ll keep writing love stories until she does. Both self-published and traditionally published with Dreamspinner Press, Ro writes romance in contemporary, paranormal, and horror settings inspired by love, hope, and rock ’n’ roll. Ro also loves connecting with other authors online, at conventions, and chapter meetings for the Romance Writers of America, of which she’s been a member since 2014.
A sucker for underdogs, Ro has adopted a wide variety of pets including cats, dogs, rats, snakes, a chameleon, and some fish. Her love of horror is evident the moment you walk in her door and find yourself surrounded by decorative skulls and quirky artwork from around the world. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, or else find her educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or head-banging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Connect with Ro:
Website: www.rlmerrillauthor.com
Twitter: @rlmerrillauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rlmerrillauthor.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/rlmerrillauthor
Stay Tuned for more Rock ’n’ Romance.
By R.L. Merrill
A Peace Offering
FORCES OF NATURE
Hurricane Reese
Typhoon Toby
SUMMER OF HUSH
Summer of Hush
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
A Peace Offering
© 2019 R.L. Merrill
Cover Art
© 2019 Brooke Albrecht
http://brookealbrechtstudio.com
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.
Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-773-5
Digital eBook published December 2019
v. 1.0
Printed in the United States of America
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