“If she has work questions, I’ll be happy to help her out.” Otherwise, he saw little reason for him to interact with Autumn. It wasn’t like he’d known her before she had taken over his position so he could move on to the task force. He saw no reason for them to get chummy now.
Brantley carried their tea glasses around to the other side of the quartz-topped island, then returned to grab silverware while Reese dished their food onto two plates.
“Can you get the bread outta the oven?” Reese asked, grabbing the Parmesan cheese from the fridge.
They moved around the kitchen like they’d been in sync all their lives. When they had settled onto the barstools for dinner, Reese let the conversation lull. He knew Brantley. When it came to food, the man ate with gusto, and Reese had learned not to interrupt until Brantley had dished his second helping.
“What’s on your mind, Tavoularis?” Brantley asked around a mouthful. “I can hear your brain workin’.”
Reese chuckled, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I talked to Z again today.”
Brantley reached for his tea. “Yeah? What’d your brother have to say for himself?”
“They want us to come to Dallas for Christmas.”
“Breakfast or dinner?”
Reese glanced over. “What?”
“Do they serve breakfast or dinner for Christmas?”
“Dinner.”
“Perfect. My family does the breakfast thing. We can swing through my folks’ place in the mornin’, then hit the road. We’ll be in Dallas in time for dinner.”
Well, that seemed relatively easy, Reese thought.
“What about Thanksgiving?” Brantley asked, picking up his fork.
“What about it?”
Brantley chuckled, chewed. “You haven’t given me an answer.”
Reese filled his own mouth with spaghetti, felt his nerves begin to churn in his stomach.
“They don’t bite, Reese.”
“I know.” He piled in more food. “It’s just…” Chew. Just chew.
“I’ll invite them over here,” Brantley stated. “This weekend. Saturday night. You can cook.”
Reese’s jaw stopped working and the damn rioting bullets began pinging around in his stomach. He grabbed his tea, washed down the mouthful, and cleared his throat.
This wasn’t the first time they’d had the conversation about Reese meeting Brantley’s parents. In fact, he was pretty sure they’d discussed it at least once a day since he moved in, and somehow Reese had managed to avoid giving him an affirmative. Didn’t look like Brantley was going to let him get by with it this time.
“It’s settled then,” Brantley said, reaching for his phone.
Reese set down his glass, then snapped his hand around Brantley’s wrist, making the man laugh.
“I’ve never met the parents before,” Reese said on a rush of air, his gut suddenly churning the spaghetti in a not-so-friendly manner.
“I fuckin’ love that about you.”
A strangled laugh escaped. “Brantley.”
“It’ll be fine. We’ll make it a casual thing. Just my mom and dad. No brothers or sisters.”
Reese knew it was going to have to happen sooner or later. And the truth was, he would rather meet them before Thanksgiving. Talk about a truly awkward situation for him to be introduced to the fam over a major holiday. He could see it now, Brantley walking him into his parents’ house, announcing his live-in boyfriend was there to meet all twenty-whatever of them there probably were. Oh, and by the way, Reece only recently realized he’s gay for me and me alone.
No, thank you.
While Reese was having a miniature panic attack, Brantley was staring at him, a huge grin on his face.
“Have I told you how hot you are when you’re tongue-tied?”
Reese glared.
Brantley laughed. “Okay, I’ll make you a deal.”
That got his attention.
“If you’ll agree to meet my parents, I’ll buy a couch.”
Reese glanced over at the sparse living room then back to Brantley. “And a TV.”
“Fine. And another TV.”
“And a dining room table.”
“Okay.” Brantley chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain, Tavoularis.”
“Plus some furniture for upstairs.”
Brantley’s eyes narrowed, then he shook his head, turned back to his food. “Nope. Never mind. No couch, no TV, no parents. We’ll continue to live in this empty house, just like it is. My folks’ll keep right on wonderin’ why I’m hidin’ you. And my nephew’ll think of you as candy from here on out.”
It was Reese’s turn to laugh, and this time he felt lighter than before. “Fine. But a couch, TV and a dining table. I pick them out.”
Brantley peered over, gave him a quick once-over. “You’re kinda new to this whole gay thing. You think you can color coordinate?”
Reese smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”
Brantley winked. “Deal.”
Reese wasn’t sure what it was about this man. Since the day he met Brantley Walker, he’d been in way over his head. The fact that he’d fallen for the guy when he hadn’t even realized he was interested in men said a lot. Then again, he got the feeling he wasn’t interested in men. He was interested in this man. Only Brantley.
