Page 30 of The Way Home

“Well, try.”

Caleb smiled and adjusted his denims with the heel of his palm before returning to the moving boxes to unpack. He began pulling framed photos from a box—one of Jamie and Ellie back in grade school, a photo of Caleb and his sister, and a few Jamie hadn’t seen before.

“When did we get this?” Jamie asked, moving in behind Caleb to look over his shoulder.

Caleb held a large photograph of the two of them last spring at one of the Chelsea women’s weddings. It was the first public event the two of them attended as a real, official couple. Jamie remembered being deadly nervous that his brothers would see photos of him online. How silly, now that he looked back.

Caleb held it up to the wall, looking for a spot to place it. “Sally framed this one for me.” They both looked down at the photo. Picture-Jamie was all dressed up, laughing at the camera with a big, goofy grin. Beside him, Caleb wasn’t laughing at all. Just staring at Jamie’s face with pure adoration.

Jamie wrapped his arms around Caleb’s middle. “Remember what you asked me that day?”

Caleb chuckled. “I asked if you wanted to be my roomie. And you said—”

“I said, ‘That isnothow to ask a man to move in with you!’”

“Well, you said yes, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did.”

Jamie’s cheeks heated thinking back to that night. The way Caleb pulled him onto the dance floor, under the string lights, and made him sway. Jamie had mustered up the courage to ask, “Do you think we’ll have a wedding like this one day?”

He remembered it vividly, like it was yesterday. Caleb’s brown eyes twinkling as he leaned in. “Say the word, and I’ll marry you today, J.”

The words still made his cheeks heat.

Now, back in their new flat, Jamie squeezed Caleb tighter, letting his cheek fall to his warm back. He smelled so good.

“I can’t wait to live with you. Even if you’re a tosser.”

The muscles of Caleb’s back worked as he chuckled. He hung the photo on the wall and picked up another. A photo of Jamie and Ellie in front of the Eiffel Tower, on their first big trip as a couple.

His stomach dropped.

Caleb must have sensed Jamie’s shift in mood. “Did it go okay? Packing up and saying bye to Ellie.”

“Yeah.”

It had. But it still felt weird. Ellie had been his comfort zone for so long, and now she would be all alone out in Islington…

“Is she coming for Game Night this weekend?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah. Uh, I think so.”

“Awesome. Sally and Ang are coming, too.”

“And Jean-Baptiste.”

“Ugh,” Caleb groaned, head falling back onto Jamie’s shoulder. “Why does the French guy have to do everything with us?”

Jamie pinched Caleb’s side for being a jealous little twat. “Because he’s myfriend.”

A knock at the door pulled them apart, and Caleb went to get it, grumbling to himself about snooty coworkers. Jamie rolled his eyes as Caleb opened the door and greeted his family.

“Maggie. Pippa. It’s so good to—oof.”

Jamie looked over to see his mum engulfing Caleb in a big hug, the bangles on her wrists jingling as she squeezed the life out of him. He could smell the essential oils on her from here.

Pippa rushed over to Jamie, her blonde hair flowing behind her. She hugged him.