Page 97 of Stealing Home

Dom pointed at him with the hand Gavin wasn’t holding. “Whatever you’re about to say, don’t.”

CJ smiled. “I was just thinking it’s nice that your boyfriend makes sure you don’t die over dinner.”

Evan closed his eyes for one long second before looking at CJ. “Subtle,” he said.

“What?” CJ looked between them. “Am I wrong?”

“We haven’t—” Dom began, then stopped and looked at Gavin.

“Talked about it,” Gavin finished. He couldn’t read the look on Dom’s face.

For the first time, CJ appeared uncertain. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“It’s fine,” Dom said.

The answer came too quickly, and Gavin couldn’t tell if he meant the assumption was fine or the word itself.

He finally released Dom’s wrist, but beneath the table, Dom pressed his thigh firmly against Gavin’s. He left it there, but the word stayed with Gavin through the rest of the meal. Boyfriend. The word gave a name to what had already been happening, and that should have made it easier. Instead, Gavin found himself looking at Dom and wondering whether he wanted it too.

They said goodnight to Evan and CJ in the parking lot, then made the drive back to Dom’s house. Lucia slept behind them while Dom drove with both hands on the wheel. Music played softly through the speakers and neither of them spoke about dinner. When Dom pulled into the driveway and shut off the engine, neither of them moved.

Dom looked toward him, lips parting as though he was about to say something. Then Lucia stirred behind them and released a sleepy complaint.

“I should get her upstairs.”

“Yeah.”

Gavin followed him out of the SUV and helped carry everything inside. Gavin brought the diaper bag and the leftovers to the kitchen, then returned to the living room just as Dom freed Lucia from the carrier.

“I’m going to put her down,” Dom said, heading toward the stairs.

Gavin nodded. “I’ll be here.”

He returned to the kitchen and stopped in front of the sliding door. The yard beyond it was mostly dark. Gavin could just make out the planters he’d built months ago, when the house had still been empty and Dom had been little more than a client whose smile he couldn’t stop thinking about. His reflection stared back at him from the glass. Boyfriend should have felt like a small word after husband. Instead, it felt monumental because it belonged to a life Gavin hadn’t expected to want again. Gavin rested one hand against the frame of the sliding door and listened to the quiet sounds above him. A few minutes later, footsteps started down the stairs, then Dom’s reflection appeared in the glass next to him.

“We haven’t used that word,” Dom said without preamble.

Gavin turned to face him. “We haven’t.”

“CJ shouldn’t have said it like that.” Dom crossed his arms, then lowered them back to his sides. “Did it bother you?”

“Being called your boyfriend?” Gavin leaned one shoulder against the doorframe. “No.”

“You got really quiet.”

“Because I didn’t know if it bothered you.”

Dom looked down at the floor. “I didn’t know if we were using it yet.”

Gavin stayed where he was. “I’d like to.”

Dom lifted his head.

“But only if you would too,” Gavin continued. “I’m not asking you to call this something you’re not ready for. It just means I want to be part of the life you already have, for as long as we both want this.”

Dom took a deep breath, then his expression changed slowly. The guardedness left first, followed by the tension around his mouth, and what remained was a smile so open that Gavin felt it low in his chest.

“Then you’re my boyfriend,” Dom said softly.