AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘One of the people who worked with me was Deaf. He was a doctor.’
Rex’s eyes went wide. ‘A Deaf doctor?’
Renato nodded with a grin. ‘Yes. I was already learning ASL because I wanted to work in America, and I would have to help some Deaf people feel better.’
‘Like me.’
‘Like you,’ he confirmed. ‘My ASL is not good.’
‘It’s good. Better than—’ He gave several what Renato could only assume were name signs for people in Frey’s circle.
Renato ruffled his hair. ‘If they love you, they’ll try.’
Rex bit his lip. ‘Do weddings scare you?’
Shaking his head, Renato signed, ‘No. I’m not afraid of weddings.’
The boy looked thoughtful, then nodded and hopped off the sofa. ‘When you want to marry my dad, you have to ask my permission. Okay?’
Renato laughed. ‘Okay.’
Rex leaned in and kept his signs very small between them. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll say yes.’ He threw his arm around Renato and hugged him before turning on his heel and leaving him in another daze.
“I think,” Renato said as he slid beneath Frey’s covers, “your son gave me his blessing tonight.”
Frey stared at him for a long moment. He was half-naked, chest bare, soft pajama pants covering his legs, looking at Renato with big, sleepy eyes. “For what?”
Renato gave him a flat look. “What do you think?”
“Christ,” Frey said. He fell back against the pillows and covered his face with both hands. “He’s such a cockblock.”
Renato chuckled, gently pulling Frey’s hands away from his face. When their gazes connected, Renato just let himself look. And look. Until finally, he had to give in and kiss him. Frey hummed happily, wrapping his arms around Renato’s waist to pull him close.
“Does this feel like it’s been blocked?” Renato rocked himself against Frey’s thigh.
With a small laugh, Frey’s hand trailed down, and he cupped Renato’s ass. “No.”
Renato groaned. As much as he wanted Frey, he had things to say first, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it after being wrung out. “We can’t, though.”
“I know. We need to talk.” Frey sounded a little uncertain, and Renato knew that was his own fault. Frey begged him to stay, and Renato had not only run, but he’d given notice at his job, and he hadn’t bothered to contact Frey for the entire workday.
Nodding, Renato settled himself against the pillows, then rolled onto his side, and Frey mirrored him. He traced a touch over Frey’s perfectly arched brow, then over his nose, then his lips. “You are so beautiful.”
“Say that in Italian.”
Renato did, and Frey flushed. “I like the way you look all pink here.” He ran fingers over Frey’s cheek.
Frey smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He bit his lip for a long moment, then took a breath, and Renato braced himself for what he figured would have to be a rejection. He wasn’t sure there was any coming back from what they’d been through.
Even if they were in love.
But maybe that was his fear talking.
“The first thing you need to know is I don’t do casual,” Frey told him. “I’m not asking to rush into anything or to exchange vows, but in spite of what my reputation says?—”
Renato quieted him with a kiss. “I know who you are, amore mio.”
Frey shuddered, and though Renato knew he didn’t speak a lick of Italian, he probably knew what Renato was saying. He shifted closer. “I don’t want to scare you off. And I feel like we got started on the wrong foot.”
