Page 49
“It is. I think it’s even better than Glory Pop’s pizza!” Lennon arched a brow. “It’s a pizza place I love here in Milan. It was my favorite.”
“You’ll need to take me so I can compare.”
Kodi’s instant lopsided smile distracted Lennon. He swallowed twice when the food got stuck, his heart having lodged itself in the back of his throat. The man might not be as classically beautiful as Jupiter, but there was something striking about him sitting in the candlelight.
“I will, tomorrow.”
Kodi was halfway through his pizza, but noticeably slowing down when Lennon realized Kodi had wanted to know about his family. “You’re right, I only have one brother. I do have four sisters, though, who are all older than me. I’m the youngest of the six of us. Jonny is like Kari.”
Kodi’s brows arched. “How so?”
“He is a Daddy and has a boy,” Lennon explained matter-of-factly.
Kodi’s pizza slice hovered in front of his mouth, his eyes widening. “How do you know that Kari is a Daddy?”
It came out curt, and Lennon lost his appetite. “Did I say something wrong? The way he acts kind of makes it easy to spot when Jonny pretty much behaves the same way,” Lennon answered, being honest, though he kept Bowie’s secret when it wasn’t clear if Kodi knew about him. “I’m sorry if I overstepped—"
“You caught me off guard. Kari doesn’t really talk about that side of himself. Popi and Dad know, of course, and until recently, he didn’t really open up about it with me.”
Lennon’s curiosity got the better of him, knowing how close the twins were. “Why wasn’t he open with you?”
“You have to ask? You know me better than anyone. My over reactive ass and speaking without thinking…he didn’t trust me.”
There was hurt in his voice and a kind of resignation that had Lennon lean over the table and reach for the hand still holding the pizza in the air. Just a soft touch to draw Kodi’s attention from where it had dropped to the table. Only when he looked up did Lennon speak.
“It’s not always because of trust that we keep things to ourselves, is it? Sometimes it’s confusion over our own feelings. Kari, I suspect, would trust you with his life, much like your brothers. I watch the way you are with each other. You all love each other a great deal, despite how you bitch at one another.”
Kodi chuckled aloud and, in an awkward move, lifted the hand Lennon was touching and pressed it against his cheek before moving so he could take a bite of the pizza he was clutching.
Back was the fluttering at such an endearing gesture. It shouldn’t be romantic with how he had nearly swiped the pizza on his other cheek, yet it was. Lennon couldn’t catch his breath at the hit to his heart, a vital piece now owned by the man opposite who was completely oblivious to his charm.
In that moment, Lennon knew that no matter what happened between them, he’d never love another. Kodi was it for him.
There, now we’re on the same page. When are you going to tell him?
Tell him what?
Are you going to pretend you don’t know?
I have no clue what you’re talking about.
He felt his animal’s presence increase as if they were about to shift, and before he could ask what it was playing at, the feeling passed.
I see what you’re doing, it’s alright. I’ll take care of it until you’re ready.
Ready for what?
“Are you the same with your sisters and brother?”
Lennon stared for a split second at Kodi before he realized what he was talking about. “Worse. My sisters are all drama queens.”
“Worse than Jupiter? I don’t think it’s possible,” Kodi said, laughing.
Lennon forgot about the conversation he was having with his animal and leaned his elbows on the table, a wide grin appearing. “Let me tell you, Jupiter is boring next to Lydia! Did Jupiter ever wear a dinosaur inflatable and slide down a water slide?”
Kodi’s laughter was louder than the noise in the restaurant while Lennon recanted how his sisters all liked to outdo each other, having one of the best dates of his life.
Chapter Twenty-Six
