Page 37

As he reached the doorway, Winnie stirred. “Chuck?” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“Are you my dad’s boyfriend now?”

“I don’t know.” The question, delivered with the ruthless directness only a kid would dare, caught Chuck off guard. “That’s, uh, I don’t know. I think it’s something your dad and I are still figuring out,” he ventured.

“You should be.” Winnie’s eyes were still closed. “He smiles way more when you’re here.”

Chuck flattened his hand against the doorframe so she wouldn’t catch it shaking. “Does he?”

“Way. And he hasn’t played chess with me in forever.” She yawned as she rolled over and pulled her blanket tighter around her. “Don’t mess it up, okay?”

“I’ll do my darndest,” Chuck promised, putting a hand to his heart. He meant it more than he’d meant anything in years.

He turned off her bedside lamp, leaving only the orange glow of a dragon night-light, slipped out of the room, and closed the door behind him with a hushed click. In the hallway, he paused to collect himself and get hold of his feelings before he headed down the stairs to where Niall waited.

Uncharted territory for Chuck, all of this. Relationships had always been one thing, one way, straightforward—fun while they worked, dropped when they didn’t, as easy to slip off as a borrowed jacket. He always affected them more than they affected him. Even with Jeremy, a guy he’d lived with for nearly a year, who he’d considered marrying at one point, he always withheld part of himself, ready to exit the minute things started to suck as usual.

Chuck stopped at the top of the stairs and gripped the banister. He’d slipped out of a hundred bedrooms in the gray hour before anyone woke—gather the boots, skip the creaky stair, gone before the coffee dripped. Tonight he wanted Niall to hear him on the stairs and not flinch. That scared him worse than any crazy prank or dodgy deal ever had.

For once, he feared something would change, that Niall would realize the risk and send him packing. No wonder people thought he was such an asshole. He couldn’t imagine developing feelings for some guy only to have him slough you off like a snake shedding skin.

When the door closed he prayed he’d be on the right side of it.

He found Niall downstairs in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher with practiced efficiency. Without a word, Chuck picked up a dish towel and began to dry the pots that wouldn’t fit in the machine.

“She asleep?” Niall asked, glancing over.

“Zonked. Out fast. I had to read the chapter twice, though. Nancy was being all cagey about the clues for some reason.”

Niall smiled. “She always tries to stretch bedtime. You’re a good sport for indulging her.”

“I didn’t mind. She’s easy to indulge. So, uh….” Chuck placed a dry pot on the counter. “She asked if I was your boyfriend.”

“She what?” Niall’s hands stilled on the plate he was rinsing.

“Yep. That was a lot.”

Niall went still, letting the water run over his big hands. “What did you say to her?”

“That it was something we were figuring out.” Chuck watched Niall’s profile, trying to gauge his reaction. “Was that okay?”

“Of course. Yeah. Thank you.” Niall resumed rinsing the plate, his movements slightly less steady than before. “That was… honest.”

“I try to be, with kids. They can tell when you’re lying or talking down to them. I could, at least. Made me furious to be treated like an idiot by my parents, who, as it happened, were actual idiots.” Chuck set down the towel, leaned against the counter, and faced Niall with a dry mouth and shaky hands. “So, are we? Figuring it out, I mean.”

After a beat, Niall shut off the water and turned to face him, his expression open. “Yeah. I think we are. Unless you’ve changed your mind since last night.”

“Not one chance of that, my man.” Chuck reached out, hooked a finger through one of Niall’s belt loops, and gently pulled him closer. “Truth be told, I couldn’t think about much else all day. Very annoying, I gotta say. I’m going to have to punish you for staying on my mind like that. Sheesh. I can’t stop. I don’t want to stop.”

“Me neither.” Niall’s voice dropped to a near-whisper as Chuck’s hands settled on his hips. “You’ve been… extremely distracting.”

“I’m glad.” Chuck leaned in, and his lips hovered a breath above Niall’s. “Distracting you sounds like a full-time job to me. I hear the pay’s fine. But the benefits? Wow!” He widened his eyes and grinned.

The kiss, when it came, differed from those they’d shared the night before. It was slower, deeper, and packed with promise. Chuck felt Niall’s hesitation melt as he squeezed closer, his hands sliding up to cup Chuck’s face.

When they broke apart, both breathless and buzzing, Niall rested his forehead against Chuck’s. “So yeah, uhhh…. Winnie’s a light sleeper,” he murmured. “We should probably move this somewhere else. Like, I don’t know, an underground bunker a mile away. Otherwise I’m gonna have to keep you quiet as best I can.”