AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I lift onto my tiptoes, my body flush against his. ‘I—’
‘Aunt Alice!’
There’s a collective groan from the crowd as Mary bursts out of the doors. ‘Thomas bought me a cat!’ She races out, throwing herself at Thomas, and therefore me.
Thomas staggers back a step but manages to keep us from falling.
‘Thank you, Thomas, thank you.’ Mary squeezes us tight.
Chase peers out the door, Mike Hunt in his teddy bear suit strapped to Chase in a baby carrier. ‘You guys done out there, or what? Mary and I want to take Mike back to T-money’s house for a play date with the new kitten.’
Mary looks up from her hug. ‘Can we?’
Thomas looks at me, his eyes full of hope.
I shrug, struggling to feign nonchalance. ‘Seeing as my new apartment doesn’t allow pets, I guess Mary and I have no choice but to move back in with you.’
Thomas’s brow furrows.
I reach out, smoothing the space between his eyes, trailing my fingers down the bridge of his nose, tracing the flat line of his lips. ‘So it’s a good thing I love you too.’
Under my index finger, Thomas’s smile grows.
And there, in front of a crowd of strangers, customers and an audience of family and employees, Thomas Moore kisses me.
People cheer.
Slightly panting, Thomas and I come up for air. A wealth of wordless promises in his eyes.
Mary bows to the crowd. ‘And they lived happily ever after.’
EPILOGUE
THOMAS
‘Admit it.’ Chase smirks at me from one end of my living room sofa. ‘You love Dick.’
I raise one eyebrow at my brother, peering over the vacant cushion between us, Elvis’s Christmas album playing softly from the surround sound. ‘His name is King Richard.’ I pet Mary’s Bengal cat who purrs contently. ‘And he is ten times the cat yours is.’
I take pleasure in my brother’s fallen expression.
I specifically bought Mary a Bengal – a large, stately, easily trained breed with a lush, spotted coat – to ensure that the feline living in my house wasn’t anything like my brother’s follicularly challenged demon cat.
And then Mary named him King Richard Moore.
Aka King Dick Moore.
My brother, initially put-out when I didn’t buy another sphynx, was beyond pleased.
‘Hey.’ Chase cuddles said demon – who’s wearing a Christmas sweater – to his chest. ‘Be nice.’ Mike’s wrinkly skin collects under his neck as my brother pulls him closer.
‘You’re not bullying Uncle Chase, are you, Daddy?’ Mary, wearing a red and green plaid princess dress, comes into the room holding a plate of Christmas cookies.
‘He is, Mary.’ Chase nods, overly serious over Mike’s bald head. ‘Your daddy is a great big bully.’
While it never ceases to please me every time Mary calls me Daddy since Alice and I officially adopted her this past summer, I could do without the close bond she’s forged with her mischievous uncle.
Alice jingle jangles into the room with yet another plate of cookies, Bell close behind with a tray of glasses and a pitcher of milk.
