Also, I was single by choice. It was my new identity, and I was trying to wear it like a rainbow T-shirt, out and proud. When, in reality, it was tight and itchy and I was desperate to rip it off.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said when she released me from her clutches. “I’m Teo.”
“We’re so happy you’re here! Come inside and meet my husband. He’s opening some wine.”
I glanced at the man I’d assumed was Kirk. He was busy hugging the shit out of Jack. “Oh,” I said stupidly.
Millie glanced at the pair and froze. “Right. That’s, ah… my brother-in-law. Ty. He decided to surprise us this weekend.”
Oh. Ty the ex. Ty, the drop-dead gorgeous ex. Ty, the man who was still in love with Jack when Jack walked away. Perfect.
“Oh,” I said again. Jack turned and shot me a searching glance. I tried smiling, but it felt like I’d just set all my teeth out on the front lawn for polishing. “Great. How wonderful for you. For us. For all of us. Many hands make quick work… is what… someone always said. Not sure who. But it’s true though. I’ve always found that—”
Jack saved me from more stupid word vomit by calling out my name and reaching out a hand for me with an encouraging smile. “Ty, this is my boyfriend, Teo Parisi. Tee, this is Tyler Nosen, Kirk’s brother.”
I reached out a hand to shake. Ty’s face was surprised but friendly. He looked me up and down but not in a creepy way, more curiosity than anything else. “Nice to meet you, Teo. I didn’t realize Jack was in a relationship.” He said the word relationship in a deliberate way that made me want to melt into the grass and slither away. Jack’s hand tightened around mine as if he could read my mind.
I opened my mouth to say, Me neither, as a joke, but then closed it abruptly. Better safe than sorry.
Millie grabbed my elbow and pulled me toward the door, saying something about needing to meet Kirk to get the wine flowing ASAP. She wasn’t wrong. If there was one thing this awkward as hell shindig needed, it was alcohol to really loosen tongues.
I shot Ty an apologetic look as if without bossy Millie, I’d stand there and become his bestie with hours of clever chatter. As soon as we crossed the threshold, Millie turned to me and began apologizing.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. We did not know he was coming, I promise you.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, god. It’s not fine. Jack finally brings someone else home and his ex shows up. Argh, why is Murphy’s Law such a bitch? Kirk! I hope you bought multiple boxes. We’re going to need it.”
Sure enough, when we entered the kitchen, Millie’s husband was struggling to pull the tap out of a box of wine. I absolutely loved the fact they weren’t trying to impress anyone with something fancy. “I love Black Box. My mom buys it at Costco all the time.”
“Yeah, sorry. We’re kind of on a budget these days. Kirk’s business partner ditched us a few months ago, and we’ve been scrambling to keep the business afloat.”
“Don’t apologize at all. I meant what I said, I love this stuff. I didn’t mean to make you feel—”
Kirk interrupted me with a handshake. “Ignore her, she just feels bad because usually we’d go all out to welcome Jack’s new man. Kirk Nosen. Welcome to La Porte, the tiny Indiana town best known for its foot doctor.”
“Not true,” Millie said with a laugh. “In addition to Dr. Scholl, we also have bragging rights to one of Indiana’s most notorious serial killers, and she was a woman. Let that be a warning to you fellas.”
I heard Jack’s familiar rumble of laughter, and a second later his arms came around me from behind. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered in my ear. “I didn’t know.”
I nodded since I was afraid of my voice cracking if I tried to say anything. And it truly was fine. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and I certainly didn’t have a claim on Jack or anything.
I reached for the wine.
Eventually, we all made our way onto the back patio where a sweet old dog was laid out dead asleep on its back. The weather was beautiful, and Kirk began to get the grill ready for burgers. I leaned over to Jack and asked in a low voice if I should get the container garden out of the car or leave it for tomorrow. He grabbed my hand and pulled me up. “Let’s go get it now.”
As soon as we walked around the house to the front, Jack pulled me into a tight hug and apologized again. “It’s fine,” I said, gesturing between the two of us. “We’re not even… I mean it’s not…”
Jack’s nostrils flared like I’d said something wrong or bad, but then he leaned down and kissed me to keep me from finishing my thought. We kissed long enough for me to completely forget what I’d been thinking anyway. When he finally pulled away with a shit-eating grin, I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Why do I feel like I’ve just been played?”
Jack blushed a little which I had to admit was cute. “I used the flower box as an excuse to get you alone so I could kiss you and squeeze your ass.”
I hadn’t realized his hands were on my ass since it felt so normal. Suddenly I was aware of whatever neighbors might be watching. I had to imagine small-town Indiana wasn’t the most rainbow-colored place for two men to grope each other in public.
I stepped back and pushed him away gently. “Yeah, not sure La Porte needs to see my dick get hard at the backyard barbecue.”
After moving past Jack to get to the rear hatch of his SUV, I felt him move beside me and put a large hand on my lower back. “Let me get this. You grab the…” His voice trailed off as he spotted something at the base of a nearby tree.
A For Sale sign.
“What the hell?” He stormed over to look more closely. Sure enough, there was a For Sale sign in Kirk and Millie’s yard.
“I thought we were here to do a renovation?” I asked without thinking. “Is it to get the house ready to sell?”
“No. It’s not.” I hadn’t seen him angry before like this. He yanked the little metal sign out of the yard and stomped back around the house. I left the SUV and followed him.
“What the hell is going on?” he asked his sister, shaking the sign in the air. Her face fell and she looked at Kirk.
“You said you were going to put that away until we told him.”
“Sorry, babe,” he said with a face full of remorse. “When Ty showed up, I forgot all about it.”
Jack threw the sign down. “And when were you going to tell me? You love this fucking house. The two of you worked your asses off for the down payment. You spent hundreds of hours repainting the walls and refinishing the floor. You—”
I grabbed his arm to stop him because with every impassioned word, he was causing Millie to get more and more upset.
“We can’t afford to keep it,” she finally cried. “We’ve done everything we can think of, Jack. It’s not working. The business needs—”
“I’ll help,” Jack said. “I have savings, and I’ll go back to the airline. I can probably get a Chicago-based position with them so I’m still close by. And—”
It was Kirk’s turn to pipe up. “Hell no.”