“I...” His mother’s eyes filled with tears, and he had to look away, especially as her voice broke. “I’ll try. Okay? It’s going to take some getting used to. I don’t want to lose you over this.”
“Maybe you should worry a little about losing Linc over this.”
“Fair enough.” She pulled on his sleeve, tugging him into an awkward hug. He was still upset, but he didn’t pull away.
“I mean it.” He met Jon’s eyes over his mother’s back. “I love him. I’m not giving him up, not for any of you. And you all owe him a great deal. And a lot better treatment than you’ve managed the past few days.”
“Okay.” Jon’s pinched expression said it might be the holidays before he completely thawed. Which, okay. Jacob could wait him out, like Linc said. But he was also gonna keep on calling him on it when he was an ass.
“You came!” May and a pack of kids came rushing in. She looked brighter than he’d seen her in quite some time, in a pretty yellow dress. “Junior wanted to see your cast. He’s still outside.”
“I was just going, actually. I’ll show him some other time. I need to get back.”
“Okay.” May came over and touched his arm as he pulled away from his mom. Jon drifted back to the couch area, apparently having said his piece. “Jacob?”
“Yeah?” His voice came out warier than intended, but God, he could not handle one more lecture, one more disappointed face.
“I’m happy for you.”
“You are?” He inhaled sharply. The first person in this whole saga who seemed genuinely to care about him and Linc, and it was May, who had lost so much. It was almost more than he could bear, his throat tightening.
“He’s the best guy any of us know.” May gave a wistful little smile. “And so are you. Can you take him one of the cinnamon rolls? He always likes those.”
“I can do that.” His voice was rough as he hugged her. He let his mom fuss over making a container of leftovers for them, her working too hard to please him with the food choices, but it was something. He left with several plastic boxes of food and two foil-wrapped cinnamon rolls, and a new conviction that he needed to trust Linc. If he was lucky enough to get to keep Linc, then he was going to enjoy this. Enjoy him. And he was going to somehow find the courage to tell Linc the words he’d waited years to say.
* * *
Still not used to these long stretches of free time with nothing to do but rest on the couch, Linc dozed while Jacob was gone, but he woke up at the dogs making a ruckus. He stretched as Jacob let the dogs out back into their run before making his way to Linc.
“That was fast,” he observed mildly, glancing at the living room clock.
“Yep.” Jacob settled next to him, hips touching. He brushed a lingering kiss across Linc’s lips. “It was. But they sent you cinnamon rolls. So, you know, not terrible.”
“Tell me you didn’t give them some kind of ultimatum.” He wasn’t an idiot. Jacob was vibrating with tension, there in his lips even.
Jacob’s mouth puckered, a breath whistling out. “Not exactly.”
“So you did.” Linc groaned. “I am not worth you sacrificing your relationship with your family with. They love you and—”
“They love you too. And if they love us so much, then they can damn well be happy for us.” Jacob had that stubborn expression that dared Linc to argue with him. “I’m not going to listen to their lectures or them fretting over something stupid like our age difference.”
“It’s not stupid. They care about you. They want to make sure I’m not taking advantage.” Hell, Linc had spent years worrying that same thing. He got where the family was coming from even if Jacob didn’t.
“Well, you’re not. If anyone is, it’s me. I’m the one who finally got you to give in...”
“Hey now.” Linc reached over and cupped his face. “You are not. I don’t want you thinking the rest of our lives that you... I dunno...made a pest of yourself. This isn’t you wearing me down until I gave in and gave you what you wanted.”
“It’s not?”
“No. This is you being persistent, yes, but you didn’t create this out of thin air. This was me giving myself what I really wanted, not giving in to you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do like making you happy, but you didn’t force me into this at all. I wanted it. All of it.”
“You really mean it, don’t you?” Jacob’s voice was full of wonder, but there was a trust in his expression, a warmth in his eyes that hadn’t been there before.
“I do. And I’m sorry that I made you doubt it, made you feel so alone in this. I wanted it. Even back then. Even when I was so sure that you’d change your mind eventually.”
“Not happening.” Turning, Jacob straddled him in an easy motion that kept his weight off Linc’s legs but still effectively pinned Linc to the couch. “I’m going to stick around.” Jacob’s demeanor had all the confidence of a bull rider determined to make bank and for once Linc couldn’t disagree, not when he wanted this just as much.
“Me too.”
“And if that means telling my family off, then that’s what I’m gonna do.”
“It’s okay with me if they just want to see you alone for a time.”
“Nope. We’re a package deal now.” Jacob bent down long enough to give him a firm kiss. “Like I told them, I love you and you love me and if they can’t support us, then that’s their problem, not mine.”
All the oxygen in the room seemed to evaporate in an instant, and he had to cough. “Say it again.”
“You love me and—”
“Not that part.”
“Oh, the part where I told everyone that I loved you.” His eyes sparkled. “Yeah, about that...”
“Just because I said it doesn’t mean you need to.” Some old doubts crept back in.
“I love you, Linc. I’ve crushed on you since I was nineteen, but this time together showed me a different level to how I felt. Deepened it. It’s not just some infatuation now. It’s the real deal.”
“Yeah.” He had to agree with that. Tugging Jacob back down, he paused with their lips centimeters apart. “It’s real all right.”
Not letting Jacob reply, he claimed his mouth with the sort of possessiveness he no longer had to keep in check, loving how Jacob practically melted into him as he met him kiss for kiss. They kissed with a new sort of urgency—not their previous hurry to cram as much into as short a time as possible, but rather a drive to connect, to express these big, scary feelings they were finally starting to sort out.