Page 123 of Say It Again
Aaron chuckled as the front door cracked open and Olivia stepped through, cradling a magnum bottle of champagne in her arms and toting a huge balloon shaped like the same magnum bottle of champagne.
“Good golly, Miss Salvador Dali. Look at this!” She popped her sunglasses to her head, her wide eyes drifting around the little four-hundred-square-foot space in wonder. “I haven’t seen it since you finished it. You guys. This is incredible.”
Aaron pursed his lips, but he couldn’t hide his smile, and he sure as hell couldn’t fake humility. With the walls draped in an Oxford blue Lincrusta, boldly veined houseplants poised on every surface, and the furniture just right, it did look incredible. It looked goddamn spectacular.
“Isn’t he brilliant?” Daniel skipped over and pushed up to his toes to peck Aaron’s cheek. “He’s been working nonstop for months. He deserves this.”
Aaron locked eyes with Daniel just in time to see the admiration in them, but the credit was hardly all his. They’d both worked nonstop for months. It’d been a journey to get here. Well, journey implied an arduous road. It was a road marked with a lot of changes—mostly simple budgeting but some major downsizing. They moved out of Aaron’s plush apartment and into a more affordable bungalow on the south side of the city, which had—deep breaths—carpeting in the bathroom. (Carpeting. In the fucking bathroom.) But none of it was painful like he expected. In fact, it was sort of… magical.
It was all the extra time he got to pour into his sweet little troublemaker, holed up but hopeful inside their teeny home, where they ate leftovers in bed, made love next to a wood-burning fireplace (because Daniel insisted, not because it functioned), and planned their wedding—now only two months away. Daniel had supported him in every possible way as he finished design school—both practically and emotionally, picking up last-minute posterboard and letting Aaron spiral about what-ifs. But shockingly, he’d also supported them financially.
It was mind-blowing watching his nervy little fiancé transform into such a boss. They both assumed he’d succeed, but nothing could’ve prepared them for how well. For how dramatically he was going to kill it.
Daniel was fucking killing it.
Not only had he increased his class sizes by 24 percent since he took over, but he’d upgraded the online booking system and hired four new instructors. He also extended his reach into two senior centers, which were both tickled pink that someone wanted to come teach sexy tap numbers set to cabaret songs. He even managed his team well, ruling with intuition, grace, and this empathetic yet firm hand that had people eager to learn from him, to be around him, to please him.
Aaron was no different. It was hot banging the boss.
He covertly smacked Daniel’s ass, making him yelp as he scurried back to his balloon station, twisting over his shoulder to offer a pretty little pout. Dazzling.
“Is your mom coming?” Olivia asked as she unwrapped the foil from the champagne.
Daniel snorted. “Silly, silly girl. You think my mother would miss Aaron’s big grand soft opening?”
“You just need to say soft, baby,” Aaron said as he angled the settee a few inches to the left. “It doesn’t need the grand.”
“She wouldn’t miss it in a million years.” Daniel began blowing up a pearly pink balloon, which didn’t work with the aesthetic, but who had the heart to tell him? “She said she bought matching pantsuits for her and Butchie, which—not gonna lie—is a little concerning.” He puffed the balloon bigger. “And what’s worse is she mentioned a pantsuit theme.” Even bigger. “Like, what the hell does that mean? I’m a tad worried it’ll involve way too much blended polyester for one middle-aged couple.”
Aaron had crouched down to snag an errant rubber band from behind the sofa as Daniel trailed off. When he stood back up, Daniel and Olivia were both staring with their mouths hanging open at the young man poking his head through the front door.
“Hello,” the guy said, a wide smile splitting his face as he ripped off his sunglasses. “I need a new toilet-paper holder. Is this place open?”
Aaron’s heart thumped in his chest as he blinked a few times to ensure it was real. His little brother was here. Andrew. Was here.
“Andrew!” Aaron rushed to him, barreling into his body to grip him into a hug. “Holy shit—what? What are you doing here?”
“That’s the thing about airplanes,” Andrew grunted as Aaron squeezed him tighter. “They can go anywhere.”
Aaron released the hug to hold his shoulders and study him. With Andrew’s flight schedule and Aaron’s schooling, it’d been over a year since they’d had a chance to see each other. Andrew had filled out a bit more—biceps for days—and his style had gotten snappier. He wore selvedge jeans, a crisp blue blazer, and tobacco leather boots. Long gone were the days of the skinny little boy with the unkempt hair and Jolly Ranchers stuffed into his pockets. He was all grown up.
“God, it’s good to see you,” Aaron said, scanning him to make sure he was indeed unmarred. “You doing okay? You need anything? What do you need?”
“I don’t need anything, man,” Andrew said, his smile so pure. “Life is good. Just came to see you.”
They both had their dad’s eyes, although Andrew’s had never gotten jaded. He had never gotten jaded. All Aaron had ever wanted was for him to be safe, but he was better than safe. With every year that passed, he was thriving more and more. Happy.
“I’ve been in cahoots with your fiancé to surprise you. Come on now.” Andrew slapped his arm. “I wouldn’t miss your big grand opening.”
“It’s the soft—” Aaron shook his head, too grateful to argue. “So glad you’re here.”
“Geez, look at this place.” Andrew drew a long inhale as he gazed around. “You’ve always been talented, but this. This is next-level.”
Yeah, there was a big chance Aaron’s entire career would be next-level. Who would’ve thought having all those connections with all those wealthy men would jumpstart his business the way it had? He and Daniel liked to call it the ultimate repurposing. Old clients got an updated kind of service.
“Dude, I’m just—” Andrew whirled around to grip him into another hug. He whispered, “I’m so proud of you.”
Aaron had to breathe as he folded his arms around his brother. In a lifetime spent trying to keep him safe, he’d never expected that one day he might also make him proud. Proud hit deeply enough for his eyes to prickle. “Thank you.”