Before I could respond, he side-eyed Nicky.
“I truly want fries.”
“Give the man his fries, bambino,” I blurted out. “In fact, make that my housewarming gift. Get yourself a fryer.”
For a quick second, it looked like Gideon was actually gonna fist-pump the air, which would’ve been an incredible sight.
“It’s rude to turn down a gift,” he replied smoothly. And the eyebrow went up, daring Nicky to defy him.
My brother just snorted and shook his head. “You’re the one who asked me to put a lid on your cravings, papi. But by all means, we’ll get a fryer.”
“Excellent.” Gideon looked ridiculously pleased.
It was nearing midnight when I decided to move my work upstairs and do some production research in bed on my laptop. I checked my phone as I flicked off the lights downstairs, and I hesitated to call Camden back now. Even though it was an hour earlier in Nashville, he was probably asleep.
I sent him a text instead.
I didn’t want to interrupt in case you’ve already gone to bed. Think about you all the time, and I miss you so much. Hope we can talk tomorrow instead. Sweet dreams.
Not ten seconds passed before his goofy grin appeared on my screen with his incoming call.
I smiled to myself and answered. “Isn’t it a bit late for you to be up, ragazzo?”
“Nuh-uh! Tonight is an exception, and I’m glad you texted because we need your help in approximately five seconds.”
“Oh yeah? What can I do for you?”
“You can buzz us in! Daddy’s paying the cab right now.”
I tensed up right there, with one foot on the first step on the stairs, and I swallowed hard. My body was evidently a lot quicker to catch the drift than my brain was.
“What do you mean, love?” I asked quietly.
“We’re here to see you,” Camden sang. A door was slammed shut in the background. “Okay, we’re coming! I have my bags. Buzz, buzz, buzz us in, pretty please.” He disconnected the call.
Was he serious?
With my heart in my throat, I stalked across the kitchen and the living room and into the entryway, where I pressed the buzzer and waited. If this was some joke, I didn’t know what I’d do with myself. Or how severely I’d punish Camden the next time we saw each other.
Moments later, I heard the unmistakable sound of our rickety elevator running.
Holy shit, were they here? Right fucking now?
I released a nervous breath and switched on the light in the living room again.
Then I heard them. I heard Camden snarl at something, and August said, “Easy, boy. I’ll grab your bags before you tear off the handle.”
“That’s the smallest elevator in the galaxy,” Camden huffed.
I grinned and felt my eyes sting with tears, so I sniffled and blinked back my emotions before I opened the door and saw them. My God, they were in New York. And they’d seemingly brought all of Nashville with them. I counted two rollaboard bags, two smaller pieces of luggage, and two backpacks.
“What on earth are you two doing here?” I asked.
Camden turned to me and beamed, and then he was running straight into my arms. “Hi! We’ve come to visit! Are you surprised?”
I couldn’t begin to describe just how surprised I was.
I hugged him tightly and couldn’t stop smiling against the beanie on his head.
“I hope it’s not a bad time, darlin’, but we couldn’t wait.” August’s voice—how I’d fucking missed it.
As soon as he was within reach, I pulled him to me too. “In my opinion, it’s been long enough.”
He cupped my cheek and kissed me, and the sheer happiness that bubbled up within me was goddamn surreal. Suddenly, I was alive again. Then it was as if someone lit a fire under me, and I wanted them to make themselves comfortable in my home.
“Let’s get youse settled.” I bent down and grabbed two bags, and Camden stayed plastered to me as I tried to get everything into the entryway. “I’ll take your jacket, ciccio.”
Camden felt that was the best time to start rambling. “I bet you’re wondering why we’re here, and it’s because Daddy finally understood that I know what’s best for us, and it’s to be together,” he said. “I know you have lots of work, and so do we, but we can work from anywhere right now. So, I was like, we should go to Anthony in New York and live with him and continue to fall in love and so I can call him Daddy too, cuz I really want to. And Daddy hesitated at first—he said we should give you space and not crowd you, but I told him he was wrong and that this was what we needed. This is what I’ve been dreaming about for so long, and, I mean, yeah, my original plan was to just see where things went and hope for playtime with a third partner, so Daddy could get used to the idea, but you turned out so perfect for us, you know, and—”
“Jesus Christ, breathe, my sweet goofball.” I cupped his face in my hands and grinned down at him.
He took a long breath. “This is important stuff! I have to continue.” He didn’t waste any time. He went on as he shrugged out of his windbreaker. “I was so focused on finding a good partner for Daddy that I forgot my own feelings at first. I just knew it said click, click, click, and everything was perfect. But then you left, and it kinda broke me. I couldn’t stop crying. Something was suddenly missing. And Daddy was sad too, but he mostly gets quiet and broody and worried—”
I silenced him with a kiss, because I couldn’t hear another word right now. It was too much—in the best way, and I wanted to savor the moment. The bliss that rolled over me was something I’d never felt before. It spread warmth through me and gave my future color.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” I kissed him again,
