19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Mars

We spent the morning buying me a jacket, a few pairs of shoes that I needed, and a collection of other cool-weather gear like gloves and scarves.

When we got back to the house, I had an idea. “Why don’t we see if Steven and Roxy want to come over for dinner?”

“Yes, we should try. I just don’t know if he’s ready yet, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.”

“Okay, I’ll call him.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number.

“Marsy, what’s up?” I smiled at the sounds of a video game in the background. Looked like it was a normal Saturday at their house.

“I wanted to see if you and Roxy wanted to come over for dinner.”

“To my dad’s house?”

“Well, that’s where I live at the moment, so yeah, at your dad’s house.”

“Are you making shrimp pasta?” Roxy asked. I hadn’t realized I was on speakerphone, but that was pretty normal for Steven, especially when he was playing a game.

“I was actually thinking about making a pot roast.”

“The one you make with the red wine?” Roxy asked.

“Yep, that’s the one.”

“What do you think, Steven?” Roxy asked.

“You know I love your pot roast—what the fuck, dude, get out of my way, you’re gonna get me killed—so I guess if the only way for me to get it is to come watch you make goo-goo eyes at each other, I’ll deal,” he grumbled.

I laughed at my grown-ass friend who still yelled at video games like he did when he was fifteen and used words like goo-goo eyes. “Okay, sounds good. We’ll see you here around seven, and I’ll let you go so you can play your game.”

“He said yes?” Samuel asked.

“Yep, he and Roxy will be here at seven. Which means I need to get that roast in the oven, so I need to run to the store and get a few things.”

A couple hours later, I was back home with everything I needed. Samuel joined me in the kitchen and helped me unpack all the groceries.

“Okay, what can I do to help?” he asked.

“You can chop up the carrots, onions, and celery while I sear the roast if you want.” I’d never had anyone help me in the kitchen before. I mean, we’d worked together a couple times to get breakfast ready or whatever, but when I was actually cooking a full dinner, it had always been on me to do it all. I loved that he wanted to help instead of just waiting to eat.

“I can do that. Just tell me how big you want the chunks.”

A few minutes later, I slid the roast into the oven and closed the door. “Wow, that didn’t take anywhere near as long to get the roast in the oven with you helping me.”

He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a hug. “We’re partners, Kitten. This is what partners do. They help each other.”

“That hasn’t been my experience in the past. But I like it.”

“Good. Now, how much time do we have before Steven and Roxy arrive?”

“A couple of hours. Why, what are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking there’s something else partners do together that you like.” He waggled his eyebrows, and I laughed.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really.” I braced myself to get ready to run before adding. “I’ll beat you to the bedroom.”

I rounded the corner into the hall that led to the bedroom with him on my heels, but I was the first one through the door, so I considered that a win.

He caught up with me in the bedroom and tackled me on the bed. “I beat you,” I said, laughing.

“You did. So what do you want as your prize?”

“I want to suck your cock.”

“Oh really? Well then, I guess we both win.”

Samuel

A couple of orgasms and a nap later, I nudged Mars. “We need to get up and take a shower. The last thing we need is for Steven to show up and find us in bed in the middle of the day.”

He snorted. “I know you’re right, but I would pay money to see his face if it happened.”

“I don’t think we should push our luck. I’m surprised he even agreed to come. I thought it would take him a lot longer to be okay with everything.”

I was thrilled that Steven had accepted Mars’s invite, but I was a little nervous about how things would go. Steven had been pretty insistent that he didn’t approve of me and Mars being together.

I didn’t know what Mars told him when he went over there. I’d asked how it went, and Mars just said he’d taken care of it and everything was fine. Danni was right, and Steven was a lot like me. I’d never dealt with change well, and neither did he. My plan had been to give him some time and space to come around, but now it was just a week later, and he and Roxy were coming for dinner.

Mars rolled over on his back and sighed. “Why did I invite people over? I want to stay right here in bed for the rest of the day.”

“It was your idea, Kitten.”

“I know, and like you said, we need to get up. I need to get the potatoes on if they’re going to be ready at the same time as the roast.”

Thirty minutes later, Steven knocked on the door, which was odd because he never knocked. My first thought was that it was a bad sign because it meant he didn’t feel at home here now that Mars and I were together, but before either of us had time to go open it for them, both he and Roxy came in.

Steven shot me that same smart-ass smirk he used to use when he was a teenager. “Just wanted to give you two a warning before we came in. Cause there are some things I just never want to see.”

Roxy rolled her eyes. “It’s not like they’d be getting busy in the middle of the day with company coming.”

I looked over at Mars, and our eyes met. His cheeks were flushed, and he was chewing on his bottom lip. It took everything in me not to laugh. My sweet boy couldn’t have been more obvious if he tried.

Steven looked back and forth between the two of us before saying, “Nope, no, no, no. I don’t want to know.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was just making mashed potatoes. Oh, are those for the shop?” Mars rushed over to where Roxy stood, holding a bag that was filled with what looked like little gingerbread men.

“They are. I have snowmen and gingerbread men. I don’t know if they’ll be as popular as the bats, but they’re pretty cute.”

“Let me see.” Mars took out one of the snowmen and one of the gingerbread men. “These are adorable, Roxy.”

“Thanks, Mars. They’re fun to make, and I appreciate you putting them in your shop.”

“My customers loved the Samhain ones, and I’m betting they’re going to snatch these right up. I need to go check the food, but you can just set those over on that table, and I’ll put them in my car later so I don’t forget them when I go to the shop Monday morning.”

“Do you need any help, Kitten?” I asked.

“I’ve got the food under control, but if you could set the table, that would be great. I meant to do that earlier, but someone distracted me.” He grinned at me and gave me a wink, naughty boy.

“I’ll get right on that,” I said with a chuckle. My kitchen table was a little small, so it looked like we would be eating in the dining room. As I’d told Mars the other day, we really only used it for the holidays, but if we were going to have people over for dinner on the regular, it might start getting more use.

Speaking of the holidays… “Steven, have you talked to your mom about Thanksgiving?”

“No, I just assumed we’d have it here like always.” He looked between me and Mars. “That’s what we always do. Is that not okay?”

“It’s fine with us, isn’t it, Mars?”

He shrugged. “Sure. I assumed that was what would happen.”

Steven looked at Mars. “You’ll be here, though, right? You aren’t going to the ranch?”

“I really haven’t thought about it,” Mars said with a sigh. “I don’t want to hurt Dahlia’s feelings, but I really don’t want to go there. I’d rather stay here and eat normal Thanksgiving food instead of her tofurky and chia seed pudding.”

“It could be worse. Remember that time she made you a vegan chocolate bean cake for your birthday?” Steven asked.

“Oh lord, don’t remind me.” Mars laughed. “That took horrible to the next level.”

“Exactly, and that’s why you should join us. Then I can have some of your yummy pecan pie.”

“Yeah, I’m on to you, Steven. You just want me for my baked goods.”

I looked over at Roxy, and our eyes met. She gave me a reassuring smile and a little nod. Steven had had horrible luck with girls before Roxy, but she was good for him, and I was really glad they’d found each other.

She came over to where I was pulling plates down out of the cabinet, holding out her hands. “Here, let me help.”

I handed her the plates, and we left the boys in the kitchen talking about all the horrible food Dahlia had fed Mars over the years.

As soon as we were in the dining room, she smiled at me. “He’s going to be fine, Samuel. I know he didn’t react the best when you talked to him about things, but he’s adjusting.”

“I didn’t mean for this to happen, but Mars”—I took a breath and shook my head—“he’s just special.”

“And Steven knows that, and as you might have noticed, he’s a little protective of Mars. I get the feeling he’s been like that since they were kids.”

“Yeah, he always has been. He basically dared anyone to give Mars a hard time after he came out. I was always so proud of him for that.”

She chuckled. “You should have seen them when Mars showed up at our house to tell Steven to butt out of his business.”

“Is that what he did? Mars didn’t give me any details.”

“That was pretty much the long and short of it. Steven was actually really proud of him for standing his ground.”

“I’m glad. The last thing I wanted was to cause trouble between them. I love Steven, and I know Mars does, too.”

“It’ll be a little awkward for a while, but he’ll adjust.”

We joined them back in the kitchen just in time to see Mars pull the roast out of the oven. I thought about standing back and keeping my distance to give Steven some time, but Mars looked back at me over his shoulder, and I couldn’t resist. I walked over and kissed him on the temple.

“It smells wonderful.”

“Thanks.”

“Have you ever had Mars’s pot roast before, Dad?”

“I haven’t.”

“Well, you’re in for a treat. Mars will tell you he isn’t a great cook, but that’s a lie. Everything he makes is great, or at least it is by the time he settles on a recipe. Get him to make you a chocolate cake sometime.”

Mars laughed. “That was an adventure.”

“It was,” Steven said. “But one I was happy to take with you.” Steven looked at me. “He decided he wanted to learn to make the best chocolate cake, so he started trying recipes.”

“None of them were bad,” Mars added.

“Of course not. They were chocolate cake. But anyway, I bet he made like twenty cakes before he settled on the one he thought was good enough to be THE cake.”

“I could’ve figured it out a lot sooner if I hadn’t been so hesitant to put mayonnaise in a cake, but come to find out, that really was the magic ingredient. Now take this to the table for me.” Mars handed Steven a bowl of mashed potatoes.

“I’ll grab the roast,” I said.

A few minutes later, we were all sitting around the table, eating what had to be the best pot roast I’d ever eaten.

I took another bite and bit back a moan. “This is better than my mother’s pot roast.” I pointed my fork at Steven. “Don’t you dare tell Nona I said that.”

He chuckled. “I won’t tell her you said it if you don’t tell her I agree.”

Mars blushed, and he was so adorable. “Thanks, guys.”

“So, Dad, how’s the bathroom coming along?”

“I haven’t made much progress lately. I’ve been a little distracted.”

“Yeah, I can tell that.” His eyes darted back and forth between me and Mars.

“I meant by the arsonist at the station, Steven.”

“Yeah, sure you did.”

Mars picked up a carrot off his plate and threw it, nailing Steven right between the eyes. “Behave.”

We were about halfway through the meal when Mars’s phone started blowing up. He was doing his best to ignore it, but whoever was messaging him was insistent.

“Let me guess,” Steven said. “It’s Holly Thomas, isn’t it?”

“Who’s Holly Thomas?” I asked.

“She’s one of the customers from the shop.”

“And she’s calling you on a Saturday night?” I asked. “Is that the same woman who was messaging you the other night when we were watching television?”

“She bothers him all the time, Dad. I swear the woman can’t pick out her clothes without checking with Mars to see if what she chose is alright.”

“It’s not that bad,” Mars insisted. “She’s just a little unsure of herself and needs a little reassurance.”

“A little?” Steven asked.

“Okay, a lot of reassurance. Here, let me answer her, and she’ll stop messaging.”

He picked up his phone and started typing. Whatever he was telling her, it wasn’t a simple, I’m busy right now, come see me on Monday when the shop is open .

“There, problem solved.”

I seriously doubted whatever he said solved anything, but I was curious about what he told her.

“And how did you solve this problem?”

“I told her I would meet her at the shop in the morning. I can do a quick reading for her, and that will satisfy her.”

“I thought you were going to the Christmas in November Holiday Market with Mika tomorrow morning.”

“I am. That’s why I told her it would have to be early.”

I nodded my head and let it drop. I wasn’t about to say anything to Mars with Steven and Roxy here, but my boy needed to learn to set some boundaries.

The rest of the meal went really smoothly. Steven told us about a new real estate deal he was working on, and we talked about his cousin Amy’s upcoming wedding. It was just like any other night that I had them over for dinner, which was nice and gave me hope that everything would be okay between us after all.