18. Ollie

Ollie

Chapter eighteen

“Why’s your family doing brunch?” Liam asked as he pulled on his sneakers.

We’d stayed in bed last night, cuddling and watching old Star Trek episodes until we passed out. Even as my cock had deflated, I’d stayed inside Liam for as long as possible, and being together with him like that, having him wrapped in my arms—fuck, I was the happiest I’d ever been.

“Who knows the ways of the Brannons,” I said with a shrug, waiting by the door. Nervous energy buzzed through me at the thought of telling my family everything, but I wouldn’t get a better opportunity than this. I’d have to volley a lot of information at them at once, and chances were I’d blunder through it. However, Liam was the most important thing to me, and I didn’t want to spend another day without everyone knowing the joy I’d found.

Even if they all thought I was insane for leaping out of a marriage and into a new relationship.

Which would probably be the case.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Liam asked, smoothing his fingers over my brow. “You look like you’re thinking, and that’s never a good sign.”

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks, asshole.”

“You don’t have to rush to say anything—” Liam said, his blue eyes clouding over. I hated that expression, like he believed I might want to hide him away.

I shook my head. “There’s no reason to keep us quiet. I was just protecting my stupid ego with not telling them about the divorce.”

“I meant about coming out.” Liam gave me a pointed stare. “You’ve got to be the most chill person on the planet to go from straight to bi.”

“You’ve always been hot, though. And it’s not like I got the chance to explore my sexuality in high school or college, since Josie and I were together so early.”

Liam snorted, but the affectionate gleam in his light eyes burrowed into my heart. “Never change, Ollie.”

“Not planning on it,” I said, reaching down for his hand. He gave me his palm automatically, and our fingers entwined. A happy little shiver traveled through me as we walked out the door. I didn’t even pull my hand away to lock up my car, managing it all with the other while Liam watched on, amused. We made it to my car, where I reluctantly gave up his hand, but when we both settled into our seats, and I started the ignition, his palm rested on my thigh as if he knew how much I needed the touch.

The hum of the engine mirrored the rumbling inside me, the pent-up energy converting to action. I pushed the gas pedal, and off we went, only a few minutes away from my parents’ house. Some days I even walked over, but today I needed the security of a getaway vehicle, just in case.

When we pulled to a stop in front of my folks’ place, I was surprised everyone’s cars were already there. I’d thought it might just be my parents and a sibling or two, but Aislin, Cor, Declan, and Rory had all arrived.

Which meant the spotlight would be on me and Liam. My throat went dry.

“You’ve got this,” Liam said, squeezing my thigh. “And if you don’t, that’s okay too. I’ll do whatever you need me to right now.”

That, if anything, bolstered me. The fact that Liam was willing to put his heart and hurt on the line confirmed I’d be telling my family today. Not only that I was getting a divorce, but also that I was bi and dating my best friend.

Either they’d rejoice or…well, I couldn’t think of the alternative, or I’d freeze.

“Let’s go,” I said, tugging the keys from the ignition and setting off down the walkway. My palms were sweating, and nerves prickled through me. My folks had two bi kids and a gay son already, so it wasn’t like they’d hate me for that. Still, revealing something so personal peeled away any armor. Declan would be the last straight kid left in the family.

A hysterical laugh bubbled inside my chest, and I wasn’t able to catch it before it escaped.

“You okay there?” Liam placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, dumb thought,” I said, biting back another cackle as if that might eradicate my nerves. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

We reached the front door, which stared down at me menacingly. Showtime.

When I pulled it open and stepped inside, the whole family was waiting for me. While I knew they were all here, what I hadn’t expected was for them to be crowded in the living room and fixating on me as soon as we entered.

The hushed quiet was even weirder.

Normally, stepping into the Brannon household was a recipe for chaos—loud voices, people walking around, sometimes impromptu house projects. However, my family all in the same space, not moving and being quiet for once? Yeah, alarms were going off big-time. Liam bumped into my back. I’d stopped midstride upon heading into this Invasion of the Bodysnatchers version of my family.

“Okay, what’s going on?” I asked.

Cor and Declan whisper-hissed, both trying and failing to argue about something under their breath, and Mom and Dad glanced between each other with worried looks. Before either of them could say anything, Aislin pushed up from the couch and marched toward us.

“Sorry you’re here for this, Liam. Chances are you already knew anyway.”

I wrinkled my nose and braced myself, not moving any closer because guaranteed they’d figured out one of the myriad secrets I kept from them at this point.

“I ran into Josie at the grocery store the other day,” Aislin said, arching a well-defined brow.

Ah, that.

“When were you going to tell us you were getting divorced, Ollie?” Mom asked, a hint of hurt in her voice that burrowed right into my chest. The concern that tilted her brows and the sadness in her and my dad’s eyes got to me, and the words spilled out.

“I meant to when it happened,” I said. “But that was only a few weeks ago, and a lot has changed since then.”

Like realizing I was bi and dating my best friend.

“So the reason your house looks like it got tossed over…” Cor crossed his arms in an attempt to look intimidating, but he was my little brother and would always fail in that regard.

“Is because Josie’s at her mom’s. She’s getting ready to move across the country for a new job, so we’ve already started splitting everything up.” I walked farther in and glanced back to make sure Liam was following and hadn’t bolted out the door to safety. He stood behind me, his blue eyes serious and his whole being buzzing with nervous energy. Chances were he was thinking of a million ways this could end in disaster and how I would chicken out of telling the family about us.

He was wrong.

“Okay, how did this all even come about, though?” Declan asked. “You guys were fine.”

“I mean…” Aislin passed a glance to Mom.

“What was that?” I said, pointing between the two of them.

“Look, we’re not blind, son,” Dad said.

“I mean, Declan wasn’t aware, but he’s the only one,” Rory drawled, leaning back in the recliner.

“What the fuck are you on about?” Declan shot him a glare, but I was already well into the room and doing the same to my family. Apparently, the lot of them had plenty to say about my marriage.

“Going to fill me in?” I asked Cor. He was the softie who’d cave first.

“You guys have seemed distant for the last few years,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “Most of us were wondering if this was coming, that’s all. Before, you used to argue a lot, and I dunno if that was your thing or whatever, but it changed.”

“I’m glad everyone felt the need to fill me in.” I crossed my arms. Irritation prickled through me that they’d all seen something that had taken Josie asking for a divorce for me to understand.

“Hey,” Aislin said, placing a hand on my forearm. “We just didn’t want to upset you. But we wanted to know why you hadn’t told us and if you’re even okay after she dropped all that on you.”

The annoyance melted from me at those eager expressions of concern, apart from Declan, who looked disgruntled that no one else was surprised about the divorce. Instead, amusement welled in my chest to replace those feelings. They might’ve seen the divorce coming, but they wouldn’t have guessed the other part.

“I’m better than okay,” I said, a giddy smile rising to my lips. The secret about my divorce was out, and it felt ridiculous I’d even hid the news that long. Riding on that adrenaline, my nerves completely disappeared, and I grabbed Liam’s hand, interlacing our fingers together. “In fact, I’d like to introduce you to my new boyfriend.”

Mom and Dad blinked at me as if they were trying to process the news. Aislin cocked her head to the side while Cor and Rory glanced to each other like they attempted to confer through telepathy. Declan shrugged.

“This is how you’re telling them?” Liam hissed by my side, shooting me a panicked look.

Sunlight filtered through my insides, and I let out a bark of a laugh at not only my family’s shocked expressions but the sheer relief of having all the weight off my shoulders. I’d never been good at keeping secrets anyway.

“It’s new, obviously,” I continued, squeezing Liam’s hand. “But he’s the one for me. Josie did me a favor, because I never would’ve realized what I already had here if she hadn’t asked for a divorce.”

Declan’s brows drew together. “This is what everyone’s shocked over? I thought you guys had something going on for years, an agreement with Josie or whatnot.”

“No, this is new.”

“I mean, not on my end,” Liam said.

“Well, that’s always been obvious,” Rory said. “Though Ollie being a part of the Q Crew is a twist I hadn’t anticipated.”

“Don’t call it the Q Crew. That’s the worst fucking callback,” Cor shot back.

“Wasn’t that some old radio station thing?” Aislin asked.

“Thanks, children,” Mom said. “You make me feel like a dinosaur.”

“Our sweet, loving brontosaurus,” Rory said, earning himself a glare from Mom.

“So you’re with Liam now?” Dad said, thankfully drawing us back to the point I’d been trying to make. His expression wasn’t clear, but I’d already bared everything, so I bulldozed through.

“I am, and I hope you all will welcome him into the family,” I said, letting go of Liam’s hand to wrap my arm around his shoulder and pull him against me. It hadn’t been enough contact, and I was needy, so sue me.

“Ollie,” Dad said, his eyes crinkling at the edges as a slow grin rolled to his face. “Liam’s been part of the family for a long time. I’m glad he’s not going anywhere.”

Relief crashed in at those words.

“Thanks, Craig,” Liam said, his voice thick.

“Fuck, this makes so much sense.” Aislin bounced on her heels. “You guys have been attached at the hip forever, so it’s not like you can get even closer.”

“Oh, we definitely can,” I said, waggling my brows.

“Knock it off,” Liam muttered, elbowing me in the side.

“Yeah, if I can’t talk about my one-night stands at the breakfast table, you don’t get to talk about your gross committed relationship sex,” Rory shot back.

“You kids keep this up, and I’m going to chime in with my sexcapades,” Mom said.

“Oh god,” Declan said, rising from the seat and heading toward the kitchen. “Never say sexcapades again.”

“La, la, la.” Aislin plugged her fingers in her ears as she followed Declan. “I’m going to grab some coffee. We might as well dig into brunch now that the interrogation’s over.”

“Intervention,” Cor said. “It was supposed to be an intervention, but no one would let me put up a banner.”

“Interrogation seems more accurate with you lot,” Liam said, still curled against my side because he fucking belonged there. I squeezed him a little tighter, my heart expanding so big I thought it’d explode in my chest.

Mom caught my gaze and winked. “I’m happy for you.”

I beamed back, so damn overjoyed at what I’d found. After years of trying to make my marriage work when it had always been not quite right, this was breathlessly easy in comparison. Not like we wouldn’t have our hurdles down the line, but Liam and I clicked, the way Mom and Dad did—the way I’d always hoped for in a partner.

“Wait, if Declan’s in the kitchen, there’s not going to be any bacon left for the rest of us,” Rory said, shooting from his seat like his ass had caught flame.

“Man likes his meat,” Cor said with a smirk. “Are we sure he’s not bi too?”

“Might as well collect a full set at this point.” Dad glanced at Mom. “Do we have an ability to just produce queer kids?”

“Or your sperm’s really gay,” Mom said with her normal quick wit.

I snorted. “Okay, let’s get food before everyone else devours it. All this interrogation is making me hungry.”

“Everything makes you hungry,” Liam said.

I leaned in close as we walked toward the kitchen. “You always make me hungry.”

The shiver rolling through Liam was the only reward I needed, but the way he bit his lower lip was a bonus. This man was so damn hot, and he was all mine. Before we stepped into the kitchen, I placed a kiss on the top of his head.

“How are you feeling?” I asked. “With everything out in the open?”

He looked up at me, those blue eyes glossy. “I’d dreamed about it for so long I never thought this would happen in real life. Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being worth waiting for.” Liam pressed a kiss against my cheek. The tenderness of the motion sent a thrill through my heart, and I clutched him even tighter, wanting to drag his body against mine any chance possible.

“No one asked for this gushy display of affection,” Rory called out. “Either get your asses in here or find somewhere private.”

“Maybe we should’ve kept our relationship quiet longer,” Liam muttered, and I snorted out another laugh.

“Yeah, like that would work with this nosy bunch. Just wait until we tell your friends,” I said, elbowing him in the side.

“They’re aware,” he said as we walked into the kitchen. “I never named names, but Maeve’s had your number for years.”

“Oh good. That’ll make next game night a lot easier.”

Liam shook his head, trying to play it cool, but his dopey grin was one I wanted to memorize. The way his pretty blue eyes gleamed, how his normally guarded expression lit up. My heart responded in kind as if some instinctive part of me had always known he was mine.

“Were there cinnamon rolls?” Rory asked Aislin, who nibbled on one. “Because I’m pretty sure you inhaled them all.”

“Look, some of us were here for a while and were hungry. We had to work ourselves up for the interrogation.”

“Intervention,” Cor called from the other room.

“That was the least dramatic interro-vention I’ve ever seen,” Liam said. “I thought there’d be a little more by way of accusations and general shock.”

“How dare you get me pregnant,” I said, jostling against him.

He rolled his eyes. “I meant accusations at you.”

“You got him pregnant.” Aislin pointed at Liam while her eyes sparkled. “Oh god, this is going to be so much fun with you two together.”

“Hmm, maybe I’m regretting all of this now,” Liam said, trying to tug away from me.

I squeezed him tighter against me. “No escape, no escape.”

Declan let out a snort. “I have no sympathy. You knew what you were in for.”

The kitchen table was covered with the remains of cinnamon rolls, a half-eaten plate of bacon, and a breakfast casserole that had already been torn into. But there were biscuits too, and honestly, I didn’t even care what was left to eat. I was so fucking happy just to be here with the love of my life, surrounded by my family.

Josie had gotten along with my family, and we’d made it work the best we could for years, but lingering tension had always existed. Turned out all the arguments and general lack of cohesion had been signs we weren’t right for each other.

Because this, with Liam? I wasn’t trying to make anything work. We just did. The sense of rightness settled into my veins, lifting me higher than I’d experienced before.

“Okay, how slowly are you going to eat that cinnamon roll?” Rory started arguing with Aislin again. “It’s like you’re fucking taunting me.”

I nuzzled against the side of Liam’s neck. “I love you,” I whispered in his ear. “More than I ever thought possible.”

The way his whole body melted against mine told me all I needed to know, but he whispered those words back.

“I love you too, Ollie. For as long as you’ll have me.”

Little did he know, I was planning on forever.