Chapter 48

Darlene the Jersey Shore Queen was a huge success. Albert would say, "Of course she was." The restaurant at Moonlight Inn was packed. The show had sold well at the beginning, but between the additional surprise performers and the fundraiser connected to the event, we'd sold out. Only a handful of people were in on the secret, and I was bursting because I couldn't wait to see Zach's face when he found out everything.

Albert had asked me to emcee the show, so I was wearing Zach's favorite corset vest and the silk thong underneath a pair of very fitted dress pants. Tonight, I wore a black dress shirt instead of a white. I was looking forward to Zach stripping it all off me and fucking me into the mattress.

I scanned the audience from my perch on a stool behind the piano. So many of our friends and family were out there. Zach was seated at a table with Robbie, who, to the surprise of no one, had come to see Albert's show. At the same table were Sean and Jeremy, Liam and Marco, and my cousin Raphael and his husband, Evan. Isabella and my parents were here as well. Diego and Sofia were with Cody, Emma, and Caitlin's daughter, Maya, in one of the downstairs suites under the watchful eyes of two babysitters. Those poor women had no idea what they were in for.

I turned my attention back to the show because Darlene was almost done with her last song. She ended on a beautiful high note, and the pianist, Greg Hayden, finished the piece with a flourish of the keys. The audience rose to its feet as they both bowed, applauding the brilliance of my best friend. I was so happy for him because I knew he missed the shows he used to do in New York City before his mom got sick. As much as I loved having him close by, I hoped he'd get to go back to the City to do what he loved.

After their final bows, I took the mic to make my last introduction. "Honored guests," I began, "thank you for coming to our show. Now, we have a little surprise for you, and Sean O'Neil, owner of Moonlight Inn, is going to tell you all about it."

Sean took the mic and stood by the piano while I took my seat next to Zach. He leaned over to kiss me. "You did a great job up there." He leaned closer and said in a low voice, "I can't wait to get you home, strip you down, and fuck you until you scream my name."

I shivered at the heat in his voice. "Damn it, Zach," I whispered. "My pants are too tight for you to be talking like that."

Sean cleared his throat while looking right at us. Oops. He turned his attention back to the audience. "One year ago, my fiancé, Jeremy, and I met for the first time in this room. We wanted to do something special to mark the occasion, but we couldn't decide what. Then, a good friend of ours tragically lost his sister and was left to care for his four-year-old nephew."

Zach stiffened beside me. "What the fuck?" he whispered.

I took hold of his hand. "Just listen," I said.

Sean went on. "Jeremy and I decided to create an online fundraiser to raise money to help our friend pay for his sister's funeral expenses. I'm happy to say, at the end of the fundraising period, we raised just over forty-three thousand dollars."

Zach blew out a shuddering breath, and his hand tightened on mine. "Holy shit."

Sean looked over at Zach and chuckled. "Right now, Zach is trying not to have a panic attack." Everyone's attention turned to us, and Zach blushed all the way to the roots of his hair.

"But there's a bit more to the story," Sean continued. "Zach has made a lot of sacrifices in his life for his family, and when the time came, he didn't hesitate to use his entire savings to help pay the funeral expenses for his sister. Which still wasn't enough." There was murmuring in the crowd as other people commiserated with the experience.

Sean spoke over the audience. "A little birdie told me Zach had been saving to buy himself a Harley, and I sneakily found out which one he wanted and told his boss, Tommy Chambers, owner of Neptune Harley Davidson." He searched the audience. "Tommy, are you out there?"

"Here," Tommy replied from the back of the room. He made his way up to the front, limping slightly, followed by his husband, Charlie, who was carrying a large piece of posterboard.

Zach slid down in his seat. "Oh my god," he murmured.

Tommy took the mic from Sean. "Sorry about the slow walk. The robot leg is giving me a hard time." There were some chuckles, especially from the ex-military present. "So, when I heard what Zach had done, I just wanted to give him the damn bike right out of the showroom. Fortunately, my better half is also better with money, and he told me to let the nice fundraiser people pay the wholesale price for the bike."

Sean leaned in to add, "With the overwhelming approval of the donors, we used part of the money raised to get Zach the Harley he'd been saving for."

Charlie turned the poster around to show a picture of the motorcycle in question. "A 2023 Harley Davidson Heritage 114." The entire audience cheered and applauded their approval.

The bike was beautiful. Red with bright chrome wheels and pipes. Zach covered his mouth and burst into tears. Liam handed me a tissue, which I gave to Zach. "You deserve it, sweetheart. We all love you and want the best for you."

He nodded and sat up straight. He wiped his face and said, "I should go up there and thank everyone." He rose and took my hand. "But you're coming with me." He looked around. "Where's Cody?"

I pointed to the doorway where Caitlin was leading all the children into the room. Cody spotted Zach and ran over to him. "Uncle Zach!"

Zach picked up his nephew and kissed his cheek. "Come on, little man, we have some people to thank."

Zach handed Cody to me so he could hug Tommy, Charlie, and Sean fully. There were more tears, and Liam brought up more tissues, much to everyone's amusement.

Finally, Zach took Cody from me and the microphone from Sean. He cleared his throat several times before he spoke. "Thank you everyone for your support. I want to say this first: I couldn't have gotten through any of this without Miguel. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me. He brought me out of my shell and introduced me to the world of found family."

He looked around the room. "I didn't know most of you a month ago. But you all have shown up for me more than my own family ever did. I will be forever grateful for the love and support you've given me. It's worth more than any amount of money in the world."

There was more applause and cheering and a loud "Hooyah!" from Gabe.

Zach handed the mic back to Sean, and we went back to our seats. Jeremy, Sean, and Liam went up to the piano, where Greg joined them in playing an amazing rendition of "Piano Man" by Billy Joel, complete with harmonica. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful evening.

Later that night, after Cody was fast asleep in his Lightning McQueen bed, Zach did indeed strip me out of my corset and thong, but then he laid me down on the bed and made love to me so tenderly it brought tears to my eyes. He thrust into me, never taking his eyes off me, whispering words of love to me until I came untouched. He followed close behind and we lay there for a long time, just breathing each other in.

He kissed me long and sensuously. "I love you, Miguel."

"I love you too," I said. Feeling a little mischievous, I asked, "So does this mean I get to keep you?"

He smiled indulgently. "Yeah, baby. It sure does."