The room seemed suspiciously quiet when he arrived, so when they were all seated with beverages, Adrian cleared his throat, hoping he could jumpstart the conversation. “Gaish, Maaheshvari, did you know Jay and I will be making Seth and Erik’s wedding cake?”

  “You’re a pastry chef too, yes?” Gaish asked. It had come up the previous time they met, but Adrian wasn’t too surprised he hadn’t remembered. Adrian glanced over at Jay again. He still looked tense.

  “Not exactly.” Adrian cleared his throat. “I bake pastries, cakes, and bread, but my training was a little different. I do have a certification as a master baker.” He enunciated carefully. “And I own my own bakery. We’ve been up and running for about six years.”

  A pleased expression crossed Gaish’s face. “A business owner. Good.” He sounded approving.

  “It’s challenging but very rewarding. After six years, we’re turning a good profit, and I’ve hired a few new people lately. Seth helped me with some marketing that really allowed the business to grow.”

  “That’s good.”

  They all went silent, and Adrian wracked his brain for another topic of conversation.

  “I like your dress,” Molly blurted out. She was seated on the floor not far from Maaheshvari, and she had been very quiet. Uncharacteristically so.

  Maaheshvari looked down at her and smoothed her hand over the flowing fabric. It was a deep blue with a purple edge. Gaish wore trousers and a crisp blue button-down shirt. Adrian, Jay, and the kids had all dressed up as well. Perhaps they’d all been trying to impress each other. “It’s not a dress. It’s called a saree.” Her tone was kind, though.

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t know. It’s pretty. I like it.”

  Maaheshvari smiled. “What do you like about it?”

  “The colors! And it looks soft.” Molly held her hand out as if to touch it, but she hesitated, looking up at Maaheshvari as if asking for permission.

  To Adrian’s surprise, she held the hem of it out to Molly.

  Molly's eyes lit up, and she carefully stroked it. “Ooh, it is soft.”

  “I have a lot of these at home in all sorts of colors. I buy them whenever I go home to India to visit. They come in every color of the rainbow, and some of them are much fancier than this one.”

  “Purple’s my favorite,” Molly said. “And sometimes blue.”

  “Did you know Karnataka is the silk hub of India?” Gaish said proudly. “My family still exports it.”

  “That must be very interesting,” Adrian said. “What made you decide to go into dentistry rather than the family business?”

  “It’s stable,” Gaish said firmly. “While business was good for my family, my parents wanted more for me. They saw many families in Bangalore where bad marriages led to crushed dreams of a stable life. Many sacrificed for the well-being of their younger siblings. Maaheshvari was a good match, and being a dentist let me take care of my family. I’ve been able to help bring several of my nephews here to America as well.”

  Adrian nodded. Jay’s parents’ objections to his career and being gay made sense in that context. Adrian just had to show them that Jay’s job and relationship were stable. Adrian wanted to prove to them he could be a good match for Jay too.

  “Did Jay tell you how well his new job is going?” Adrian prompted. He knew Jay wouldn’t bring it up himself.

  “Yeah, I got a raise last month,” Jay said quietly. “And because the cost of living is so much better here, I’m able to put more into savings.”

  Gaish nodded approvingly. “Good. Good.”

  Adrian wasn’t going to bring up the fact that he and Jay were talking about moving in together soon. Jay’s six-month lease would be up in September, and Adrian had discussed it with the kids. They were all for Jay moving in, but Adrian wasn’t sure how that would go over with Jay’s parents.

  Adrian glanced at the time on the clock. He needed to get started on the second part of dinner soon if they were going to eat at reasonable time tonight.

  “Maaheshvari?” Adrian said. “I was wondering if you could give me your opinion. Seth gave me the recipe for your bisi bele bhath and I would love your feedback on it to make sure I got it right.”

  She looked surprised, but she nodded. “If you’d like.”

  “Please, it would be helpful.” Dear God, I want to impress you, Adrian thought wildly. Let me get this right.

  She followed Adrian into the kitchen, and he lifted the lid on the pot that had been simmering all afternoon. It was a rice and lentil dish with vegetables and at least a dozen spices. Hopefully, he hadn’t screwed it up. He handed her a spoon.

  Maaheshvari tasted the dish carefully. “Close. A bit more fenugreek.”

  She inspected his spices, then handed the bottle of the seeds to Adrian. “These are good quality.” She sounded a little surprised as she sniffed a bottle of coriander seeds.

  “Jay and I have been shopping at an Indian market here in Pittsburgh.” Adrian put a pinch of the fenugreek seeds into a mortar and pestle, then ground them between the pieces of stone.

  “You grind them yourself.” She sounded very surprised at that.

  He smiled at her. “Yes. I knew they’d be fresher that way, and I wanted to get this right.”

  “I use a coffee grinder. Much easier.”

  Adrian laughed. “That would be easier.”

  “Get one just for your spices,” she said. “You don’t want jeera in your coffee.”

  “I don’t,” Adrian agreed with a little laugh. “Though cardamom is nice.”

  “You should toast your spices in a dry pan first too. It brings out the flavor.”

  Adrian groaned. “I did that earlier, but I forgot just now.” Damn it, he’d been hoping to impress her.

  “You’ll learn.” The corner of her mouth turned up.

  “I know. I just wanted this to be perfect,” he admitted. “I was very nervous about tonight going well.”

  Her expression grew soft. “You love my son.”

  “Yes,” Adrian agreed. “Very much.”

  “And you make him happy.”

  “I’m certainly trying.”

  “Your kids love him too.”

  “They do.”

  She nodded as if he’d passed some sort of test, then turned her attention back to the food as he sprinkled the fenugreek in the lentil dish. “That’s enough,” she warned him.

  He set the mortar and pestle with the remaining powder aside, and she nodded at the bowl covered in plastic wrap on the counter.

  “You’re making dosa.”

  “Yes.” He’d made three batches of the savory crepe-like pancakes in the past week, hoping to master the technique. “I’m going to try, anyway. I can’t seem to get it quite right. They’re either too thin or too thick.”

  “Let me wash my hands and I’ll show you the right way to make them.”

  “I’d like that very much,” he said, not even trying to hide his relief. They were definitely making progress.

  When they all settled down at the dinner table half an hour later, Gaish looked surprised when Adrian ladled some of the bisi bele bhath onto the kids’ plates. “Your children will eat that?”

  “They’ll try it,” Adrian said. “They’re expected to try everything on their plate at least once. But they have pretty adventurous palates.”

  “I love broccoli and most vegetables, and people tell me I’m weird!” Josh piped up and everyone chuckled. Even Jay’s parents looked amused. Jay still looked tense, though, and Adrian nudged Jay’s foot with his own.

  Jay’s gaze flicked up to him, and he managed a small smile. We’ve got this, Adrian tried to convey with his gaze. Jay nodded as if he’d gotten the message.

  Everyone tucked into their food, and Adrian was relieved when Maaheshvari gave him an approving little nod. “Very good.”

  “This is good,” Gaish said. He sounded quite surprised, but Adrian couldn’t really blame him.

  “Well, it’s Maaheshvari’s recipe,” Adrian said charitably. “And she cooked most of the dosa.”

  “They are good,” Jay said, picking one up. He was beginning to look a little more relaxed.

  “What do you think, kids?” Adrian asked. He turned to look at Josh’s plate, only to find all of the dosa and at least half of the lentil dish gone. “I’m guessing you liked it,” he said drily.

  Josh nodded emphatically, cramming more lentils into his mouth with his fork. Okay, maybe they needed to work on table manners still but ...

  “A good appetite is good for a growing boy,” Maaheshvari said approvingly. “Ajay was picky. He wanted American food. He didn’t like what I made.”

  Jay gestured toward his plate. “I like both now.”

  “It’s good you have Adrian to cook Indian dishes for you.” Maaheshvari looked over at Adrian. “I’ll send you some more of my recipes.”

  “That would be great,” Adrian said, genuinely pleased by the gesture.

  “Adrian was very nervous, you know,” Jay said. “That you might not like him. He worked very hard to impress you.”

  Adrian ducked his head. “I did. I know this is isn’t easy for you, but I wanted you to see that I could be good for your son.”

  “We were nervous too,” Gaish said. “We didn’t know how you’d feel about us.”

  Once they had all that out in the open, the rest of the dinner passed quite pleasantly. Adrian’s apprehension faded, and the conversation flowed better as they moved on to other things. It turned out Gaish watched American football, so they discussed draft picks and the upcoming season, and Adrian felt a wave of relief as the remaining tension left him. Finally, some common ground.

  After dinner, Jay put on his shoes to run his parents back to the hotel where they were staying. He’d been learning to drive after spending most of his life as a non-driving New Yorker and had passed his driver’s test recently. Adrian was so proud of him.

  “We’ll go to the zoo tomorrow, then,” Adrian suggested when they all stood by the door.

  Maaheshvari smiled at him. “Yes. That would be very nice.”

  “We’ll pick you up at ten, if that’s all right?” Adrian said.

  They nodded and said their goodbyes before Jay gently herded them out the door. The kids disappeared into the living room to play while Adrian put away the leftovers and loaded the dishwasher. He’d nearly finished cleaning up when Jay walked into the kitchen.

  He looked exhausted. Adrian knew the feeling.

  “I think that went pretty well,” Adrian said. He dried his hands and walked over to stand by Jay. Jay sagged against him, and Adrian wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

  “I think that went very well,” Jay said. “I mean, we’re probably always going to be at odds in some ways, but they like you. They like the kids. And they didn’t make a single comment about me moving back to New York so ...”

  “Sounds like a win to me.” Adrian kissed his temple.

  “Thank you for everything you did,” Jay said seriously. “I know this was stressful, and you put a lot of work into making my mom’s recipe and ...”

  Adrian shrugged. “I know food. It seemed like as good a way as any to connect with them. And I remembered what you said about your ex.”

  Jay chuckled. “Well, it worked. The kids were a big help too. I think the idea of having grandkids was a selling point to my parents. They thought they’d never get them from me.”

  “Grandkids,” Adrian said with a smile. “You’re planning to stick around for a while then, huh?”

  “If you and the kids will have me.”

  Adrian closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against Jay’s. “Definitely.”

  “Then I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Perfect.” Adrian snuck a kiss. “Now, how about you help me get the kids to bed?”

  “I can do that.”

  “Time for bed,” Adrian called out. “Josh, Molly, go up and brush your teeth.”

  There was a little whining, but eventually, they did as they were told.

  “You want me to read you a story?” Adrian asked a short while later, leaning against the doorframe into Josh’s room.

  “No. I want Jay to.”

  “Well, okay, then,” Adrian said with a laugh. He walked in and kissed Josh’s forehead.

  “Out of the way,” Jay said with a little wink as Adrian turned to leave. “You’re not wanted here.”

  “I can see where I stand in this family,” Adrian said. He reached out and squeezed Jay’s hand. He squeezed back.

  “Okay, what do you want me to read tonight?” Jay asked as he took a seat on the edge of Josh’s bed.

  “The one about the dump truck!”

  “I can do that.” Jay took the book from Josh’s outstretched hand.

  Adrian leaned in the doorway for a moment as he watched Jay read aloud. It brought a lump to Adrian’s throat. This, right here, was everything he’d ever wanted. A cozy house, a thriving bakery, two happy kids, and a partner who loved him. He was a lucky, lucky man.

  “I think I’m developing a fetish for that look.”

  Adrian glanced up from his phone, peering at Jay over the rim of his glasses. “Which one?”

  “The hot boyfriend with glasses one.”

  Adrian chuckled as he set his phone aside. “My eyes were tired so I took out my contacts.”

  “Trust me, I wasn’t complaining.” Jay dropped onto the couch beside Adrian. “I read two stories to Josh tonight.”

  “Pushover,” Adrian teased.

  “I can’t resist the pout,” Jay said with a little sigh. “He gets it from you, you know?”

  “He does not,” Adrian protested. “Take that back.”

  “You’re doing it right now!”

  “I am?”

  “You so are,” Jay said drily.

  “Hmm. Does that mean it’ll get me what I want?”

  “I don’t know. What do you want?”

  Adrian grabbed the front of Jay’s shirt. “You.” He pulled him in for a searing, dirty kiss.

  “Thought we were going to watch that movie tonight,” Jay said when he drew back. His lips were shiny and pink from Adrian’s kiss.

  Adrian glanced over at the screen. “You’re choosing a moving instead of taking your man to bed?”

  Jay hummed. “Well, when you put it like that …”

  “That’s what I thought.” Adrian clicked off the TV and stood.

  “Shower first?”

  “Sounds good.” Adrian strode out of the living room. “Let’s make it quick, though. Your ass is mine tonight.”

  The sound of Jay’s quiet laughter followed Adrian as he jogged up the stairs, and a few moments later, so did Jay.

  “Why are you teasing me like this?” Jay whined half an hour later as he lay sprawled out on Adrian’s bed.

  Adrian flicked his tongue against Jay’s nipple. “Like what?”

  “Like this. I need you, Adrian.”

  He drew his teeth across the sensitive peak before sucking gently. Jay’s hips bowed up—or would have if Adrian hadn’t been planted firmly between his thighs, pressing him down into the mattress—so Adrian did it again.

  “You have me.”

  Jay let out an aggravated huff. “Not what I meant.”

  “Maybe you should explain it.” Adrian slid a little lower, working his way down Jay’s chest and stomach with more teasing little flicks of his tongue.

  “Need you to fuck me.”

  “I will.”

  “Now,” Jay growled.

  “Nope.” Adrian dragged his tongue along Jay’s hipbone. “I’m going to take my time. You’ve been too tense this week for me to do this.”

  “I’m tense now,” Jay grumbled. “Because you aren’t fucking me.”

  Adrian pressed his face against Jay’s lower abdomen to stifle his laughter, but it didn’t work very well, and a snort escaped him. When he lifted his head, Jay was looking at him with a fond expression. “I just ruined the mood, didn’t I?”

  “No.” Adrian smiled back. “Never.”

  “Thank goodness.”

  Adrian slid back up Jay’s body and pinned him to the bed, his elbows beside Jay’s ears. “God, I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Jay slid his hands up and down Adrian’s back. “If I didn’t say it already, thank you for everything you did tonight. I know I kinda froze up on you.”

  “Hey, it’s okay.” Adrian smoothed Jay’s hair back. “You’ve done a lot for me in the past six months. You uprooted your whole life to take a gamble on moving to Pittsburgh to be with me. You helped me keep my business running. You welcomed my kids wholeheartedly into your life. The least I can do is make an attempt to show your parents that I’m good for you.”

  “You are,” Jay said. “You have made me so happy. And I can’t wait to move in with you next week.”

  “I can’t wait either. I already made space in the closet for you, in fact,” Adrian said with a smile. “It’s going to be so nice having you here permanently. I hate it when I have to sleep alone.”

  “I’m here most nights.” Jay’s smile seemed to stretch from cheek to cheek, and his brown eyes were warm and happy.

  “But I want you every night,” Adrian countered. He leaned in and kissed Jay again.

  Jay let out a quiet sound of pleasure before burying his hand in Adrian’s hair and deepening it. Adrian’s heart felt very full as he tried to pour every bit of feeling he had for Jay into the kiss. He reluctantly pulled back but only to kiss his way down Jay’s body again. This time, Jay didn’t push Adrian to move any faster.

  When Adrian slid his mouth down over Jay’s cock, Jay threaded his fingers through Adrian’s hair and held on tight. Sweet, slow strokes brought Jay to a point where he was shaking, and then Adrian sat back, reaching for the lube. The soft gasps Jay made when Adrian worked him open with his fingers were music to Adrian’s ears, but the low groan he made when Adrian slid his cock inside was even better.

  But when Adrian pushed deeper, he drew a strangled gasp from Jay’s lips. “Fuck, Adrian!”

  “Shh.” Adrian pressed his lips against Jay’s. “Quiet.” They kissed as Adrian reveled in the tight, slick feel of Jay’s body surrounding his cock. Whether he was inside Jay or Jay was inside him, it was always so good.

 

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