Cast Off (27 page)

A reason to be thankful for family. Who knew? But he was going to have to get over his hang-ups about family. Ian was right. Asking him to give up six siblings and two loving parents because they made his boyfriend nervous was ridiculous, and he had no right or even grounds to expect it. Especially if he was going to fight to live the dream of a happy, adult, partnered couple.

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his perch on the dais at the wedding party’s table, Ian stared down at the “parents, spouses, and dates” tables arrayed in front of them. Leon looked good, although Ian’s suit was a bit too big. He seemed to be getting along just fine with his family. Considering Ian had barely had time to say more than hello, make brief introductions, then thrust a suit at Leon for him to change into, Ian was glad Leon didn’t seem uncomfortable. His family—the ones who weren’t part of the wedding party—were good people and they wouldn’t have left Leon on his own, but a tiny lick of resentment curdled his belly, because it should have been Rick sitting there, getting to know his family. If Rick had only had the guts to overcome that stupid story….

The only good thing about that fucking story was that at least Ian wasn’t commemorating Dylan’s wedding day with naked pics of him boffing his ex-boyfriend posted on one of the most popular gossip sites in Canada. Nope, he got to save that little gem for next week’s entertainment.

Leon would probably get a kick out of it. Younger guys didn’t seem to have the same issues with privacy he did. Perhaps it was a result of spending the majority of his adult life in the closet, but he suspected it was more of a generational thing. The Internet wasn’t a part of his life growing up, and he was in awe of its power to destroy lives in a way that younger people weren’t.

None of them ever seemed concerned about what they posted or who might see it or how it could affect chances for employment or even the mental health of those whose pictures were posted without consent. It was a completely different mindset, and one that he hadn’t even realized applied to his job until now. How many other people’s lives had been uprooted or destroyed by one of
Errant
’s sensationalist stories? Made him sick to think about, even worse because he
hadn’t
thought about it until it affected him personally.

Then there was the dread of explaining his online nakedness to his parents. Yep, this had to be the worst week ever. He glanced over at his brother who was wiggling his fingers at Davy like a giddy kid with his first love. Bastard.

But no matter how personally demoralizing this week was, it wasn’t the worst. The worst had been when Kurt had been shot and they weren’t sure if he was going to pull through. This week ran a close second, though.

The waiter gave him an odd look when he gathered the plates and found Ian’s still mostly full. He hadn’t eaten a full meal since before the rehearsal and wasn’t about to start tonight.

When the speeches started, Ian sat back, pretending to listen, letting the actions of the crowd dictate whether he should laugh or clap. Not having to give a speech was one tiny saving grace.

The full Roman Catholic ceremony had taken forever. The drive to Casa Loma had been even longer, an accident causing a vicious snarl of traffic on the Gardiner. The picture taking itself had been interminable, and dinner had dragged on and on. He wanted nothing more than to curl up in his cold, lonely bed and wonder when he’d have the energy to look for a new job.

He stayed in his seat as the bride and groom had their obligatory parental dances. After that, he’d expected the DJ to play something a little more energizing to get the room on its feet after being stuffed to the gills with a hearty eleven-course meal. It was only four courses, but pretending to eat those four courses made it seem like there were eleven. The DJ surprised him, though, and went slow again. His mother made a beeline for his seat and he groaned under his breath.

“C’mon, boyo, you’ve avoided me long enough today.”

Why couldn’t she be a typical mother of the groom and only worry about what was going on with Dylan, for God’s sake?

“Hey Mom.” Ian led her out onto the dance floor. “Lovely ceremony, wasn’t it? Stephanie was beautiful.”

“Oh, you aren’t going to get out of this that easily, my son. That boy, Leon. He seems a nice enough boy, but he’s not that adorable skittish blond, and his name isn’t Rick. What’s got you looking like one of your brothers just punched you below the belt? Because that little Leon is pleased as punch to be your date and I haven’t seen you go near him once.”

Just like that, his throat closed up and his eyes started burning. But the time when tears could be explained away by the joy of the day had long passed.

“Leon’s my date, Mom. Not Rick.” Never Rick. “Rick is just Kurt and Davy’s friend. That’s all.” And he’d have to remember that.

“Oh, you little fibber. We talked about this at Erin’s birthday party. I saw you looking at him, and if there’s one thing I know about the O’Donnell men, it’s when they’ve found the one.”

“I didn’t know Rick was the one that early.”

His mother smirked and his cheeks heated when he realized he’d admitted he thought Rick was the one. Damn his mother for being such an over-the-top romantic.

“Oh, honey. Your head might not have known, but your heart and stones knew.”

“Mother!” He could not believe his mother had referenced his balls twice at his brother’s reception.

“You should have brought Rick. Getting him accustomed to us is the only way he’ll settle. Like all the boyfriends and girlfriends had to.”

“We broke up. I think.”

It had felt pretty damn final when he’d stormed out of Rick’s place, but he really hadn’t wanted it to be. As Rick accused him, though, maybe he’d been guilty of not taking Rick’s wants and needs into account.

“Then you need to fix it.”

“How? If he wants what I’m offering, shouldn’t he tell me?”

His mother shook her head sadly. “Honey, I could see from a mile off that man was like an abused dog. He wants so much to make someone happy, but he’s scared and he doesn’t know a bit how to make it happen.”

“I don’t know either. I’ve never had a relationship before.”

“Really? No relationships? Not with brothers or sisters or parents? You know how to fix arguments and hurt feelings with loved ones. He doesn’t. Fix it.”

Ian wondered if Kurt or Davy had told her about some of Rick’s hang-ups because otherwise how could she know? Then again, he’d often joked she was psychic—when it came to her kids, at least.

“I will, Mom.”

“And you’re going to have to apologize for bringing Leon here.”

“I will?”

“Yes. You know in your heart it should have been Rick here, and you shouldn’t have tried to substitute.”

She was right, and it was the reason he hadn’t been able to even talk to Leon all night. His family was going to make assumptions about the man he brought with him, and they were all the wrong ones. He should have come alone.

The song ended, and she patted him on the face before whirling back into the throng of wedding attendees. A fresh group of people flooded the dance floor as the tempo picked up and Ian set about trying to find Leon.

T
HE
music changed back to a slow song just as he managed to find Leon at the edge of the dance floor.

“There you are, I’ve been looking for you.” Leon’s eyes were bright and his smile wide.

“Leon.” What was he supposed to say? He needed to take him home because he wasn’t Rick? The damage had already been done, and it’s not like this was a date. They were friends and he might as well try to enjoy himself. Even if he had his mother’s permission—which he wasn’t quite sure he did—Dylan would murder him if he left early and Kurt would help.

Of course, he’d seen Kurt and Davy sneak off to the enclosed garden off the conservatory about ten minutes ago. There wasn’t much doubt about why they’d snuck off, either. Assholes.

“Did you want to dance?” Leon wrapped his hands around Ian’s neck and stared up at him. The simple touch paralyzed him for a moment. Then Leon kissed him and his perception of the world altered. Leon was interested in more than just friendship or even a fuck. There was only one reason to kiss a man in front of his family, and it wasn’t to request a blow job in the bathroom.

He pushed away. Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. “Leon, man, we can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Leon pushed back, trying to wrap his arms around Ian again. This time, Ian grabbed Leon by the shoulder and steered him to an empty table near the door.

“Sit down.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Leon, man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know… you were interested in me like that. I’m in love with someone else.”

He’d tried so hard not to say, not to think it until Rick was ready to hear it. Now he just blurted it out to some nearly random guy. His mom was right. Rick was the one and he’d need to do whatever he had to fix it.

Leon’s face crumpled and tears welled in his eyes.

Kurt and Davy approached the table, giving Ian some breathing room from Leon’s sudden and unwelcome emotional attachment.

“Hey, did you invite Rick?”

Ian frowned. Where had that question come from? “Why?”

“We thought we saw him leaving just as we came back in from the garden, but he was too far away and moving too fast. We didn’t invite him, and Dylan doesn’t know him well enough to have him here, so we thought you might know why he was here.”

His heartbeat raced as adrenaline pushed through his veins. There was only one reason Rick would have come looking for him at the wedding, and there was one big fat reason why Rick would have left before talking to him.

“Leon, I have to go after him. Kurt and Davy will make sure you get home safely.”

“But, but I can do everything in those pictures. I can make you happy.”

No.

Hell, no.

Leon did not just say that.

“What pictures?” Kurt sounded like he was interrogating them.

Ian flapped a hand at Kurt, and amazingly he shut up.

“Avery let you see those pictures?” A terrible suspicion teased the edges of his consciousness, confirmed by the fiery blush that flared on his thin cheeks.

“I took them,” he whispered.

“Why? Why would you do that? And what about the other vandalism?”

Leon squirmed in his chair, the too-big suit contributing to his incredibly youthful appearance. “I followed him home. The night I saw you together at Anaconda. I was so mad. I wasn’t going to do anything, but then I saw the dead squirrel. After that, it seemed like I saw the two of you together everywhere, and you never, ever looked at me like you looked at him. Finally, when you invited me to that party, I thought you were coming to your senses, but you left with him. Again. I followed you and took those pictures. I don’t understand what he’s got that I don’t. We have tons of stuff in common and we work at the same place and, I’m positive I’m more flexible than he is, and, and….”

He paused to sniffle, and Ian barely restrained himself from shaking the kid.

“So you gave them to Avery?”

“Not exactly.”

“You know my brother here is a cop, right? A lot of what you did was illegal. I want some answers or I’m going to have him arrest you. Tell me everything.”

He ignored Kurt’s frantic eye wobbles, not caring that he might be lying through his teeth and Kurt might not be able to do a damn thing to this kid.

“I was so mad. So I went to Avery to find out if she could help me find something that would… change your mind about him. Between the two of us, we found out about the name change, and the rest was easy.”

“Name change?” This time, Ian paid no attention to Davy’s question. Inconsequential until he knew what was going on.

“And she decided it would make a great Friday Lost Ones story.” Getting a choice story like that, just dropped in her lap… no way was Avery going to pass that up.

“Yes. I maybe shouldn’t have told her about the pictures of you and Rick.”

Ian almost let his head thud down on the table.

“Right, now I need some answers.” Kurt put on his angry cop voice, which didn’t intimidate Ian in the slightest, but he was willing to listen, because he really was hoping to convince Kurt to arrest Leon, maybe give him a taste of police brutality on the way.

Kurt pulled out a chair for himself and Davy, and the pair of them sat. Ian wondered how long they could stay here before a friend or family member wandered over.

“There are pictures of you and Rick?” An auburn brow rose up. “The same Rick that tore ass out of here a few minutes ago? Is that what’s had you all twisted up?”

Ian took a deep breath. “Look, Rick and I have been seeing each other.”

“You have?” Davy’s shock was apparent. “In secret?”

“It’s what he wanted.” And most of the cat was out of the bag, thanks to Leon, so he didn’t think there was any harm in telling at least part of the story.

“Yeah. Pretty much since the day we met at your painting party.”

This time, both Kurt’s and Davy’s eyes rounded.

“He didn’t want to tell anyone. He’s got a fierce aversion to romantic relationships and families, mothers in particular, and well, you know Mom. She freaked him out at your housewarming.” But that didn’t get them any closer to the point. “Anyway, we’d just gotten to the point where he accepted that we were an exclusive couple and he’d agreed to come to the wedding with me, even though we weren’t going to tell anyone we’d been seeing each other.”

“Can I go, please?” Leon spoke up plaintively.

Kurt shot him one of his most evil glares. “You sit until I’ve heard this. I might still be arresting your ass.”

Leon subsided, a nervous sweat breaking out on his face.

“Go on.” Kurt turned his gaze back on Ian.

“First it was a bit of vandalism. Flat tires, stuff in the mailbox. I wanted Rick to report it, but he figured it was some kids and they’d eventually stop. But then Rick found a set of photos. Well, photos printed on paper, of the two of us. Explicit photos. We thought it might have been the guy Rick had been fucking before me. He got a little belligerent when Rick broke it off.”