Christmas Angel

Prologue

Prologue

The world spun on two pairs of lips, the central point of Jay’s axis. The struggle to tell whether he rotated around Dean or the man revolved around him, was real. Certainty struck home: choosing didn’t matter. He loved Dean. Dean loved him. A pity many others took more convincing. In the words of Hot Chocolate, it started with a kiss, but Jay didn’t for a minute sense an awakening.

He ran his tongue along his lower lip the action sparking his memory. Foremost, he and Dean had been friends. Funny how Jay took this long to understand how important their grounding was. Friendship remained their foundation, the infrastructure destined to hold them together in the coming years. They’d travelled far. Faced a long road. Their future appeared to fit the analogy, which suited Dean’s love of cars—potholes of their own making filled by time. When those obstacles appeared to dwindle, others placed bumps en route or tried. Jay had grown accustomed to his sister being one of those hindrances, her animosity born out of love if domineering, but he hadn’t expected his mother to speak or act out against the man he loved. His parents liked Dean but the day before, in a romantic getaway booked to celebrate his parents’ thirtieth wedding anniversary, Eleanor Reid tried to throw a sexy Frenchman into his path. The motorway metaphor didn’t account for when people got driven over, their feelings splattered on the tarmac. Too easy to imagine his emotions sprayed wide, an ornate decoration of bruised sentiments. Red and purple. Bloodied and bruised.

Jay took in a deep breath, counted to twenty before releasing it. The fun of having shared a four-poster bed with Dean didn’t compensate for his family’s interference. Why go to so much trouble choosing a perfect suite for them to try to…not separate them, not that, but interfere for personal reasons? What was his mother’s motivation? A moment alone with her might supply the answer.

Saying goodbye to Jay’s parents took time. When Dean carried out their case and said he’d bring the car around, Eleanor and Jonathan Reid extended their farewell, until Jonathan told his wife to let their son get on the road. He hinted at a possible build-up of traffic if they allowed much more time to tick on then ambling off, a tactic well known to help cut her goodbyes shorter. Still, she hung back and walked with Jay out to the reception area. About to pass through the oval entryway, Jay hesitated.

“Mum?”

She turned, and he spent a few seconds taking in her appearance. Elegant as always. Coiffed one might say.

“François…” One of her impeccable eyebrows lifted. “He has a son?”

“Yes. Adrien.” She spoke as if François having offspring meant nothing.

“Apart from an amusing conversation—” he avoided mentioning eye candy “—was there a particular reason you felt we should talk?” His mother pursed her lips, the polished boards of the hotel fascinating. “You’re more direct than this with April. Well, in a roundabout way.”

“Parents want the best for their children.”

Something heavy settled within his chest. How many times did he have to defend his relationship with Dean? She answered again before he protested. He thought things couldn’t get any worse. He was wrong.

“I know you may feel my support extends only so far. To a degree that’s true. From what you know of your grandparents, it may not be apparent, but some didn’t approve of my father marrying my mother. She was a little…lower in class, shall we say, back in days when those things counted. I’m a little more…I guess the term April would use is prim and proper than most women are today. It might surprise April to know I envy her relaxed ways. I had elocution lessons and had to sit with my back straight.”

“So you don’t approve.”

“My feelings have nothing to do with you being homosexual. My…reservations have been quite selfish in their way. I wanted to see my children get married. I wanted grandchildren. Of course, that’s not out of the question. I don’t…dislike Dean. I simply cannot imagine him being a good parent, and I never heard him speak of having a family.”

“But you once thought he might get together with April.”

“True, but then the children would have a mother.”

Jay opened his mouth but hesitated, seeing no way to reply to that twisted way of thinking without starting an argument that would lead them off topic.

“I never mentioned children.”

“True.” The word whistled out between her teeth and her gaze went distant, introspective. “I just wanted you to be aware of…options. If you want a family. If Dean doesn’t happen to.”

Options? Like life without Dean? Like leaving him for another man? If that were to happen, it wouldn’t be owing to their disagreeing whether to have children. Other issues might come between them but on the subject of a family, he would be happy either way. No. Having, or not having, children didn’t bother him.

“And that will be between us.” Jay leant in and kissed his mother’s cheek. “Happy Anniversary.” He walked off before she said another word, pushing any unease to the back of his mind, compartmentalising. No sense in rushing. Dean had much with which he needed to contend. Jay intended to give him every opportunity to come to terms with their relationship. To decide what promise the future held.