Emerett Has Never Been in Love (Love Austen 1)

Knight looked up sharply, and Lake gulped.

“Really missed him,” Lake said, picking up a salt grinder and fiddling with the top knob. “I guess I won’t be in your hair as much.”

“How do you figure?” Knight’s voice quivered, surprised. “Taylor and Amy will want their space, and I can’t see you happy being a third wheel at their house. Your cottage is on the market. Unless you’ve found a better place to stay, I imagine things will—thankfully—stay as they are.”

Thankfully? “You don’t mind?”

“I more than don’t mind, Lake. You make the place feel like home.”

“Um, really?” Lake set the salt shaker aside and scrubbed his face. “I mean, I feel like it’s home too.” His admission poured out, “I’m nervous about Taylor coming back. I love him and everything, but there’s something . . . Like, what if he thinks I spend too much time with you? What if he doesn’t like it? What if you have to stop hanging out with me?”

Knight settled his palms on Lake’s knees and met his eyes. “Let’s cross those bridges as we get to them. Taylor is a grown man. He understands that relationships evolve. We’ll find our new balance. Pass me the salt?”

Lake passed it to him. “What if the balance makes someone unhappy? Maybe I shouldn’t live with you.”

Knight ground a mountain of salt into the curry. “Let’s not be hasty. Let’s focus on seeing Taylor again. His party.”

“All right. What are you gonna sing?”

Knight finally put the grinder down. “When have you ever seen me sing?”

“Come on. I dare you. Your voice would be good for a deep ‘Love Shack.’ I’m thinking of doing the classic, crime-if-it’s-not-done, ‘500 Miles’.”

“I’ll never get sick of it. Even if I’ve heard you sing it 10,000 times.”

“It makes me think of you, you know.”

Knight stopped stirring. “Really?”

“You walk everywhere, all the time. Hell, you made us walk here. You’d be the kind of guy who really would walk five-hundred miles—and five-hundred more—for, you know, Taylor. Or Paul. Or, you know. Me.”

Knight resumed stirring. “You know I’d walk five-hundred miles for you?”

“I hope you would? I would too. You know, for Taylor. Or you.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing this song more than I thought.”

Lake laughed. “You have to sing too. It’d crack me up, but also it’d make Taylor feel better. I think he’s disappointed that West won’t show.”

“West won’t show?”

“He said something came up. It’s a pity. I was looking forward to meeting him.”

Knight hit the wooden spoon a few tight times against the side of the pot, freeing it of curry. “You were?”

“He seems interesting. I’m curious if he’s just as interesting in person. But I guess not this time.”

Knight spoke coolly, “This is just like him.”

Lake stared questioningly at Knight’s apparent annoyance.

Knight’s face pinched. “He did this a lot at high school.”

Lake agreed West not coming sucked, but—through texts from West himself and Taylor—he’d learned a lot about West over the last week, and he had the itching desire to play devil’s advocate. To argue with Knight. “His parents sound homophobic. Maybe they had something to do with him not coming?”

“I accepted that he didn’t come because of me when he was at school, but he’s a grown man now.”

“Wow, what’s he done to make you so prickly?”

Knight cleared his throat. “He’s always making promises and then cancelling last minute. It always made Taylor feel crappy.”

“Taylor’s also a grown man now, remember? He doesn’t need you to hate West for him.”

“I don’t hate West. I just haven’t seen any proof of him caring about my son.”

“Easily said. But you should know how hard it is for some guys to juggle the love they have for their parents and the love they have for men.”

“I walked out on my parents when they demanded I give Taylor up for adoption. Sometimes you have to make hard choices.”

“Not everyone works like you do. You taking Taylor was brave and admirable, but whatever West is enduring is not the same situation. You can’t know how much this might tear him up. How much he’s holding back being himself because he loves his mum and dad. Or needs them. Or both.”

“If he cared enough about Taylor, he’d have found a way to sneak around.”

“You’re determined to dislike him.”

Knight turned his back to Lake, washing dishes in the sink. “He isn’t considerate or respectful.”

Lake hummed thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure if Knight was pissed at West, or at the situation. Maybe Knight had had a shitty work week too?

“If you were West, I’m sure you’d have handled it better. You’d have snuck around to Taylor’s party as promised. But maybe West informing me that he couldn’t make it was the most respect he could manage.”

“He left you to break it to Taylor instead of explaining to Taylor himself.”

Lake laughed robustly and jumped off the counter. The impact of the tile on his heels vibrated to his brain.