Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“So what?” Harper apprised him. “It only matters if Finn likes you, and he does. You have to get over that. I’m doing it with Wick’s grandparents.”
Wick turned sharply in his chair to regard Harper. “What did you say?”
Harper rolled his eyes. “Your grandfather nearly passed out when you brought your boyfriend into your mother’s family’s mansion on the Upper East Side.”
“That’s not––”
Harper turned to me and Sam at the end of the table, Sam at the head where he always sat, and me to his right. “Wick’s mother is originally from New York, which is where I went over spring break, with him and the rest of his family. His mom and dad met here, in Chicago, for work, and ended up staying.”
“Nice,” I said.
“Wick’s father’s family,” he went on, “is from Georgia, and they don’t like guys who love other guys…like me.”
“I’ll have you know I have a lot of family in Georgia, and they are not homo––”
“Oh, I’m not blaming Georgia as a state,” Harper rushed out, glaring at Wick. “I’m calling out your grandfather and your father’s brothers, who, much like Finn’s brothers, have a problem with Kola being a guy––”
“Thank you,” Kola muttered.
“––and have an issue with me being the same.”
“No. You’re wrong. That’s not––”
“I was there at the family reunion,” Harper reminded Wick. “I am not blind, and I can determine when I’m not wanted.”
“You––”
“Your mother’s family—all great. They wanted to hear about school, about me getting my master’s, about where I wanted to work…all that. Your cousins—even the one doing a bit too much cocaine if you ask me––”
“Nigel is just––”
“––could not have cared less about me being gay.”
“Harper, you––”
“But your paternal grandfather and your grandmother, your father’s brothers, as well as their wives, were not happy I was there. Your sister tried to tell me that I was misreading the situation, but when I asked her where Tariq, her boyfriend—who’s studying to be an aerospace engineer, by the way—was, she told me he was visiting with some of his family instead.”
“Sloane was trying to tell you that––”
“At first I thought something really horrible,” he said, meeting Wick’s gaze. “I thought, I’m Black and Tariq is Black, but both of the horrible brothers’ wives are too, so that ain’t it.”
“Har––”
“So really, all it can be is the gay, and Tariq knows it and didn’t want to see me treated like crap, so he bailed.”
“It’s not what you––”
“It must be awful for your grandparents that you turned out to be gay. They must be terribly disappointed and––”
“No, you’re not lis––”
“It’s fine,” Harper assured him. “I won’t be visiting them at their manor in Milton anytime soon or asking to ride their horses or––”
“It’s not like that!” Wick yelled. “My family doesn’t care about me being––”
“But if we ever get married, we’re really going to have to think about who’s making the guest list, because I will not have my parents, my sisters, or anyone I love seeing me treated the way I was when I was standing in that great room having cocktails.”
Wick’s face crumpled, and Harper exhaled sharply before turning to me. “I’m sorry. Apparently, I’ve been holding that in.”
“Don’t be sorry, love,” I soothed him.
He nodded and then looked at Kola. “Are you heating that so we can have tacos or not?”
“I am,” Kola replied quickly. “Come cut the tomatoes and the jalapeños.”
Harper was out of his chair quickly.
I took hold of Sam’s hand, and he looked around the table at all the unhappy faces.
“Oh,” Wick said suddenly, and we both looked at him. “You were asking about Hannah, and I didn’t––”
“It’s fine,” I said softly.
It was quiet in the room, Harper washing vegetables, Kola heating up the chicken, the rest of us sitting in silence.
There was a knock on the back door then, and Dobby went nuts barking and ran to where George Hunt was, waving in at us.
“Come in,” Sam called to him, and George opened the door, scooping up Dobby as he came in, the dog whimpering and wiggling in delight.
Striding over, George kept hold of the dog as he glanced around the room. “What happened? You all look terrible.”
“Things are happening with all the boys—men—and Hannah and Jake.”
He nodded. “Well, I did some digging after Hannah explained everything to me on the phone last night. It took a bit, since she was crying again, but once I got the particulars, I am now up to speed on things.”
It was a George thing; he really did have to know everything.
“Now, Harper, after speaking to Hannah, I did some digging into Wick’s family, and Hannah is under the impression that you think there’s some hate there over you being gay, but there’s not. They’re snobs, not homophobes.”
Harper was staring at George, his eyes wide, paused in mid-cut of a Roma tomato.