Duty and Devotion (20 page)

“Don't offer to help him climb out a window or anything. If he says yes, Helena is going to wring your neck.” Matt laughed at his own joke, bussing a kiss on Evan's check before disengaging their hands and heading for the heavy double doors.

“I wouldn't do that,” Evan said; he knew Matt was teasing, but still… “And he wouldn't say yes.”

Matt looked toward the ceiling in exasperation. “Kidding. Really. Even a bachelor like me knows true love when he sees it.” He fluttered his eyelashes, teasing, but Evan shook his head.

“You're not a bachelor anymore,” he said simply. Matt stopped in between the doorway, the sun shining brightly behind him.

“Oh,” Matt said lightly. “That's a good point.”

They shared a look, long and meaningful, and Evan sincerely wished the wedding was over and the reception was finished and they were back in that nice hotel room Vic had graciously gifted them with this weekend.

“I'm gonna go…you know, fulfill my duties as an usher.” Matt smiled. He half waved, then disappeared into the light, the door snicking closed behind him.

Evan rocked back on his heels, his hands dug deep in his pockets.

He was a married man again, for all intents and purposes. The slim gold band that represented his marriage to Sherri sat on his dresser; he didn't think he and Matt were the “commitment ceremony” type, but Evan felt very secure in the fact that Matt wasn't going anywhere and neither was he.

He doubted the kids would stand for it. He doubted if either he or Matt could conceive of it.

And now he had traditional-type marriage things to do—like give Vic a pep talk about how the second time around could mean just as much as the first.

Vic, as it turned out, wasn't very nervous. Neither was Serena. They stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, with the bright sunlight surrounding them, staring into each other's eyes as the judge made everything legal. There was a general sniffling from the gathered guests. Evan kept dry-eyed but there was a moment during the “I do's” when he peeked over at Matt—sitting with the kids in the front row—and smiled, feeling sentimental.

Miranda caught the look and made a gagging gesture.

Then she and Matt traded elbows to the ribs, as sure a gesture as a hug when it came to those two.

Evan was touched. The judge pronounced Serena and Vic husband and wife, and the hired violinist hit her perfect cue as the applause broke out.

Helena clutched his arm tightly as they walked down to the back of the makeshift aisle. She sniffled against his shoulder as he patted her hand.

“Okay?” he asked quietly.

“Yes. Just officially melancholy.” Helena wiped a few stray tears away with her wrist, hiding the motion behind her bouquet of tightly wrapped lavender roses. “Mom and Vic look so happy.”

Evan watched the newlyweds stopping at every row to collect hugs and congratulations. They both glowed, and even as they turned apart to accept good wishes, their hands were tightly clenched.

“They do. And you look great in violet. Like a young Liz Taylor,” he teased.

Helena gave him a light punch in the arm. “Shut up.” She looked over the crowd—now moving toward the adjoining room for cocktails—and saw Matt herding the kids together. “Matt's coming over here. Everything okay with you guys?”

Evan smiled in the direction of his approaching family. “Things are good actually.”

“You decided about becoming my boss?”

“I could say something about always being the boss of you, but I value my life.”

“Good man.”

“But actually—yes. I'm going to say yes.”

“Even if they want to make you their manly gay poster boy for captains?”

Evan shrugged. “I accept that I'm going to have to deal with the political shit. But I think I can be a good captain and…” He paused, catching Matt's eye as he reached them. “I think I can be a good role model.”

“Are we discussing your dapper usage of pocket hankies? Because really man, good stuff,” Matt said, moving past Evan to give Helena a kiss on the cheek.

“No, we're discussing how your boyfriend is going to be my boss, and I expect serious favoritism.” Helena smiled, wrapping her arm around Matt's waist.

Evan clucked his tongue disapprovingly.

Miranda and Katie, having said some brief hellos to his partner, had already pulled out their cell phones, and the twins wandered over toward the incredible pull of fancy party food and fruity drinks.

“Can you girls take Elizabeth and Danny in to get something to eat?” Evan asked.

“I have to make a phone call,” Miranda started, lifting her eyes from the miniscreen briefly to catch her father's glare. “Which I will make after I see that the precious tweens get their share of the stuffed mushrooms.”

“Good call.”

“She's going to ask you for money when you drop her off later,” Katie interjected, artfully dodging her older sister's scowl and swipe.

“I have no doubt,” Evan said. “Although I already know she got money from Matt.”

“We did too!” Elizabeth said happily, patting the pocket of her shiny satin skirt. Danny nodded; he was too busy taking off his tie and stuffing it in his back pocket to contribute much more.

“We need to have a family conference about you paying them off,” Evan said to Matt.

“I have expenses.” Miranda put her cell back into her purse and gestured the twins toward the other room. “Come on. Let's go before all the good stuff is gone.”

“You're underage, no drinking,” Matt called helpfully.

“I'll make sure she doesn't.” Sweet Katie, always so helpful. Always so evil.

Miranda made a sound of frustration and herded the twins through the waiters folding up the chairs. Katie trailed after, a look of delight written on her face.

“Sweet kids,” Helena said drily.

“If anyone deserves extreme favoritism from your partner, it's me. I turned down a glamorous bodyguard job for all this.”

“You get sex, and I get him at his grumpiest. How is that fair?”

Matt shook his head. “It sounds cheap when you put it that way.”

“Standing right here.” Evan sighed. Maybe he needed to check out the stuffed mushroom situation on his own and get away from the teasing.

“I need a drink,” Helena announced, apropos of nothing. “Maybe two. My mother got married before I did!”

“You know, it generally happens that way, Helena.” Evan took her other arm, taking a swat in the face with her bouquet as she gestured wildly.

“I know but in my case—which we're actually talking about here—she got married first for the first time.” Helena shook her head. “I'm a spinster!”

“Oh God, how drunk are you going to get?” Matt asked.

“Listen, I was thinking. If I'm not married by forty, I'm going to need sperm from one of you…”

Evan managed to get Helena a drink and set her up to dance with one of Vic's nephews—who was twenty-something, single, and clearly eager to dance with his gorgeous partner. He made her swear not to mention spinsterhood or donating sperm as the young man led her away.

She swore.

He checked on the kids—more teens on cell phones, more tweens eating their weight in shrimp—then grabbed a bottled beer from the bartender. By the time Evan found Matt shooting the shit in the corner with Lenny, he was working a full-on sweat.

“Do I have to keep the jacket on for the toast?” he asked, collapsing into a chair near where the men were sitting.

Lenny snickered. “Yeah, sorry, man. Jacket, tie, slightly crushed rose…”

Evan looked down his boutonniere which seemed as worse for the wear as he felt.

“Crap. I'm glad we took the pictures before.” He opened his beer and took a long sip, stretching his legs out. “This best man thing is hard work.”

“Wait till you're father of the bride,” Matt quipped.

“At least I'll have help with that,” Evan answered, giving him a pointed look.

Lenny laughed out loud. “Matty'll probably buy 'em a ladder and give 'em enough for airfare to Vegas.”

“Shhhhh.” Matt elbowed him.

“No,” Evan said slyly. “He's a closet romantic.”

“Shhhhh,” Matt said again, glancing into his empty glass. “Don't ruin my rep, guys, please.” He gestured with the glass and headed for the bar.

“He looks good,” Lenny said, as Matt wove his way through the dancing crowd. “Happy.”

Evan felt like blushing, but he nodded at his boyfriend's old partner. “Yeah.”

Lenny sipped his club soda as he looked through the crowd. “Never saw him like that before.”

“Well.” Evan coughed. He fussed with his jacket. “We're, uh—things are going well for us. It wasn't, uh—expected. But it's worked out.”

“Hmm,” Lenny responded, still looking thoughtfully toward the bar where Matt was becoming fast friends with the bartender.

Evan wanted to leave it alone, but the hmm was too cryptic not to respond to. “Hmmm?”

Lenny chuckled. “Are you gonna interrogate me now?”

“Maybe.” Evan leaned back in the chair and gave the retired detective his best level stare. “I'm curious about your take on all this. You were probably closest to Matt over pretty much anyone else.”

“Before you.”

“Before me.”

“Well…” Lenny munched on a sliver of ice from his nearly empty glass. “Matt was all about the job. It was his wife, his mistress—no one else got much of his time, you know.”

“So—basically your average cop.”

Lenny chuckled. “Right. But without an outlet. Hell, not even a wife or an addiction to give him a break.” The words were lighthearted, but Evan got the underlying message.

“He was a little lost when we met.” Evan dropped his voice slightly, as the music and festivities swelled up around them. “So was I, for that matter.”

“He needed something to focus on, something healthier than being a cop.” Lenny shifted in his seat. He glanced over his shoulder—as did Evan—to make sure no one was close enough to be eavesdropping. There were plenty of cops on the guest list and most of them knew Matt and Evan both.

“This is almost a Hallmark moment.” Evan admired the shine on his shoes, then looked up to see the kind expression on Lenny's face.

“Eh, I'll deny every word of it.”

“This never even happened.”

Evan looked to the dance floor to spot Matt dancing a mock tango with the jubilant bride. He wasn't the least bit surprised.

“I should feel guilty for being so fortunate,” Evan said quietly. He knew Lenny was watching Matt same as he was. “I honestly don't know how I would have made it without him.”

“I think he likes that.”

Evan smiled. “Yeah, I think so. He loves being the glue. It's a crazy job to volunteer for.”

“I think it's the best job for him.” Lenny shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Plus, not sure if you picked up on this, but Matty doesn't do anything half-way. It's one percent or a thousand percent.”

“Yeah,” Evan drawled thoughtfully. “Yeah, I noticed that. What's the nice way you put it? He's, uh—focused.”

Lenny snickered. “You just give him the assignment, tell him he's good at it, and you'll get the best of Matt Haight, and that's—that's pretty damn good.”

Evan smiled. He knew Lenny was right, and it felt nice to have his validation. Matt had no real family beyond the guys on the force who stayed loyal, like Lenny and Vic, or Liz, another friend from his cop days. Sometimes he forgot that when it came down to it, their little family (kids and friends) were all either of them had.

“Thanks, Lenny.”

“No problem, kid.”

Evan laughed at the “kid” moniker. “You should come over for dinner some time. Matt would love it.”

“You just tell me, then. Old retired guys like me can't turn down a home-cooked meal.”

“Matt's been experimenting lately,” Evan looked dubious.

“I'll settle for home ordered.”

“Done.” They shook hands, and Evan got up to join the rest of the party.

The clinking of spoons against glasses signaled another round of kisses; Vic and Serena puckered up and smooched as applause rocked the restaurant. Evan watched from the back of the room, sipping a bit of champagne and girding his nerves before entering the spotlight. He had a speech to deliver.

A whistling Matt swayed up to him, a tiny sheen on his face the only real clue he'd been dancing for hours now.

“I had no idea you were secretly Fred Astaire.”

“Me neither! It started with Serena and then bam—I think I've danced with every female here. Except Miranda.” He made an amused face, settling next to Evan against the wall. “I'm going to keep asking her, though.”

“Because it annoys her.”

“Of course! Why else would I do it?”

Evan looked to the corner where his children were sitting with some of Vic's nieces and nephews. Sometimes he had to blink when he saw them in moments like this, to erase the image of helpless babies and reckless toddlers and focus on the young women (and man) they were becoming.

Daunting.

“Thank God I have you here to help me with them,” Evan murmured, thinking about his conversation with Lenny earlier.

“Uh—okay. You're welcome.” Matt flushed beside him, hands digging deep into his suit pockets. “You know I love it, right?”

“Of course.”

“And I'm gonna keep doing it.”

“What happens when Elizabeth and Danny go off to college?”

Matt looked slightly horrified. “That's like—nine years away! Stop rushing it.”

Evan smothered a laugh at the panicked expression on Matt's face. “Sorry. You're right. Eons away.”

“Eons. Jeez. They can barely function without me,” Matt huffed.

Evan humored him as he pulled the index cards from his pocket. “You turned down a lot of money, though.”

“I have my pension. It's not like we're hurting.” Matt crossed his arms over his chest. “Plus you're getting a big fat raise real soon, Captain Cerelli.”

“Jumping the gun there.”

“It'll happen.”

“We'll see.”

“It will.”

“Okay, then.”

They stood shoulder to shoulder for a few moments; then Evan surprised them both by leaning over and stealing a kiss.

“I'll be right back,” he said smoothly, fighting a tiny blip of nerves at being affectionate in public.