Nexus Read Free Page B

vibrant shade of red. Joe’s father Elliot started laughing. Deb put her hand over her mouth, and Barbara giggled.
    “What I meant to say—”
    “Is that you were not expecting me to be black,” I teased her unrelentingly.
    She opened her mouth to say something but shut it fast.
    “I’m kidding.” I smiled wide. “You know that, right?”
    She looked horrified.
    “Oh sweetie,” I soothed her, standing up, lifting out of Joe’s embrace. “I—”
    “Marcus’s friends didn’t expect me to be blind,” Joe cut me off, sounding annoyed. “But he’s the catch, not me, so if everyone could just drop it, I would love it.”
    The area went silent, and I shook my head. It had been playful until he made it not so, and that wasn’t usual. There was actually something eating at him.
    I leaned forward, offering my hand to his cousin. “Marcus Roth, pleasure to meet you.”
    She surged forward, grasping my hand in both of hers. “I’m Ellen Rowe, and the pleasure is all mine, Marcus.”
    I smiled at Ellen to reassure her and saw her stare at me. I forgot sometimes that to some people, an interracial couple was cause for surprise. For Joe’s parents and his sister, it had never been an issue. And they didn’t need to understand why I wanted to date him; the question was why more people didn’t. They got that Joe was a catch and loved me because I realized it as well. There was no dysfunction in my boyfriend’s family, and I was thankful for them all.
    “Everyone in your family is nicer than you,” I told my boyfriend to make him smile.
    He just scowled.
    I could see how uncomfortable he was making everyone feel, so I reached out and put my fingers through his thick hair, dragging it back from his face. “Lighten up, Joey.”
    “Sit down for a second,” he almost whined. “Dad, can you get Marcus’s garment bag, please, and his duffle? They’re the Louis Vuitton ones, and the tag has his business card on it. If the tag came off, there’s another one in a pocket in the back in Braille.”
    “Course,” the older man said, turning to go.
    “Elliot, I’ll get it,” I called out to him.
    He waved at me to stay put, though, and then mouthed words at me. I read that Joe was upset? I looked up at Deb.
    She cleared her throat. “This weekend has a lot of outdoor activities like horseback riding and a touring distillery and dancing at a friend’s house. I think Joe was slightly concerned about all that he would be able to do.”
    And even as I nodded I realized that there was no way that this bit of news was what had my boyfriend in a twist. Joe was always up for anything, and he accepted help whenever he needed to. Something else was wrong.
    I sank down onto the bench beside him, and instantly his knee was against mine.
    “I’m so glad you’re here.”
    “Me too, baby,” I told him. Normally, at home in San Francisco, I would have put my arm around him and given him a kiss, but we were not there, and I didn’t feel comfortable here. 
    “Marcus?” Ellen smiled at me.
    “Yes, ma’am?”
    “How long have you and Joe been dating? He didn’t get a chance to tell me.”
    “We don’t date,” Joe answered before I could. “We live together, have lived together for over four years. We’re partners. We have a civil union and rings.” He held up his left hand for her so she could see the thick gold ring. It was engraved inside, just as mine was, with our initials and the date we had made our love official in front of a crowd of our best friends and Joe’s parents and sister. So far, it had been the happiest day of my life.
    “Oh.” She looked suitably educated.
    “We dated for a year, and then he begged me to move in with him, and I said yes.”
    “Begged?” I groused at him.
    His lopsided grin, the one he gave me often, was suddenly there doing the wicked thing to his eyes where they heated and softened at the same time. I noticed that he hadn’t shaved and found the face I knew even sexier