“I’m not going anywhere.” He smiled and some of the panic eased from Andrei’s expression. “Coffee?”
“Fuck yes,” he moaned as he shoved both hands through his long hair and fisted them.
“Andrei Vladislava Hadeon! Watch your language!” His mother cut in, suddenly reminding them that they weren’t alone.
Lucas looked up to find that Milos had settled on the end of the sofa while Sonja stood near the window. It was amazing sometimes. He could get so focused on Andrei that he would forget there were others around him, that the world even kept moving.
Andrei rolled his eyes at Lucas, pushing a fragile smile on his lips as he tried to put on a brave front. “Mom, what are you and Dad doing here?”
“Really, Andrei,” Sonja muttered, ignoring his question. “It’s so dark in here.” She reached up and pulled the blackout curtains open to let in the morning sunlight. Andrei hissed and cringed like a true Transylvanian vampire, causing Lucas to chuckle before he escaped into the kitchen. Andrei was not a morning person, but that only meant Lucas had the pleasure of coaxing him out of bed when they could steal time together.
“Mom—”
“You told your mother that you were thinking about not coming home for Thanksgiving,” Milos interrupted.
Lucas’s head jerked up to see Andrei shrug, his eyes locked on the floor. “I just said that I was thinking about it. That’s all. I hadn’t made an actual decision yet,” Andrei mumbled, making it hard for Lucas to hear him over the water filling the carafe.
Was he thinking about staying in Cincinnati so they could be together for the holiday? Just as quickly as the question formed in his head, Lucas could see Andrei sitting next to him at Ian’s table, all their friends there, laughing and teasing Ian about the work he’d put into the meal. He wanted—no, needed—Andrei there.
“Do you spend Thanksgiving with your family, Mr. Vallois?” Sonja inquired. Lucas quickly turned off the water, glancing over his shoulder toward Sonja, who was now sitting on the sofa next to her husband. Andrei leaned a shoulder against the wall opposite them. His posture was stiff and tense, but neither parent seemed inclined to be run off by their son’s foul mood.
“Lucas, please,” he said, smiling briefly at her before turning his gaze back to the coffee maker. “And I spend the holidays with close friends whom I regard as family.”
“What line of work are you in, Lucas? Mortician?”
“Dad!” Andrei let out an exasperated groan.
Lucas cleared his throat against a laugh.
“What?” Milos replied. “It’s good work. Everyone needs a mortician.”
“No, sir. I’m in property development,” Lucas interjected. He thought he heard Andrei mutter something under his breath, but it sounded as if he’d switched to Romanian. It sent a delicious shiver through Lucas. Typically Lucas only ever heard Andrei speak Romanian when he was driving him to the hard edge of orgasm. Lucas tamped down the memory and focused on digging out mugs and other items while the coffee brewed. He hoped Andrei’s parents didn’t think it was strange that he knew where Andrei kept everything in his kitchen. When Andrei had been injured, Lucas had slept over several times and had made coffee the next morning as he’d tried to get the sexy Romanian moving each day.
“Andrei, what’s wrong?” Sonja said gently. “Why would you not come home for the holidays? You seem so upset. Would you rather we meet for dinner so you can spend the day with your friend? We didn’t mean to disrupt your plans. It’s just that you haven’t been down for a visit in months and you didn’t sound good when you called last.”
Lucas watched as Andrei’s shoulders slumped before he pushed off the wall and crossed to sit on the arm of the couch closest to his mother. She placed a hand on his knee and spoke softly in Romanian. Something twisted in Lucas’s chest and he struggled to swallow past the lump forming in his throat. These were good people who loved their only child. Lucas was terrified that love would disintegrate before his eyes, shredding Andrei.
When Andrei finally spoke, his voice was low and unsteady. He stuck with Romanian, leaving Lucas in the dark about what was exactly being said. He didn’t think Andrei was intentionally excluding him, but reaching out to his parents through something that bonded them tightly.
Lucas watched them from where he leaned against the counter in the kitchen, taking in the tone and posture as they listened to Andrei’s words. He stiffened when both parents looked up at him before continuing with what sounded like questions.
This stretched on for several minutes, nearly driving Lucas to shout for a translator, but then he would have been the only one shouting. So far there had only been softly spoken questions, calm answers, and looks of worry. When Lucas was sure he couldn’t take another second in the dark, both Milos and Sonja chuckled. Were they in denial? No one ever laughed during this conversation. Had Andrei denied it? Told them some other story?