Warren’s Peace Read online

  “Babe.” Fletcher took his hands. “I said this isn’t the end. How about I pick you up for dinner on Tuesday?”

  “I have a better idea. Why don’t you come over for dinner and meet my kids? Or is it too soon?”

  “I’d love to meet your kids.”

  FLETCHER FLEW home on Tuesday morning and called Warren to confirm their plans for the evening. He hadn’t seen him in three days and missed him terribly, but they’d talked on the phone every day. Fletcher even spoke with Stephanie and Daniel a couple of times. They seemed like sweet kids and very concerned for their dad’s happiness.

  He drove to Warren’s home and parked in the driveway. He spotted two figures in the large picture window as he climbed the steps and heard commotion from inside as Warren opened the door.

  Fletcher ran into Warren’s arms and kissed him, forgetting they weren’t alone. God, he’d missed him. Somehow fallen in love the man with on that cruise. “Babe.”

  He heard “aw” as Warren’s kids appeared. They broke the kiss, and Warren introduced Fletcher to his children.

  They got along famously and enjoyed a pleasant evening together. Dan and Stephanie wanted to hear all about Fletcher’s job.

  “That must be so cool. Where’s your next trip?” Stephanie asked.

  “I’m staying local for a few weeks.” He’d worked it out with his boss.

  “You are?” Warren seemed happy about that, from the wide grin on his face. Fletcher was too.

  “I thought that maybe you would all like to go out to dinner with me this week.”

  “We’d love to,” Warren answered for all of them, but both Stephanie and Dan nodded furiously. If Fletcher wasn’t careful, he’d fall for this entire family.

  The kids had plans with their friends that evening and finally left Warren and Fletcher alone. “I missed you.” Warren pulled the man into a kiss, leaving him breathless.

  Fletcher sort of had hopes of ending up in the man’s bed but didn’t want to push. Besides, his kids could come home at any time. So, instead, they stayed in the living room and talked all evening. Fletcher hadn’t realized how much he truly missed Warren. He enjoyed every minute with him, even just talking on the sofa, holding hands.

  Warren went into more details about his wife’s illness. “It was a long two years, watching her get sicker and sicker. It was worse on Stephanie and Dan, though.”

  “I’m sorry, Warren.”

  He patted Fletcher’s leg. “I became their mother and father.”

  “It seems they’d turned into fine adults. You should be proud of yourself. So you’re bisexual.”

  Warren explained that except for Sarah, he was certain he was gay. Fletcher wasn’t sure which of the two of them he was trying to convince. He didn’t mind. Warren was with him now.

  Fletcher said good night around eleven o’clock, as Warren had to work the next morning at his accounting firm. But they made plans for dinner the following evening for the four of them.

  “Good night, Fletcher.” Warren kissed him at the door and then saw him out.

  “Good night, Warren.” Fletcher grinned all the way to his car.

  OVER THE next ten days, Warren saw quite a bit of Fletcher. He came over for dinner a few times, and Fletcher took them out to dinner twice. His kids had really taken to him. Warren knew they would. Fletcher was a great guy. But Warren missed the intimacy they had shared on the cruise.

  Stephanie and Daniel returned to school in the morning, and tonight, Fletcher was coming over to spend the night.

  Warren ran a vacuum through the house and straightened up his bedroom. He made the bed, knowing they would unmake it, but he didn’t want to seem tacky by folding the covers down.

  He took a last look at himself in the mirror. He’d showered, shaved, brushed his teeth, twice, and manscaped a little. When he heard the doorbell, he ran downstairs, opened the door, and ran into Fletcher’s arms.

  “I missed you.” Warren took Fletcher’s hand and led him upstairs to his bedroom. “I want to show you how much.”

  They stumbled out of their clothes and got reacquainted with each other’s bodies. “Babe, God, I missed you too,” Fletcher said, as Warren entered him, rocking his hips and sliding his cock into Fletcher’s willing body.

  “Do you think we can make this work?” Fletcher asked, once they lay back, basking in their orgasmic glow.

  Warren rolled on top of him and looked directly in his eyes. “I hope I’m not going too fast, but believe I’ve fallen in love with you, Fletcher Hammond.” Then he lowered his head and kissed him.

  “That’s a yes, then?” Fletcher teased.

  “That’s a definite yes.”

  “Good, because I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

  Warren’s heart swelled. Maybe this was going too fast, but he didn’t care. He wanted a life with this man, somehow.

  THE FOLLOWING week, Fletcher was sent on a trip to the Bahamas to check out a new all-inclusive beach resort, and he worried about his fledgling relationship with Warren. Would he be able to handle Fletcher’s frequent trips?

  Warren wasn’t Alex, he reminded himself. “I’ll be back at the end of the week.”

  “Fletch, it’s okay. You have to work. I understand.” He looked like he really did.

  “I wish I could take you with me.”

  “Just imagine our reunion when you return.” Warren smirked, and Fletcher could imagine it.

  He took that thought with him the entire time he was gone. The day he flew back home, he called Warren from the airport. “Would you have dinner with me tonight?”

  He could actually hear Warren smiling through the phone. “I’d love to.”

  Fletcher had spoken with his boss earlier that day about a new assignment that had been in the works for a while. He’d originally been passed up for it since he was single, but he’d convinced his boss he had a perfect plan. Now he was a little nervous bringing it up to Warren.

  FLETCHER PICKED Warren up and drove to them an Italian restaurant in downtown Chicago.

  After they ordered dinner, Fletcher poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Warren. Fletcher seemed a little nervous, making Warren very nervous.

  “What’s going on?” Warren asked. Maybe Fletcher didn’t think this relationship was working out. Was this a breakup meal? Warren hoped he could talk Fletcher into making this work. He certainly wasn’t ready for it to end.

  Fletcher set his glass down and folded his hands, making Warren terrified of what was coming. “Fletch, is everything all right?” His voice shook.

  Fletcher moved his hands across the table and took Warren’s. “Of course, I just wanted to ask you something.”

  “Okay, ask me.” Warren’s heartbeat slowly returned to normal as Fletcher’s soft smile calmed him.

  After taking a deep breath, Fletcher squeezed his hand. “How would you and your kids like to go to Disney World with me during spring break next month?”

  “Disney World?” Had he heard that correctly? Didn’t sound like a breakup.

  “My company is sending me on a family vacation, and I kinda need a family to join me.” Fletcher seemed as nervous as if he’d just proposed.

  “You want us to be your family?” Warren cocked his head.

  “Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice at all. “Yes, I believe that I do.” His eyes bright with emotion suggested for more than just this trip.

  Warren grinned, allowing his stomach a moment to still the nerves. “We love you, you know.”

  “I love all of you too,” Fletcher said, as he reached over the table and grabbed Warren’s hand. He kissed the top of it and then smiled. “I love you, Warren Blessing.”

  Warren’s heart swelled. “Yes, we’ll be your family.”

  EMJAY HAZE is a Pennsylvania girl living in a Virginia world, growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs and moving to Northern Virginia to follow her now-husband of twenty-plus years. She has two kids in college, a two-year-old puppy named Max,
a black-and-white cat named Tux, a gecko named Rex, and a tank full of saltwater fish. The family pastime is baseball, specifically the Nationals. She’s also a Redskins and Caps fan and lover of classic rock.

  Emjay graduated with a degree in Creative Writing in 2015 after realizing it was the only thing she ever wanted to do. She has a wide and diverse work history in the fields of travel, hotel management, high-tech communications, web development, real estate, and the nonprofit health care industry where she has held positions such as travel agent, hotel concierge, web programmer, Realtor, account manager, and many, many others, giving her a varied and unique set of experiences that she draws upon in her stories and characters.

  She fell in love with the m/m romance genre after discovering the world of fanfiction several years ago and hasn’t looked back. Her family keeps asking when she’ll write someone they can read, but she’s still having too much fun with her boys.

  Her goal is to broaden the minds of those who might not normally pick up a gay romance because it’s more about the person than the sexuality. She’ll take you on a roller-coaster journey, but you’ll always get a happy ending.

  Website: www.mjhauthor.com/emjayhaze

  Twitter: @emjayhaze

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/emjayhaze

  By Emjay Haze

  Home Is Where You Are

  Warren’s Peace

  Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  Published by

  DREAMSPINNER PRESS

  5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA

  www.dreamspinnerpress.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warren’s Peace

  © 2018 Emjay Haze.

  Cover Art

  © 2018 Fiona Jayde Media.

  http://www.fionajaydemedia.com/

  Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

  All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com.

  Digital ISBN: 978-1-64405-043-9

  Digital eBook published December 2018

  v. 2.0

  First Edition published by Torquere Press, June 2016.

  Printed in the United States of America