No Sacrifice Page 29

  Chance looked shocked, and then his eyes closed and he looked like he’d just been given the most precious gift in the world. Patrick felt a baseball-sized lump form in his throat. “I love you too, Squirt,” Chance whispered, hugging Avery tight.

  “I knew it!” Sophia said, stomping one high-heeled foot. “Every week, Chance Dillon, you do your best to make me cry, and this week, you didn’t even have to try! Well, I’m on to you. I found a new kind of makeup that’s not supposed to run at all, no matter what.”

  Chance grinned up at Sophia, letting Avery go. “How do you get it off, then?” he asked, then dodged the hand she swung toward his arm.

  “I’ll get you, you little bastard.”

  “Language, babe!” Andy said, coming up. “There are little ears here.”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “I’m quite sure he’s heard worse.”

  “It’s okay, really,” Patrick said. “He knows better than to repeat those words.”

  “They’re bad words for a kid!” Avery said, nodding.

  Sophia grinned down at him. “Still want to go to the bar with me? Bet I could find some juice to drink.”

  Avery nodded. “Yes, please, Miss Sophia.”

  Patrick watched them walk away, and he and Chance headed over to their table. “So, I wanted to ask you something,” Chance said, setting his guitar case on the edge of the stage.

  Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Oh? What’s that?”

  “I’d… like to mention my boyfriend during the show. I don’t have to give names or anything, but… would that be okay?”

  It made Patrick feel good that he asked. “I appreciate you asking. But I don’t mind. I’m happy to be your boyfriend. You can even say my name.”

  Chance grinned, then leaned in and gave him a kiss. “I better get set up.”

  “Go, a ghrá. I’ll be here.” Patrick took a seat and enjoyed watching Chance set up—especially with all the times Chance bent over—as much as he did watching Chance play.

  Sophia brought Avery back just as Chance was testing sound and set a bottle of beer on the table. Avery climbed up into the seat next to him and set a plastic cup down. “Sophia gave me apple juice!” he announced, then looked up at Chance with a puzzled expression. “What’s he doin’, Da?”

  “He’s setting up his instrument and equipment.”

  “Oh,” Avery said, still sounding confused, but he shrugged and looked at Patrick.

  Patrick laughed. “Did you thank Sophia for the juice?”

  Avery nodded. “Yes, Da.” He sighed and turned back to watch Chance.

  Patrick and Sophia both buried chuckles. He looked up. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, darlin’. He’s a treat. Let me know if you need anything. I’ve got men to ogle.” And with that, she was gone.

  Patrick shook his head, still laughing, and turned back to Chance just as his boyfriend started to speak.

  By the time Chance made it through most of the first set, Patrick had forgotten a lot of his nerves. He relaxed into the music, into Chance’s voice, and couldn’t miss the number of times Chance’s eyes sought him out. Patrick recognized a few songs he’d come to know were Chance’s favorites to perform, including the classic Bon Jovi about the life of a musician and one from Bob Seger about growing older and looking back. There were a few the audience seemed to demand every time, and then Chance moved over to the piano.

  Before he sat, he took a sip of water, then looked over at Patrick. “So, tonight is a kind of special night, but in a good way this time. There’s someone that means a lot to me in the audience tonight—my boyfriend, Patrick, is here with me.” The audience cheered and applauded, and it took a moment for Chance to be able to speak again. A grin split his face, though, and he didn’t seem to mind. “Thank you. Thank you. He is an amazing guy. I’m very lucky. This next song is for him.”

  He settled down in front of the baby grand, which Patrick realized faced the opposite direction it usually did. This time, it sat so Chance could see him. The first chords came through, and Patrick didn’t recognize the song right away. Then Chance began to sing, and Patrick’s world narrowed to one person. The audience faded, and even Avery was only a minor blip on his radar in that moment. The only thing Patrick could focus on was Chance.

  He sang about figuring out how to be brave enough to love, but when he saw that one person, the doubt was gone. Patrick thought about his fears, about the upcoming season. When Chance sang right to him—and Patrick had no doubt Chance was singing to him as if no one else was in the room—the words washed over Patrick. Chance sang about loving for years, about how he would for years more, and every new line, every repeat of the chorus, soothed another nerve, erased another doubt.

  By the time the last chord played, Patrick knew two things.

  First, Christina Perri’s voice would never again sound right with that song. And two, he’d be okay. They’d be okay. Things might get difficult, but he knew, deep down, he and Chance would figure it out and their love would last.

  Chance seemed to remember belatedly to let the audience know he’d be back, and then he was off the stage and their arms were around each other and lips fused.

  When they broke apart, Patrick had trouble speaking. There was a lump in his throat, and suddenly every word he knew in English, Hawai’ian, and Gaelic seemed inadequate. All he could think to say was “A ghrá….”

  It was, apparently, the right thing. Chance’s smile spread across his face, and then he kissed Patrick again. “I love you, baby,” he said in Patrick’s ear when they pulled back.

  “I love you too, a ghrá. Thank you for that. I… I needed to hear that.”

  “I thought you might. You’re welcome.”

  After another kiss, they took their seats, and Avery immediately came around the table and climbed into Chance’s lap. “Da?”

  “What, Stinker?”

  “Why do you call Chance argrayr?”

  Patrick chuckled at the mangled pronunciation. “It’s a ghrá,” he corrected Avery.

  “A grayar?”

  “A ghrá,” Patrick said again.

  Avery screwed up his face. “A grah?”

  “Close enough. It means ‘my love’ in Grandpa’s language.”

  “Oh!” Avery looked up at Chance. “Is Chance your love?”

  Patrick grinned and chuckled. “Yeah, Stinker. He is.” He looked up and met Chance’s pleased expression. They reached out and took hands. “He’s most definitely my love.”

  Chapter 16

  It felt good to be back. He knew that might change, but for the moment, just walking across the sets and into his dressing room to see the costumes hanging and the mess of makeup on the table made him happy.

  As did the cup of coffee and donut on the counter. Patrick had left before six to drop Avery off at day care, which was really early because he had a 6:00 a.m. makeup call. Chance had offered since sound had a later start, but as it was Avery’s first full day at the center, Patrick thought he should be the one to do it. Avery, it turned out, didn’t much care. After making sure both Patrick and Chance would pick him up, he stumbled sleepily to one of the mats they had set aside for the wee-hour kids. Then he’d settled down with Froggy and promptly passed out, leaving Patrick to hand over his backpack and give a soft kiss to his temple before taking off again.

  He hadn’t expected Chance to beat him there, so he was surprised to see the coffee and donut. But there was no mistaking who it was from. The Post-it next to the cup said simply “Morning, baby,” and was signed with a C. Patrick found himself smiling around the donut and was grateful Chance couldn’t see him, because he was sure it was not the most attractive look.

  Chrissy greeted him with a happy hug, then ordered him to strip his shirt off and proceeded to shove him almost violently into the chair. She examined his hair, made happy noises about not having to do more extensions, then set to work covering his ink. Patrick grinned at her in the mirror. “What?” she asked, glancing
at him.

  “Just good to be back,” he said, sipping his coffee.

  “Well, don’t get too happy. Jack’s in a bad mood, and I heard he’s looking for you.”

  Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Uh-oh. That can’t be good.”

  “Nothing ever is with him,” she said, shaking her head. “Something about script changes. Your copy of the sides is on the table there. Today isn’t different. But there are changes to the end of this episode, and the next one is completely different. Like I don’t have enough to do without having to figure out how to change what you look like,” she grumbled.

  Patrick frowned. “Not even a day in, huh?”

  She snorted. “Did you really expect anything else?”

  Patrick laughed. “No, not really. Have you seen Rhys yet?”

  “Yeah, I took care of him first. He’s brooding about something in his dressing room. Angelo’s after you. Sebastian is easy today.”

  After she finished and Thom made sure he wore the right tunic, pants, and boots, Patrick went in search of Jack. But the director was sequestered with James over a script, and Patrick figured he’d buy himself some time and put off the bad news for later.

  He found Chance at the crafty, stirring a cup of coffee for himself. “A ghrá,” he whispered as he stepped close.

  Chance spun around, grinning. “Morning, baby. See your…. Oh, you did!”

  Patrick held up his cup. “Thank you. That’s what I came to find you for. And….” He cleared his throat and looked away. “I’m being ridiculously sappy, but I missed you this morning.”

  “I don’t mind sappy,” Chance replied. “Uh, you know….” He frowned, focusing a bit too much on the lid to his coffee. “Uh, we didn’t talk about how you want to act when we’re here.”

  Patrick blinked at him, puzzled. “Act?”

  “I mean, uh, whether you wanted people to know about… us. You, err, haven’t been very public about splitting with Em. And, well, I didn’t know if you’d want people to know you were bi, so….”

  “Oh!” Patrick nearly smacked himself in the head, then remembered his makeup. He glanced around, and when he saw there were several people watching them, he leaned in and left a kiss on Chance’s cheek. One of the grips scowled, and Patrick scowled back, though it made him uncomfortable. He turned to Chance. “How’s that?”

  Chance actually blushed a little. “Really?”

  Patrick nodded. “Yes, a ghrá. I love you. I don’t care if they know.”

  Chance tilted his head. “Aren’t you afraid it’ll get back to your family?”

  That hadn’t occurred to him. Chance knew he hadn’t told them. He still didn’t know how they’d take it, but he had a sneaking suspicion it would be even uglier—much uglier—than what had happened on his last trip. He thought it through but realized the chances of his family hearing were pretty slim. Not only were they all the way in Hawai’i, they were also very much out of the film business. He shook his head. “No one here knows them.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  Patrick nodded again. “I am.” He smiled and brushed a stray hair out of Chance’s face, then sighed. “Jack’s looking for me.”

  “That can’t be good.”

  Patrick laughed. “That’s what I said when Chrissy told me.” He opened his mouth to speak again when he heard a call on the set. He sighed. “Well, that’s me. See you for lunch?”

  Chance nodded. “Yup. Can’t wait, baby.” He leaned in and they shared a quick kiss, and then Patrick turned and started for his spot.

  He managed to avoid talking to Jack all morning. Rhys was quiet and kept his distance, and Patrick wondered about it. He couldn’t read the expression on Rhys’s face either. It was exactly the opposite of what he’d expected. But though it confused him, he was glad for it. He wasn’t really sure he knew how to handle it—handle Rhys, yet, anyway—and a slight reprieve was very welcome.

  Angelo and Sebastian had greeted him happily with hugs, though, and Patrick felt good to have them back. Both of them had been away for quite a while, and Patrick was glad to see them again. After getting grumbled at by Jack, they’d taken their places and got right into things.

  He was grateful for the lunch break. The scene that morning was an action scene, so he didn’t have to worry about any kisses or anything, but Jack had been in a mood, and Patrick was happy to get away for a while. Chance had a table for them already in the catering area, and he, Angelo, and Sebastian went through the line and sat at the same time. Patrick leaned in and kissed Chance before tucking his plastic cover in over his tunic.

  “Oh ho!” Angelo said, grinning. “What’s this?”

  Patrick blushed, glancing at Chance, who put a hand on Patrick’s leg. “We’re boyfriends,” Patrick mumbled.

  “Congratulations!” Sebastian came around the table and hugged Patrick. “He’s gorgeous and wonderful,” he whispered in Patrick’s ear.

  Patrick grinned. “Yeah, he is. I’m very lucky.”

  Angelo shook their hands. “I’m happy for you. I knew something was up.”

  Chance cleared his throat and focused very carefully on his pasta.

  Patrick laughed. “Yeah, uh… kind of been brewing for a while. I just… well… I was still officially with Em for a while, and then, well, I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Uh… what he’d want or, well, if he’d want to go out with me.”

  “Why didn’t you ask?” Sebastian asked, looking at Chance.

  “Well, I didn’t want to push, you know? He’d just gotten out of a relationship—even if it ended amicably. And, like him, I didn’t know if he’d want to go out with me.” He jerked his shoulder in a half shrug, cheeks red. “He’s Patrick Tearney.”

  Patrick rolled his eyes. “I’m nothing special.”

  Chance snorted. “As if.”

  Angelo and Sebastian chuckled. “Yeah,” Angelo said, glancing at Sebastian. “I know how that goes. Sometimes it takes a while to deal with the end of a relationship. Does Emily know?”

  Chance laughed. “She’s been trying to convince Patrick to propose.”

  Sebastian choked on his food. Angelo pounded him on the back, then handed him a water bottle. “Seriously?” Sebastian asked when he could breathe.

  “Yeah,” Patrick said, shaking his head. “I told her to give us a chance to, you know, date. I don’t even know when his birthday is!”

  “February twenty-sixth,” Chance supplied.

  Patrick laughed. “Well, there goes that excuse.”

  “Well, I don’t know yours,” he pointed out.

  “September fourteenth,” Patrick answered.

  “There you go, then,” Angelo said, grinning. “Now you do.”

  Patrick laughed. “I’m not even divorced yet.”

  “Well, that might put a crimp in wedding plans,” Sebastian agreed. “Seriously, though, I think it’s great. You two look great together.”

  “Thanks,” Patrick said, glancing at Chance, who leaned in for another kiss.

  Before their lips could meet, however, Rhys approached the table, pulled up a chair, and sat on Patrick’s other side, making plenty of noise, which stopped them. “Hi,” he said, smiling at Patrick.

  “Hi,” Patrick replied, not sure how to deal with Rhys. He seemed more outgoing than earlier but still didn’t look very happy.

  “So, did you see they changed the second episode?” he asked, then took a bite of his pasta.

  “Oh! Yeah, can you believe it?” Sebastian asked.

  “I haven’t seen the new script yet—what’s up?” Patrick asked.

  Angelo cleared his throat. “Apparently… we sleep together.”

  “What?” Patrick’s head whipped around.

  “Well, our characters.”

  “I… figured that. But… I mean…. Cyrus and Nadir… and Bathasar and Teman… they’re… I… what?” He shook his head, completely confused.

  “Uh-oh, I take it Jack hasn’t talked to you yet?” Sebastian asked, and he and Ange
lo exchanged looks.

  “No. Uh… what do we? I mean, what….” He closed his eyes and dropped his face in his hand.

  “Don’t do that. Chrissy’ll have a fit.” Chance squeezed his leg. “Just talk to Jack, baby. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

  Patrick looked up and gave him a grateful smile, calming down. “Thanks. You’re right.” He looked up at the other three, then considered Sebastian. “How do you feel about this?”

  Sebastian shrugged a shoulder. “It’s just a couple of scenes. Not like you’re really fucking each other.”

  Patrick laughed. “True, very true. Right.” He shook his head and turned back to his food. “Geez. Hell of a first day,” he muttered. He glanced up at Rhys. “Where’s Cyrus in all of this?”

  Rhys’s lips twisted. “With Teman.”

  Patrick blinked. “You’re shitting me.”

  “Nope,” Sebastian said. “Seems like there isn’t enough emotional… what did he call it?”

  “Emotional intrigue,” Rhys supplied.

  Patrick rolled his eyes. “Really? They can’t just let the characters be happy?”

  “Guess not,” Rhys said, sounding decidedly disgruntled. “Just when we thought we had a handle on it too.”

  “No shit.” Patrick glanced at Chance, who tried to offer a bolstering smile, but it fell a little flat. “Hey… are you okay?”

  Chance put his fork down. “Something I’ve got to get used to, isn’t it?”

  Patrick frowned. “I….” He closed his mouth. What could he say? What Chance said was true. It was very likely he’d be kissing and pretending to sleep with a lot of people over the course of his career.

  “It gets easier,” Sebastian said.

  Chance looked up, then threw a glance at Rhys. “Really?”

  Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, it does. Really.” He glanced at Rhys too, but Rhys seemed oblivious, focused on his food. “Most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about. I know… I know things were a little weird in the beginning, but I think it’ll be better now that Patrick knows what to expect.”