Two-Man Advantage Read online

  “It’s disgusting,” Benedict said, looking away.

  Thea cleared her throat. “He won’t do that to your career. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Wells shrugged. “Even if he did, I wouldn’t leave Matty. I don’t want a career or any success if I don’t have someone to share it with.”

  Thea beamed as Benedict slowly shook his head. But before anyone could say another word, Wells’s attention was brought to the screen where Matty was standing at a podium. “What the hell?” he gasped, and Benedict looked over, as did Thea, as a news flash ran along the bottom of the screen.

  Matthew Haverbrooke of the Rangers, son of the NHL commissioner, comes out as gay.

  “Holy shit,” Wells muttered as Benedict turned red, reaching for the remote to turn it up.

  “I stand before you, with my team and my organization behind me, to say that I am a proud gay man. I’ve hidden it for years, and I’m no longer willing to do that. I have been blackmailed and ridiculed for my choice, but I refuse to allow anyone to let me feel like less than I am. I am a good hockey player, I love my family, and I love my boyfriend. I want the world to know that I won’t stop playing the game I love because of who I love. I want the world to know that, no matter what, I will be me. This wasn’t easy, but I won’t stand in the dark when I know I can have a life out in the open where I can be happy. I want to thank my team for their support. My teammates are class acts. My organization has supported me since I asked for this conference last night. I want to thank the fans because I know they’ll support me.” He paused, inhaling deeply as Wells’s heart pounded in his chest. “I want to thank my family for their love and support. But most of all, I have to thank my partner, Wells Lemiere, who has been beside me through this and who has been the most supportive man I know. He is the reason I am who I am today. And I’m so grateful for him.”

  Benedict was shaking with anger, but Wells was grinning.

  Matty was out.

  He did it for Wells. Wells had been so worried about fixing things for Matty, when Matty was off trying to fix and make things real for Wells. They were a mess. A crazy, totally insane mess that Wells wouldn’t have any other way. Matty was it.

  With elation inside of him, he glanced from a grinning Thea to a glaring Benedict who looked as though he really was going to kill Wells at that moment. When Benedict’s phone started to ring, Wells shrugged. It was about to be a real trying time for Matty’s father, but Wells couldn’t care one bit.

  He wanted to get home to Matty.

  But first, he had something to say. Standing slowly, he held Benedict’s gaze as he said, “I don’t expect you to welcome me with open arms. I don’t even expect you to do the same for Matty, but please allow him to be happy. Love who he is, because he is a damn good man. Surely, you see that. Surely, you know that this is who he is, and he deserves to be proud of that. I know that I’m proud of him. That I love him, and that won’t ever change.” Pushing his chair in, he shot them both a grin. “Again, thank you for welcoming me, but I need to go home.”

  Without letting either of them say anything, Wells left the room, running through the house and out the door, a grin so big on his face. As he reached his car, he got in. He had just started it when he noticed his phone was blinking with a text.

  Matty: Did you see the announcement?

  Wells: I did.

  Matty: Come home.

  Wells: I am.

  Twenty-Seven

  Matty was shaking as he paced his apartment.

  He didn’t want to leave just in case Wells showed up. He tried calling him to get an ETA so that he could go get some beer and maybe some food, but Wells didn’t answer. Matty wasn’t sure if Wells would be there in the next ten minutes or the next ten hours. If he was coming from Vegas, it could be hours. But what if he had already been on his way back to New York when he saw it? Matty hated not knowing, and it annoyed him.

  He just wanted Wells to be there.

  Tapping his toe on the ground, he looked around, trying to find something to do. He considered calling Avery or maybe even his mom, but he didn’t have anything to say. He knew Avery was on her way to New Jersey and that his mom had gotten home fine. They had both texted him. A smile pulled at his lips as he thought of his mom. He hadn’t expected her to stay the night, but it was really nice to have her. She was the one who’d suggested calling Brendan for the press conference. It would be the ultimate declaration of love, as she called it.

  And she was right. Matty felt so much better now that the weight of not knowing what would happen was gone. He felt good. His teammates and his organization went above and beyond to make him feel loved. His coach even sent him an Edible Arrangement that he had already devoured. Well, except for the strawberries since they were Wells’s favorite. His teammates had all messaged or emailed him, saying they were behind him one hundred percent. It was mind-blowing, and he wished he had done it a long time ago.

  It would have saved him so much pain and loneliness.

  Glancing around, he realized he had nothing to do. He had cleaned, he had eaten, and he had already watched his shows with Wells. All he could do was wait. As he went to fall onto the couch, though, his phone started ringing. Jumping back up, he jogged to the bar, reaching for his phone. When he realized it was his mom and not Wells, he found himself disappointed.

  Swallowing past that, he answered the FaceTime call. “Hey, Mom.”

  But when the camera came on, it wasn’t just his mom, it was Ashlyn too. “Hey! It’s us. Ashlyn and me.”

  Matty grinned, feeling a little guilty as he sat back on the barstool. “Hey! You remember me, Ashlyn?”

  His niece grinned, nodding her head. “Hi, Uncle Matty.”

  “Hey! What are you up to?”

  “Eating.”

  “Hey, I love to eat.”

  “Come eat with me.”

  “I will tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow,” she pouted. “Today.”

  She was tugging at his heartstrings, but before he could answer her, Avery was reaching for her. “Don’t make Uncle Matty feel bad. He’ll be here tomorrow. Great press conference, it’s all over the TV.”

  Matty blushed. “Thanks. It felt good.”

  “You looked great,” she answered, and his mom beamed.

  “So professional and handsome.”

  “Thanks, guys,” he said, looking away.

  “Mr. Wells?” Ashlyn asked then, and Matty smiled.

  “He isn’t here, sweet girl.”

  Her little lip popped out as Avery kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry, Uncle Matty will come with Mr. Wells tomorrow, right?” Avery glanced over at him. “So we can eat as a family.”

  She knew Wells and Matty had gotten into a fight, so he shrugged. “He’s on his way here, so we’ll see.”

  “He’ll come,” his mom said then, waving him off.

  Matty’s brows pulled in. “How do you know?”

  “He told me so.”

  Matty could only blink. “Huh? You don’t even know him.”

  “He left here maybe an hour ago.”

  “He was there? And an hour ago? That means he should be here any second as long as he didn’t hit traffic.”

  “Which we all know he will since it’s New York,” Avery supplied, but Matty was still convinced Wells’s arrival was imminent.

  “Why was he there?”

  “He came to talk to your dad and me.”

  Matty was flabbergasted, his jaw dropping. “Wait, what? Why?”

  “Because I wanted them to know my intentions toward you.”

  At the sound of Wells’s voice, Matty whipped around, his jaw still hanging open, to find Wells in the doorway, a small smile on his gorgeous and rugged face. “You really should start locking this door. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?”

  “Mom, I gotta call you back.”

  Hanging up the phone, he threw it down on the counter before looking back at Wells. He slowly pushed the door, his eyes on Matt