“What about mine?”
“I don’t know.” Rusty set one knee on the ground for balance. He’d need a new suit before fall anyway. This one was too tight across the shoulders and ass, and he was hoping to make it tighter.
“My parents have an established charitable foundation,” Cross said. “I tend to give randomly, although I have favorites of course. No doubt we could give more.”
“It’s none of my business, really.”
“But it will be. Eventually. What’s mine will be yours.”
“I’ll sign a prenup,” Rusty insisted, panicked at the thought of all that wealth. “If we get married, someday, I mean. Not now. God.”
“Shh.” Cross patted the log beside him. “Come sit here, mon chou.”
Rusty set Cross’s booted foot gently on the ground and perched his ass on the log. “Yeah?”
Cross captured Rusty’s gaze. “I don’t want my money to come between us, but I don’t know how to stop it. Even if I gave away everything, I’d still be one of Dad’s heirs. I’d still need security. I might not use our private jet, but it would be there.”
Rusty picked a handful of gravel out of the pine needles and began tossing them at a tall milkweed on the slope below. Kept missing, though. Good thing he wasn’t a baseball player. “I don’t know either. I don’t want you to give away everything, give up your house or your cars or the indoor rink. If I ever sign an NHL contract—”
“When,” Cross corrected.
“Okay, when.” He’d promised his siblings he’d get there, hadn’t he? “Then I’ll have a right to talk about how much to keep or give to charity. This is more about… about me being a partner in your life. I need to contribute, but if I ask you to share housing I can go halves on, we’d be living in a dump.” He tugged at his hair, trying to gather his thoughts. “The AHL is a little better, but not much. How do I manage to feel like I’m pulling my weight? And don’t tell me that I contribute in other ways and money doesn’t matter.” He’d seen how much money did matter in a small farming community where it was sometimes life and death.
“We’ll work on it together, okay?” Cross reached for his hand. “You have to tell me what doesn’t feel right.”
Rusty wove his fingers through Cross’s and hung on. “Like, expensive gifts. Can we set a fifty-dollar limit on gifts? Or maybe twenty-five, if I’m in the ECHL?”
“Sure.” Cross grimaced. “I won’t love it, but I can stick to that.”
“And no buying something for me and pretending it’s for yourself?”
Cross choked, but then grinned, other hand on his heart. “I would never.”
“Uh huh.” Rusty squeezed Cross’s fingers. “And I guess if we move, you’ll buy a house, and I’m not going to argue. That’s part of your security. But maybe food? Or utilities? I can pay half.”
“We can try. I’m used to buying a lot of high-end prepared meals. One of us might have to learn to cook.”
Rusty managed a smile. “A project for you, while you’re rehabbing.”
“You’ll be the one eating my cooking. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Hope rose inside Rusty, warm and sweet and strong. Cross wasn’t laughing at him, wasn’t telling him all he needed to bring was himself. He was taking this seriously, trying to meet Rusty halfway. “Thank you.”
“Hey, whatever you need. Just tell me.” Cross reached for him and pulled him into a kiss. God, that was better, that was good. Rusty was all tangled up in words but when he and Cross kissed, everything was simple. He gave himself to the pleasure of Cross’s mouth on his, strong arms around his shoulders, the rasp of stubble against his cheek as Cross pressed a kiss under his ear. He pulled his man closer and closed his eyes, breathing in the scent of Cross’s sun-warmed skin.
“I love you, mon chou,” Cross murmured. “We’ll figure the rest out. Where we live. How much money is enough to be safe. What security we can live with. What to name our six cats.”
“Huh?” He leaned back to find Cross laughing up at him.
“Youwerelistening.”
“I always listen.”
“Yeah.” Cross raised a hand and traced Rusty’s lips. “You do. It’s one of the things I love about you. Along with the way you stand up to my father.”
“Should I say sorry?”
“Never. It does him good.” Cross turned and leaned his back against Rusty’s chest.
