The Geek and His Artist (45 page)

Authors: Hope Ryan

He tore his gaze away from Rachel, took a sip of coffee, and picked up the envelope again. He flipped it over, opened it, and pulled out a card.

The front was a gorgeous, miniature painting of the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, shown as if through a picture window. In front of the window sat two stylized figures, kissing. Jimmy couldn’t mistake the angle of the view and knew instantly where it was from. He could close his eyes and bring that image to mind as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. He could still feel Simon in his arms, still taste the sparkling grape juice, still hear Tokio Hotel playing in the background.

As he went to open the card, a smaller envelope fell out, and before he opened the card itself, he picked this one up. He paused to run his finger over the logo on the front corner, yet again proud of his husband’s work. Bennet Designs took up the entire top floor of one of the newer downtown skyscrapers. Simon refused to pull back from the artistic work, insisting on keeping his hands in the creative process, and Jimmy was pretty sure that was the reason the firm was so successful. Their life hadn’t always been easy, but they’d taken the advice Amy and Dirk had given them to heart all those years ago and worked at their marriage. Even with the difficulties, Jimmy was grateful every day for his husband.

With another glance at the logo, he turned the envelope over and opened it. He pulled out a single sheet of paper. As soon as he read the words at the top, he grinned.
Western Caribbean 7-Day Cruise….

He set the paper aside, opened the card, and started to read.

My geek,

I can’t believe it’s been twenty years since the day you asked me to be your husband. You have never given me a moment to regret a single one of them. We’ve had other memorable days since, like the births of our children and our wedding, but that day will always stand out as the best of my life. It showed me, more than any other time, how important I was to you, how dedicated you were to making us work.

I look forward to having many more years with you. I love you so much, Jimmy. You have given me so much, made me feel safe when I never thought I would again, shown me love, and given me a family I had never dared hope to have. I hope I give you even a fraction of the joy and love you give me.

Love,

Your artist

Before he even set the card up on his desk, he was planning how to show Simon what that meant to him. He knew why Simon chose the seven-day cruise, but there was no reason he couldn’t plan something good
around
it. He glanced up to see Rachel grinning at him. He winked at her and sat back with his coffee cup. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to show Simon just want the man meant to him. He’d been doing so for twenty years already, and he’d be happy to keep doing so for twenty—or forty or sixty—more.

About the Author

H
OPE
R
YAN
is an out and proud bisexual, wife of a loving guy, and mother to three, including an amazingly brave gender-fluid son. She loves to write about the tough stuff, but also wants to see her characters happy in the end. She feels strongly about showing there is hope for everyone, no matter where you come from, how you identify your gender, or who you love.

Hope likes to play board and card games and can often be found playing God with her Sims or running around, fighting monsters in a virtual version of Middle Earth. Her TV and movie preferences lean towards anime, sci-fi, and fantasy, though she’ll never turn down a good happily ever after love story, either. As long as there are explosions or action, she’s happy. She loves to read books of all kinds, though prefers stories about love in its many forms.

Website: www.hoperyan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hoperyanauthor

Email: [email protected]