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"Well, fine, don't accept my help, then! I'm just trying to keep you from looking like a dork!"

"I never asked you! Just stay out of my life, can't you?"

"Boys!" Sarah came to the bottom of the stairs and called up to her sons. "What is this all about?"

"You should see the clothes he's taking to Paris, Mum. He'll be an embarrassment!"'

"To whom?" she asked. "Charlie likes the way Nick dresses." He had half Nick's wardrobe at his house, from what Sarah could tell.

David made a rude and dismissive noise. "Charlie. Come on, we all know that's a phase."

"What's it to you whether it is or not?" Nick demanded. "Just leave me alone!"

"Fine!" David went into his room and slammed the door.

Sarah went upstairs and looked into Nick's room. His bed and floor and all the other available surfaces seemed to be covered with clothes. "Would you like some help packing, Nicky?"

"No, I'm fine," he snapped. Then, glancing at the mess, he nodded. "Maybe. Sorry, Mum. You know how he is."

"I do. You know he does it on purpose to make you angry."

"Yes, but I don't know why. Does he like it when I'm mad at him?"

Sarah shrugged. She had never quite figured out why her oldest son was happiest when there was chaos all around him. "Hard to say, really. What was that crack about being an embarrassment?"

"Oh." Nick flushed. "I mentioned that I might try to contact Dad while I'm in Paris."

She blinked. The idea hadn't occurred to her. Well, that said quite a bit, didn't it? "What a lovely idea. I think you should."

"He probably won't have time. He's so busy." Nick's brown eyes had that dark, closed-off look they so often got when he spoke of his father, as he tried to hide how much it hurt that Stephane never seemed interested in him.

"You never know. He might surprise you." And Sarah might text him and tell him he'd make the time—or else.

"I want to—I want Dad to meet Charlie. I want him to know, you know, about me."

"I don't see why not, darling." If Stephane had been a more involved parent, Sarah might have worried about his reaction, but he knew so little about Nick and asked so seldom that she couldn't imagine him being too bothered by Nick dating another boy.

"You won't tell him, will you?"

"Of course not! This is your life. You can tell who you want, when you want. And if you never wanted to tell him, I would never tell him."

"David will, though."

"David will not." Sarah thought she had made it quite clear to David, but while Nick was gone, she'd find another moment and underscore the point. Whatever David thought of Nick's relationship, whatever responsibility he wanted to take on himself as tale-bearer, he was not going to take this from his brother.

Nick looked down at the mess on his floor. "They said to pack comfortable clothes. We'll be walking a lot."

"I think everything you own is comfortable, isn't it?" Nick never cared much about his clothes. Comfort was pretty much his only criterion.

"Yes. Do you think it matters?"

"No, I don't. Charlie likes you for who you are, you know that. What you wear won't make a difference to him."

Nick nodded, knowing it was true. "And … Dad? Do you think—do you think he'll like Charlie?"

Privately, Sarah was pretty sure Stephane would forget Charlie five minutes after he'd met him, but she wasn't about to say that to Nick. "Who wouldn't like Charlie? He's a lovely boy. What about this one?" She picked up a green jumper from the top of the laundry basket.

"I finally took that one back from Charlie." Nick laughed. "You don't mind that he borrows all my clothes, do you?"

"Not as long as he eventually brings them back."

"I think it's more like an exchange. He left this one here the other night, and he took the blue one yesterday."

David appeared in the doorway, hitching a hip against the frame. "Aren't your jumpers too big for Charlie? He looks like a stiff wind might blow him away."

"Did I ask you for your opinion?" Nick snapped.

"Didn't have to. I'm your brother, I get to weigh in on your dating life."

"And why is that, David?" Sarah asked. "I don't remember you ever asking Nick what he thought about your girlfriends."

"I liked Scarlett. She was nice to Nellie."

David rolled his eyes. "There's more to girls than being nice to dogs."

"Not so much as you might think." How people treated animals was a pretty decent way to know how they treated people, in Sarah's view.

"Anyway, I really came to ask if I can have the car, Mum. My friends and I want to go out."

"Yes, you can, but I need it in the morning, so make sure you fill it up before you come back." As David nodded and headed for the stairs, Sarah followed him into the hall. "You know, your brother's going to be gone for several days. If there's anything you want to do, while it's just the two of us? Do you need to go shopping and pick anything up?"

David stopped, as if he was considering the question. "No, I'll shop when I go to Paris later this summer. Don't wait up!"

She heard the jingle of keys and then the close of the front door. So much for that. Someday she still hoped she and David would find more in common.

Turning, she found Nick behind her. He held out his arms for a hug, and they clung to each other for a good long time.

Sarah would never understand why Stephane and David didn't appreciate the loving, caring person Nick was—but she did. She pulled back and looked up at him. "I'm very proud of you."

"I'm just normal," he said, ducking his head the way he did when he was feeling self-conscious.

"You are anything but that," she told him. "Now, let's see about that packing, shall we?"