Tomas... Enchanted

By Heather Mar-Gerrison

I didn’t blame my parents’ death for my bad behaviour. Oh, I’m sure some do-gooding psychiatrist would be able to lay the blame at someone else’s door – but the truth was – I just enjoyed being bad. It made me feel better for a while. It was just when Will looked at me with disappointment in his eyes and almost a look of disgust that I felt bad about myself. That hurt... Tomas Fletcher

• Language: English
• Publisher: Heather Mar-Gerrison
• Release date: Nov 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310974786

Heather Mar-Gerrison

I love to write M/M romance and as a sucker for a HEA, you're guaranteed one in my books. #happyheatherafters

Book preview

Prologue

Will

20th April 2014

I don’t know what to do. His voice came out more like a whisper and I could hear the anguish in his voice. Tomas was looking at me so earnestly. His voice sounded so raw, so full of emotion. He was reaching out to me; asking me for help – something he hadn’t done for a very long time…

I swallowed, my palms sweating a little. I itched to reach out to him and to take his hand in mine. To pull him in close to me and to kiss away that worried frown. But I couldn’t do that, as much as I wanted to. He was so damned beautiful but he was my best friend’s brother and, as far as I knew, she didn’t have the first idea that he might be gay.

For that matter, I wasn’t all that sure he knew definitely, either... a few drunken kisses – kisses that he probably didn’t even remember – meant nothing, after all…

What does your heart tell you? I asked, my own voice barely audible. Tell me it’s screaming at you to tell me you love me. Tell me that it beats only for me – just like mine beats only for you… Please. Just feel the same way I do...

Of course, Tom wasn’t telepathic and he couldn’t hear my heartfelt pleas. He shrugged, "I like her…"

My heart kind of sank and skipped a beat all at the same time. Don’t fuck this up, Will. Be cool. I took a deep breath, But you don’t feel for her the way you think you should? Come on Tom. In your heart of hearts, you must know it’s me you really want. It has to be me…

He shook his head, looking vulnerable and a little scared, I don’t think I ever have. He admitted, biting his lip while his eyes searched my face, I feel…

I swear my heart stopped beating for a second, right there. Right when he looked at me with those enormous brown eyes of his that I felt as if I was drowning in every time they met with mine, What? I whispered, my insides turning to liquid fire, What do you feel? I held my breath, waiting. It felt like an eternity before he spoke.

He blushed bright red and looked away, N-Nothing, He said, Just forget it. Forget I ever said anything, He stood up abruptly, pushing the chair away from the table with a scraping screech across the paved floor, the magic that I’d felt between us evaporating the second he did it. I’ve uh, I’ve gotta go.

Maybe he’d felt it too because he bolted for the door like his arse was on fire. I felt utterly helpless and overwhelmingly disappointed. He wasn’t going to admit to anything. He didn’t want me, then. He probably never really had. It was probably all in my imagination… Wait! I darted forward, leaning right out of my seat and grabbed hold of his wrist as he passed me, Tomas…

He stopped and glanced at my hand around his wrist before he looked back at me to meet my gaze, his eyes wary, What? he asked a little aggressively. Tom’s natural defence mechanism was always to get surly.

I stood up and, throwing caution to the wind, I pulled him to me and wrapped my arms around him. It felt utterly perfect and absolutely right, I just thought you looked like you could use a hug. I said pathetically. Seriously, what the hell was I thinking?

His face softened and he smiled at me, Thanks, Will, he sighed. He hugged me back but just as swiftly, pulled away from me again, I’ll see you later, okay?

I nodded, forcing a grin, while commanding myself to rein it in a little, Yeah, sure. Are you guys playing tomorrow night?

He nodded enthusiastically, Yeah, I’ve been working on this new piece, actually. I think you’ll like it. He blushed, giving me the overwhelming urge to lean in and brush my lips against his.

Instead, I took a deep, steadying breath and forced myself to act as normally as I could. I grinned and nodded; if he’d written a new song, I was damned sure I was gonna love it. Play it for me later? I asked.

He grinned back at me and my heartbeat went into overdrive. Sure.

Chapter 1 – Confusion

Will

I really had to control my emotions a little better around Tomas. He was my best friend’s younger brother and apart from that one night a few weeks back, when he’d gotten in late from a date with his girlfriend, Tiffany and found me in the kitchen, there was nothing to give me any indication that he’d ever wanted me and you know, he was absolutely slaughtered. I don’t think he even remembers it – or if he does, he doesn’t want to remember it, which is a little depressing. Me? I can’t forget it and I think about it all of the time…

The fact that he was a few years younger than me – and my best friend’s brother – really made him completely off-limits. True would not be happy… Or that’s what I’d always assumed, anyway.

And I would feel as if I was taking advantage of him, too. He needed to grow up a bit for a start. He needed to know what his true feelings towards me were. It was no good me wishing he was gay. It didn’t make him so – and one drunken snog didn’t really count, anyway…

And it was totally wrong to be having all these feelings bubbling around inside me whenever I saw him. I was already in a relationship… well, a relationship of sorts anyway – it was off far more than it was on. It was an absolutely terrible relationship if I’m honest and it was exhausting just living day to day with the constant pressure of not knowing which version of Giovani was going to turn up. I can’t deny the physical side of things had been pretty damned good in the beginning – but let’s face it – when you’re in the first flush of romance, the sex is good. Who doesn’t enjoy it? It wasn’t everything though – and the rest of the time, which, you know, was actually most of the time, things between us were pretty awful. Giovani was, at best, really selfish and at his worst, he was bloody awful. No redeeming features whatsoever...

I spent most of my time with my best friend, True and her family. And that was when I noticed just how gorgeous her brother really was. Tomas always had time for me. He used to seek me out when he was younger, after his parents died, but more recently and for a while now, even before the one-time-only drunken snog, he’d been noticeably absent… and I missed him.

Chapter 2 – Worst night ever…

27th November 2012

Will

My phone was ringing. I could hear it – I just couldn’t get to it. I was having a lovely, long shower. I was due to go out with my boyfriend in an hour and I was getting ready.

I refused to get out of the shower. Whoever it was would either call back or leave a message anyway.

It rang again. Jesus, some people never gave up, did they?

Maybe it was my boyfriend Nathan. Maybe he was letting me down again – it was par for the course. We weren’t really serious about each other so I didn’t really care…

I sighed and turned off the shower. I’d been stood under the water long enough anyway.

As I wrapped a towel around my hips and slung another one around my neck, the house phone started ringing instead. I walked quickly back to my room and picked it up, Hello?

Will?

I frowned. It sounded like True but she sounded awful – like she’d got a really bad cold or something. True? I asked, immediately alarmed. I sat down on my bed.

I heard her big, shuddery gulp of air at the other end of the phone and then she just started sobbing.

Oh, my God. What is it? I asked, Have you and Jeff broken up or something? Jeff was her boyfriend of the last six months or so and they were pretty tight. Jeff had been a little suspicious of me to begin with. I think he had the idea that I was somehow trying to bag his girl – some guys are strange like that. They either think I’m after their girlfriend – or even more insulting – that I’m actually after them and pretending to be friends with their girl as a way to bag them. As if?

Anyway, we got on reasonably well these days but I’m not gonna lie – Jeff would never be someone I’d call a friend. We kind of tolerated each other for True’s sake.

No – no… she burst into a fresh torrent of tears and then I heard a much deeper voice.

Will? His voice sent a shiver down my spine.

Yeah? my heart started to beat a little faster. I knew that voice. It was her younger brother, Tomas. He was sixteen and he was absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

It’s Tom, Like I needed him to clarify. She had three other brothers and I really liked all of them but there was only one that I could hand on heart say I couldn’t bear to live without, I’m sorry to ruin your plans – but do you think you could come over?

I jumped up. Something was wrong. Of course I could go over… Sure – what’s happened?

I can’t tell you now. His voice cracked, I-I’ll tell you when you get here. He cut the call.

My mind was working overtime as I got dried as quickly as I could. I threw a tee shirt on, all sorts of scenarios – each as unlikely as the next – going through my mind. Grabbing my jeans – I didn’t even bother with my underwear in my haste. I pulled them on and buttoned them up. I grabbed my leather jacket and slipped my feet into my biker boots. What the hell was the matter? Why was True so upset – and Tom? Slipping my phone into my jeans pocket, I grabbed my helmet and my bike keys and slamming the door shut behind me, started up my bike.

It was late November and it had been snowing for the last couple of days. Every night the temperatures plummeted to well below zero, freezing the snow to ice and making the roads a bit dodgy to say the least. That slowed me right down. I didn’t much fancy being scraped up off the road just to get there a few seconds earlier.

True and her family didn’t live all that far away from me. I’d become friends with her at college when I joined the 6th form at her school.

We’d hit it off immediately. Jeff had been sniffing around her for ages before he’d actually plucked up the courage to ask her out. He’d wrongly assumed that we were a couple. I eventually decided to put him out of his misery and told him there was nothing going on and that, actually, my eye was firmly on Nathan Matthews – the guy I eventually started dating – and still did, on and off...

I was smiling to myself as I pulled into their drive but then I remembered True’s and Tom’s voices and a feeling of dread trickled down my spine... What had upset them so much?

There was no sign of their parents’ Freelander in the drive and I guessed they were either away on a business trip – or on holiday. They rarely went out at night. In fact, True’s family were the closest I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting and I really felt accepted when I met them all.

I can’t deny that I’d thought Tomas was beautiful at first sight – in the school canteen at lunchtime right at the beginning of my first term in 6th form with his sister, True. He was far too young for me – or at least he had been when we’d first met but to be fair, he was only thirteen at the time – and he was dating a very pretty girl called Annabel so I guessed it was never gonna happen anyway, since he was obviously into girls, and I’d tried my hardest to put him out of my mind…

I parked my bike and picked my way through the patches of black ice and compacted snow up to the front door. I rang the doorbell and ducked under the porch.

Tomas came to the door. My heart took off at a gallop as soon as saw him walking towards the door through the frosted glass. He’d gotten a whole lot taller in the last couple of years and, since he spent most of his life either working outside with his dad, or in the gym (his dad had put a gym and a swimming pool in the house) he was totally buff, too. He was absolutely gorgeous and was never short of female admirers.

He and Annabel had long since broken up and he was steadily working his way through the rest of the girls in his year, which made me so jealous I felt sick. He’d been out with around six or seven girls in the last year alone – not that I was counting... Okay, so I’m lying through my teeth, I knew each and every one of them…

Each one had been very nice and very pretty. But each one had only lasted a few weeks – a couple of months at best and then they’d broken up. He never said why – but then, I never asked either. He didn’t really talk to me much anymore if I’m honest. But that was okay. He had his mates and I had True.

He opened the door and our eyes met. I was about to say ‘hi’ and let myself in, when I realised he’d been crying. My heart squeezed at the thought of something or someone upsetting him this much, Hey, Tom, I asked in concern, desperate to wrap my arms around him and hug away all that anguish, are you okay? Talk to me buddy. Tell me what’s hurting you…

He shook his head and his face crumpled again, along with his composure. As I stepped forward he threw his arms around me and sobbed into my neck.

I froze. He was clearly distraught about something, but the feel of his hard body against mine... Well, I’m not gonna lie, it was absolutely amazing. I tentatively put my arms around him and hugged him, Hey, what’s the matter? I crooned.

M-Mum and D-D-D-Dad. He managed before he was sobbing all over me again.

My heart about stopped. Their car had gone… Oh, holy shit. Something awful must have happened. What’s happened? I asked, feeling as if I knew the answer even before he answered me. No one looked this devastated if it wasn’t the worst possible news…

Th-They’re both d-d-dead. He managed in a rasping voice before he sagged against me and buried his face back into my shoulder.

I held him in my arms, trying to comfort him but I was in shock too. My legs were shaking and I was forcing myself to stay strong for him, How? I managed.

He didn’t answer me. His crying had gone silent.

I shook him slightly, Tom, I said sternly, Breathe, man. Come on – you’ve gotta breathe.

He took a deep, raggedy breath, I c-c-can’t breathe, he croaked, I c-c-c-can’t stand it. How am I supposed to live without Dad?

Hugging him to me, I didn’t really know how to answer that one. Tomas and his dad were pretty much inseparable. He was always helping him around the smallholding. Instead, I tried to get him off the subject. I asked him a question, Where’s True?

It took him a while to compose himself but finally he nodded towards the lounge, We’re all in there. He said, wiping his face and sniffing loudly. Come on through, he added, holding his hand out to me. Something he’d never done. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I took his hand and followed him down the hall and into the lounge. I looked around and my heart broke for them all.

True was curled up on the sofa staring straight ahead; next to her was a guy I didn’t recognise at first, but then I realised that as wild and dangerous as he looked, he really was just like an older version of Trey and Toby and it dawned on me that it was actually only their older brother, Tatum – or as he was always shortened to – Tate. He was an undercover cop so I guessed his appearance was down to whatever operation he was on at the moment.

Tate had left home a couple of years ago. Like I said, he was a police officer. Detective Constable, actually, and he was away a lot. I was really quite surprised to see him there.

He had his arm around True and had clearly been crying too. I seemed to remember True saying he was three or four years older than her, but even so, it was still far too young to lose both parents simultaneously – still, not as young as the rest of them…

Tomas was stood, still holding my hand. It didn’t register with me for a moment but as I glanced down, he seemed to notice too. He reddened and let go. He went to sit down on the other side of his sister. Tomas was three years younger than True. She seemed to come to as Tom sat down and she looked up. Oh, Will. She wailed, jumping up and flinging her arms around me in the same way Tom had done, not five minutes before. I can’t believe it. I glanced around the room again and noticed Jeff only by his absence. Well, it figured. The guy was absolutely useless. I stroked her hair.

All of the Fletchers had pretty much the same colouring – dark blonde hair and varying shades of hazel to dark brown eyes. Tom’s eyes were the darkest of them all. It was difficult to really see where the pupil ended and the iris began. He was (to me) the most beautiful of all of them. True was a beautiful girl though, with her soft hazel eyes and long curly hair.

I looked over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the twin’s out of the corner of my eye. They were curled up together on the love seat. They’d only be turning fifteen next month. What the hell must have been going through their minds?

What happened, True? I asked quietly.

She took a huge breath and glanced towards the twins, Why don’t you come into the kitchen and I’ll tell you in there?

Tate made to get up too.

Tom looked up, I’ll stay in here with the boys. He croaked, They can’t be left on their own.

I nodded and followed True and Tate into the kitchen.

Tate cleared his throat, They were on the road between here and Hanleigh – and apparently their brakes failed as they were coming down the steep part of the road, just before it opens out… he broke off, unable to speak anymore, as a new wave of emotion swept over him. Sorry, he managed.

True looked up at me, They went off the road and plummeted down the drop. The kitchen was right next to the lounge and I hadn’t closed the door to when we all came out. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Tomas had wrapped his arms around himself as if he was physically in pain as she told me. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and try to take away some of the pain he was in – but I didn’t think he would really want me to do that. I tried to concentrate on what True was saying, …They might have had a chance if they hadn’t rolled… she broke off, unable to say anything else as the tears fell again.

I felt sick. Oh, God… were there any others involved?

She nodded. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, A young couple were found too. They had massive injuries and were taken to the hospital. I don’t know what happened to them but Mum and Dad… She broke off and took a couple of deep breaths. They were already dead when they were found, she let out a huge sob before she could finish her sentence, the police officer assured us they hadn’t suffered… she broke off, unable to continue.

I just held her in my arms for ages before we spoke again. What are you going to do? I finally asked.

She looked up at me, About what?

I looked around. They lived in a massive house – and their parents had been running a very successful business from their smallholding. They had a few horses – True was a great horsewoman and the younger boys were all good at horse-riding too. They also had cows and sheep and pigs and chickens, geese and ducks, not to mention the fields of organic vegetables and their extensive collection of poly tunnels full of designer salad ingredients and fruits. Well, I shrugged, "about everything. About all of this."

She bit her lip and looked at Tate, I don’t know. I’d love to keep it going but none of us, apart from Tom, really know much about the business…

Tate grimaced, Well, I can’t really give up my career to come back. I haven’t the faintest idea how to run this place… besides, you know – it’s not something we’ve really had time to think about.

Of course they hadn’t. They’d just lost their parents. They were all still in shock. "Well, if you need a hand with anything – anything. Just let me know. I’m happy to help you out – and I know my dad will. You know that, right?" I gazed at them anxiously. I really meant it. I would do anything for True and her family.

They both nodded, Thank you. True murmured, Do you fancy stopping for a drink? I think we could all do with one.

I ended up spending the night with them. Tate left to go and spend the night at his girlfriend’s house. He’d been going out with Madison for a while but they saw little of each other since he’d been promoted. He worked away a lot. I guess he needed to be with her at a time like this.

The next morning, as promised, I called my dad, who was immediately galvanized into action, Tell them not to worry about a thing. He said, I’ll make some calls in the morning. He paused and then his voice cracked, Oh, God. I can’t believe this. I’ve known Steve Fletcher for years; we went to school together – he was such a great bloke…

Dad was amazing. He got them sorted out with the solicitors – thankfully, as young as their parents were,