  &quot;I love you, too.&quot;
  &quot;Josh, there s no pressure. You don t have to—&quot;
  &quot;I know. I really love you, James. Very much.&quot;
  James tightened his arms around Joshua s waist. &quot;Really?&quot;
  &quot;Really.&quot;
  They laughed softly as they leaned toward each other and bumped their foreheads gently together.
  &quot;I love you more.&quot;
  &quot;I love you most.&quot;
  James snickered. &quot;Must you have the last word?&quot;
  &quot;In this case, yeah.&quot;
  James guffawed. &quot;Fine. I won t complain, but we both know the truth.&quot;
  &quot;What s that?&quot;
  James smirked. &quot;That I love you a tiny bit more than you love me. You can t deny it.&quot;
  Joshua snorted. &quot;As if.&quot;
  They grinned at each other, but neither of them exchanged a single word for a short moment afterward. Joshua was content to remain silent. He inhaled the sce

  &quot;Where are Gabriel, Adam, Noah, Tamara, and Leticia?&quot; James asked his brothers and sisters-in-law before quickly turning toward Joshua. &quot;Gabriel and Adam are Jeremiah and Phoebe s sons. The others belong to Jonah and Patricia.&quot;
  &quot;With Mom and Dad,&quot; Jeremiah replied before raising one hand to stop James from responding. &quot;And before you comment on that, you have to know they volunteered. They ve offered to take care of the kids just in case Phoebe and I want to go out on a romantic date.&quot;
  &quot;Mom and Dad told Tricia and I the same thing,&quot; Jonah added. &quot;It s a mere coincidence the four of us end up coming to the same restaurant.&quot;
  &quot;And bumping into me and Joshua,&quot; James said while doing his best to sound less annoyed.
  Jeremiah chuckled. &quot;Yeah. Sorry about that, bro. We didn t do this on purpose.&quot;
  &quot;We

  &quot;Guys, what s wrong? These are fantastic. Don t you think?&quot;
  David was obviously about to say something, but Vincent beat him to it. &quot;Uh, they re fabulous. The ox on the towel is cool.&quot;
  Joshua smiled. &quot;I know, right? James s father was born in the year of the ox. I checked with James just to make sure.&quot;
  &quot;That will make James s father seventy-one years old.&quot;
  Joshua stared at Justin in confusion. &quot;Dude, this is the year two-thousand and nineteen. Do the Math. James s father will be seventy years old.&quot;
  &quot;Chinese people usually add one year to their age,&quot; Justin retorted.
  &quot;I informed you about that, Josh,&quot; David reminded while running his hand over the towel and then the small box of handkerchiefs underneath it. &quot;Out of curiosity, have you purchased anything else?&quot;
  Joshua beamed widely. &quot;Two bo

&quot;I love you, too.&quot;
  &quot;Josh, there s no pressure. You don t have to—&quot;
  &quot;I know. I really love you, James. Very much.&quot;
  James tightened his arms around Joshua s waist. &quot;Really?&quot;
  &quot;Really.&quot;
  They laughed softly as they leaned toward each other and bumped their foreheads gently together.
  &quot;I love you more.&quot;
  &quot;I love you most.&quot;
  James snickered. &quot;Must you have the last word?&quot;
  &quot;In this case, yeah.&quot;
  James guffawed. &quot;Fine. I won t complain, but we both know the truth.&quot;
  &quot;What s that?&quot;
  James smirked. &quot;That I love you a tiny bit more than you love me. You can t deny it.&quot;
  Joshua snorted. &quot;As if.&quot;
  They grinned at each other, but neither of them exchanged a single word for a short moment afterward. Joshua was content to remain silent. He inhaled the scent of his lover s cologne, mixed in with a little bit of musk and fresh sweat. He sighed

Chapter 23