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He and Edwin kissed their foreheads together and smiled at each other.

“Did you like that?” Edwin asked.

“I loved it.”

“I thought you would. I wanted to see how much pleasure you could take.”

Andrew heaved an exhausted sigh. “I think that was my limit.”

“Hm, maybe,” Edwin said with a sly smile. “For now.”

“You really are horrible,” Andrew said, laughing.

Edwin reached for an old nightshirt so that he could clean his hand.

“But you still love me,” he remarked playfully as he wiped his fingers on the linen.

Andrew smiled at him. “But I still love you.”

After they were both cleaned up, they settled in bed facing one another. Edwin hooked his leg over Andrew’s torso. Andrew pushed a hand through Edwin’s hair. And Edwin thought his heart might actually burst from the moment’s unparalleled perfection. Here he was, lying in bed with the man he loved, naked in every sense of the word, the whole of who he was and who he had once been laid bare.

And he couldn’t have felt more confident or content.

Epilogue

Andrew

April 1890

In Thompson’s Photography Studio, the Whitney and Beasley families were preparing for a portrait together. William and Agnes were seated on the sofa holding hands, the sapphire on Agnes’s beautiful wedding ring catching the sunlight. Next to Agnes sat her mother, wearing one of the nicest dresses Andrew had ever seen, one that was only made lovelier by the fact that Agnes had fashioned it herself. Edwin was sitting next to William, looking stunning in his favorite suit, though Andrew couldn’t recall a single time when Edwin had looked anything but. Behind the sofa, William’s parents were standing close, relaxed-looking smiles on both their faces.

All around the family, there were plants. Many, many plants. Over the last year, Edwin and Andrew had transformed the space into a little conservatory of their own. Some clients asked that most of the plants be moved so that their photographs could be taken in front of one of the fabric background scenes instead, but most loved it. Some even paid extra to have Andrew color the flowers afterward, especially when the majority of them were in bloom.

Andrew couldn’t help but be excited to see how the family portrait would look. With the abundance of plant life, Agnes’s ring front and center, and Edwin looking as incredible as ever, it was bound to be the best one either family had ever taken.

“All right, is everyone ready?” Andrew asked cheerfully. “If so, I’ll hurry up and prepare the plate.”

He’d been set on using the wet collodion plates for the portrait, favoring the milky brown color they’d produce over the blueish gray of the dry gelatin ones.

William let out a playful scoff. “Uhm, obviously we’re not,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Because someone is missing.”

Andrew shook his head. “Oh. Uhm. What?”

“You,” Edwin said with a light, happy laugh. “You’re missing.”

“But—”

“You’re family,” William reasoned. “Ergo, you have to be in our family portrait.”

Warmth unfurled in Andrew’s chest.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t impose,” he said, his voice becoming wobbly as tears sprang to his eyes. “Besides, I have to be over here to work the camera.”

“You’re not imposing,” Edwin said sweetly, but then he let out a small sigh. “You’re right about the camera, though.”

“Oh! I know!” William said, springing up from the sofa. “Be right back.”

He hurried off. Andrew could hear him bounding down the stairs. He rocked back on his heels while they all waited. Soon, William returned with Prudence.