Page 74 of Resisting You

And then he needed to tell Frey he wanted more than what they had now. He wanted to be able to tell him he loved him. He wanted to know that this meant something, that they were on the same page, saw the same future. That would come with time, and he could be patient, but it wasn’t going to be easy.

“You okay?”

Renato turned his head and found a smile to give his lover. “I’m okay. Just thinking.”

“Can I help?”

Renato pulled Frey’s hand to his lips and kissed his knuckles. “You are.”

Frey covered his face with his free hand and groaned. “I never know what to do when you say shit like that.”

“Do nothing. Just lie there and be pretty. You’re good at it,” Renato teased.

Frey elbowed him and laughed, then shuffled a little closer, letting out a small, happy sigh.

Renato basked after that as they settled closer together, fingers tangled, drifting off a little to the sound of the waves. It was peaceful in ways Renato hadn’t been in so long, and he took yet another moment to feel both selfish and content.

There was a lot on the horizon, so he was taking this moment while he could.

Chapter Nineteen

Renato looked up when a cup of coffee dropped in front of him. He was about to pick it up and place it in the trash can beside the counter when he locked eyes with Ajish, and he sighed. The coffee would at least be good, and the company would be tolerable.

It wouldn’t help his mood, however, because he’d come to an official decision, and he wasn’t looking forward to putting it into play.

“Someone pissed in your Weetabix?”

“I don’t eat dry straw,” Renato murmured. He pulled the coffee close, sniffed it, then took a sip. Ajish had clearly made it himself, and that meant something because he never, ever shared. Like Renato, he got his caffeine supply imported from family, and he hoarded it like a dragon hoarding gold.

Ajish snorted. “I got addicted when I lived in London. I don’t know why.”

Renato didn’t want to talk about subpar breakfasts. “Is there something you need?”

“To find out why it looks like my friend’s dog got sent off to war.”

“I don’t have a dog,” he said. “And Italy isn’t at war.”

Ajish sighed and reached over to flick Renato’s ear. “You know what I mean. You’ve been speaking English about a decade longer than me. You know your metaphors.”

Renato rubbed both hands down his face, momentarily forgetting he was wearing his glasses. He grimaced at the smudges and then pulled them off, dropping them beside his phone. He had a meeting in half an hour to discuss…changes.

“I’m leaving the hospital.”

Ajish let out a small choking noise. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Renato said, but the word felt like a lie—sharp and unkind, digging into the back of his tongue. At Ajish’s pointed stare, he sat back and wrapped his arms around his middle. “It’s…I’ve…” He bit his lip. There were a thousand reasons why he was doing this, but Frey was the main one. Not because he didn’t want to see him every day but because it was the only thing that would save what they had.

“Renato,” he said very quietly.

Renato shook his head. “Life got a little bit more complicated. It’s not bad. But it made me realize I can’t keep this up.”

Ajish bit his lip, then let out a heavy sigh and sat back in his chair. “Not malpractice.”

Renato rolled his eyes. “No.”

“Not sexual harassment.”

At that, Renato choked on his own tongue. “What?”

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