Page 97 of Say It Again

Daniel pursed his lips. “This stuff?”

“I didn’t mean it, ya know, dismissively, or whatever. My bad. I just want to enjoy a night with you where you’re happy to be with me and not trying to change me.”

“Trying to….” Daniel trailed off, his eyes rounding. He wasn’t doing that, was he? He was trying to open Aaron’s eyes about his options, his worth, but he wasn’t trying to change him.

Unless trying to change what he did was trying to change him. That possibility stung a little. Like the way Robert Greene insisted Daniel need a different career. A better one. One that was respectable.

“I’m sorry,” Aaron said, kneading the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t mean that. I’m just tired, but you haven’t done anything wrong. I promised I would look at it. Let’s look at it.”

“Why are you so tired?”

“Because I don’t think Marco sleeps. He works so late and gets up so early. It’s nonstop, and I work with him. I admire him. He’s a freaking machine, but I just wasn’t expecting—” Aaron suddenly startled at whatever Daniel’s face was doing. “Shit. But let’s not talk about him. I didn’t mean to talk about him. Are you okay?”

That was a solid question. Was he okay? Insisting they didn’t talk about it, squashing even his own thoughts before they formed, might have been a long-term plan with a few splinters in the foundation. Not that he would have a meltdown about it—everything was fantastic!—but learning that Aaron admired this person he’d been spending so much time with. Learning he was a freaking machine was an added layer he didn’t quite know how to shed.

“Yes, I’m okay.” He gulped, squashing the thoughts before they could form. “Everything’s fantastic.”

“I’m batting one thousand here, aren’t I?” Aaron’s smile was weak, and his long eyelashes looked like a jungle with all the rubbing he’d been doing. “Okay, we’ll eat, we’ll drink, you’ll show me this presentation, then we’ll go out dancing. Sound good?”

He let his gaze sweep Aaron’s pretty face, smoothing a hand through his hair. Aaron nestled into his palm, his eyes softening shut. “We don’t have to go dancing.”

“Really?” Aaron perked up a bit. “We can go home and cuddle?”

Daniel uncorked his dramatic eyeroll, just to make it clear that no dancing and cuddling in lieu of other, way more fun bed-related activities wasn’t his first choice. “Yes, we can go home and cuddle—”

“Aaron.” A specimen of a man suddenly stood by their table, wearing a terrified expression.

The color emptied from Aaron’s face. He stood in a big enough fluster to clink glasses, splashing champagne on the table.

Tall, lean, tailored and absolutely striking, the guy had this polished-beyond-fairness look. He said quietly through his teeth, “I need you to not be here right now. My colleague is in the restroom.”

“Shitshitshit,” Aaron said, grabbing their jackets. “Okay, kid. Come on. Wait, my check—”

“Go. I’ll cover your check.”

“What?” Daniel asked, as Aaron hauled him out of the chair by his arm. “Who are you?”

“My apologies to you both,” the guy said to him, flashing him a rueful smile. Even amidst the chaos, something about him was so calm and commanding. “I’ll make sure your time with him is covered as well.”

“My boyfriend,” Aaron coughed under his breath, shaking his head at the guy.

“Oh.” The guy turned to Daniel once again, his eyebrows lifted, shock written all over his face. “Then I’m ultra sorry to ruin your evening. Thank you for your grace. I can only imagine the caliber of character you must possess.”

What the hell? Who spoke like that? Daniel didn’t have time to respond before Aaron was pushing him toward the exit, murmuring, “I’ll explain later,” over and over.

“Well, hold on—wait. My laptop.”

“Dammit,” Aaron hissed as they pushed through the doors. “Wait right here. Don’t move.”

The moment was too disorienting for questions, so Daniel followed his instructions, shuffling onto the street. For better or worse, he had clear view of the table where they’d just been evicted, where the stakes felt sky-high as Aaron jogged back to rescue the laptop.

He didn’t make it.

A woman in a cream business suit on her way from the bathroom touched his arm. He spun around and smiled. He also smiled at the striking guy who stood from his table in the corner to join them.

Daniel could’ve kicked himself. He should’ve gone back to get the laptop. Not Aaron.

Aaron who was suddenly so casual-looking. Aaron who circled an arm around Striking Guy’s waist and kissed his cheek. Striking Guy grinned sheepishly, dropping his head, shrugging while the woman in the cream suit seemed to fawn over them.

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