Page 43 of Something Unforgettable

It took Finn a minute to drag his eyes away from the view. Glancing around the pool, his gaze fell on one of the lounge chairs, where a man was stretched out with a towel over his face—tanned skin, tattoos, perfect physique, and, well, everything else on display. He was naked. Very, very naked. Finn squeaked and spun around, crashing into Xavier, who was right behind him. Xavier caught him by the shoulders so he didn’t stumble.

“Sweetheart, what—?” He looked over Finn’s head and sighed, long-suffering. “Dalton,” he barked. “Put some fucking pants on.”

Finn peeked over his shoulder in time to see Remy Dalton lift one muscular arm and flip Xavier off.

“Tan lines are ag-against my contract,” came the stumbling reply.

Xavier sighed again. “Sweetheart, would you go inside and ask Asher to find my guest’s clothes and bring them out to us?”

Finn nodded and hurried inside. It only took a minute to find Asher, who was coming back down the stairs. “Um, Xavi asked if you could find, um—Remy Dalton’s clothes, please?” His cheeks were hot, and Asher raised an eyebrow at him, making it worse.

“Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing ever?” Finn wasn’t sure if that was sarcasm or not. He chose to believe not.

“Thank you?”

Asher rolled his eyes but chuckled. “Yeah, kid. I’ll find them.”

A minute later, he was strolling outside with an armful of fabric. Finn waited a few minutes more before following. He stepped out just in time to catch Remy pulling the pants over his tanned and muscular ass. How much did the man have to work out to look that good at his age? He had to be closer to fifty than forty.

“Finn,” Xavier called. “Come meet Remy. He’s still drunk, but at least that means he’s not being an asshole—for the moment.”

Finn wasn’t sure he wanted to meet someone who was an asshole the rest of the time, but he walked back to Xavier anyway.

“Hi,” he said, as Remy Dalton looked him up and down. “I’m sorry about what happened with the press.” That was important to say, he thought. So far, everything he’d overheard was about damage control, but nothing about making sure Remy was okay.

Remy’s intense blue eyes snapped to Finn’s. “What are you sorry for?” he asked, sounding bewildered.

Xavier’s hand touched Finn’s back. He wasn’t sure if it was in support or warning, but he continued anyway. “No one should be outed like that. It’s a cruel thing to do and I’m sorry it happened to you.” Xavier squeezed his hip, so Finn figured he’d said something right. “But if it helps at all, my best friend, Ev, is going to freak out when he hears you’re, um…bi?”

Remy huffed. “Gay. Women are pretty to look at, but they’ve never done it for me. Thank fuck I didn’t give in when I was a kid and my agent told me to get married. That would have been a disaster.”

Finn blinked at him. Okaaay… “Well, Ev’ll be over the moon. My friend Micah, too. They love your movies and they’re always complaining that there isn’t enough queer representation in Hollywood.”

Remy was still examining him like he was something that belonged in the Believe It Or Not museum Ev had dragged him to once in college.

“Huh,” he said. “What’s your name again, pet?”

Finn flushed and leaned closer to Xavier. “Finn.”

“Well, Finn,” Remy said with a sharp grin that showed his perfect teeth and made his eyes crease at the corners. “I appreciate it. I hope we can get to know each other better while you’re in town.” He winked.

“Dalton,” Xavier ground out, his hand tightening on Finn’s hip. “Back your drunk ass off and read the room.”

Finn couldn’t help it. He snickered, then slapped his hand over his mouth a moment too late.

“Ohh,” Remy drawled, his eyes twinkling. “I am. And I like what I see.” He appeared to back down anyway, his expression turning thoughtful. “Fuck it, if I’m out now, I’m coming all the way out.” He turned back to Xavier. “I know the plan was to hedge in the press release. Play the ‘Remy Dalton’s sexuality is a private matter and not open for discussion’ card. But why the hell should I bother? Is Global going to release me from my contract over it?”

“I’m sure they could find a way, but not without an uproar from the LGBTQIA+ community.”

“Then let them try. I don’t need the money, and I’m fucking sick and tired of pretending. I’ll be fifty in three years. Maybe it’s time to...what do they call it? Live my truth.”

Finn couldn’t take his eyes off Remy during his impassioned speech. It was easy to see why the man commanded box offices. Finn was riveted. At the same time, he was also a little worried. He hoped he hadn’t caused anyone more trouble with his rambling. He gave Xavier a look, but Xavier just leaned down and kissed his temple. That made Finn’s tension flow away. Maybe everything would work out for the best.

A few hours later, Xavier and Asher were in Xavier’s office with the door shut. The last time he’d emerged, Asher had mentioned a conference call with Xavier’s business partner, Gabriel, who was in New York. It was late afternoon California time, but that meant it was three hours later for Finn, and he was starving. He didn’t want to interrupt, though, so he was sitting on the couch, messaging pictures of the house and the view to a group text Micah had started with Finn, Ev, and Eli as well as Izzy and Archer—who were more Micah and Eli’s friends than they were Finn’s.

Ev

I can’t believe you met Remy Fucking Dalton. Please tell me he’s as hot in real life as he is on TV.

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