Page 58 of Thrown

“We need to stop this,” he said, pinching his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, he stared straight at Toby and said, “We’re both seriously overly emotional right now. We’re both trying to wade through a sea of baggage and shit to get to each other, but if we would both put our feet down for a second, we’d realize the water is only two feet deep.”

Toby blinked and reeled back a bit. “That’s a metaphor and a half.”

“Well, it’s true,” Robbie huffed.

He shifted his weight and stance to face the problem with more strength.

“Look,” he said. “The Hawthorne family is under attack from Willoughby Entertainment and Charles Duckworth. We’ve no idea why, but everyone is back at the house, sitting at the table in the meeting room, discussing strategy and what to do about things. Mum is coming home from Africa immediately to deal with the people she knows, and Rafe thinks he knows someone at the bank. We’re all rallying, but we need you there to rally with us.”

“I’m not a member of your family,” Toby said, much calmer, but crossing his arms tightly.

“For the moment, you are,” Robbie told him firmly. “You’re the one spearheading the deal with Silver Productions, and we want you to continue with that. Dad wants to hire you to work for Hawthorne House.”

That news came as enough of a surprise to Toby that he dropped his arms and lost the ferocious snarl he was barely hiding.

“Your dad wants to hire me?” he asked.

“Yes,” Robbie said, pulse pounding harder with the crack he’d found in Toby’s armor. “We all want you there. Me more than anyone.”

Toby narrowed his eyes again. “What about Keith.”

“Forget about sodding Keith!” Robbie shouted, even though it startled a neighbor walking past with her dog. “Forget about Keith,” he repeated in a quieter voice, moving so that Toby’s car blocked them from passersby a bit better. “Things are definitely over with him and should have been long before they were. If you saw anything in me that made you think I still wanted him, you were wrong. I was stunned by everything going on, and by the realization of my own feelings about him, and about you.”

Toby said nothing, but his expression changed from anger to suspicion.

“Fuck it, I love you, Toby,” Robbie said, cringing at himself as he did. “Yes, it’s far too early for me to say anything like that, and I’m probably just reacting off of the emotion of everything else going on, but yes, I have feelings for you. You’re the kindest, most aggravatingly thoughtful, most charmingly aggressive man I’ve ever known. Half the time I want to slap you, but the rest of the time I just want to grab your face and kiss you to shut you up. You’re the one I want to be with, not Keith.”

Toby’s expression shot through a dozen emotions as Robbie poured his soul out, from shock to frustration, and finally to amusement.

“Fuck, was I that good last night?” he asked, his smile growing by the second and making his eyes glow. “I fucked you into falling in love with me?”

Robbie sighed and dropped his shoulders, a headache beginning to form behind his eyes. “I knew it was a silly thing to say. We’ve only known each other a little more than two weeks, and we hated each other up until days ago.”

“No, no,” Toby said, beaming brighter still. “I’m flattered. I’ve never had anyone burst out with a confession of love in the middle of a Thursday afternoon.”

“Alright,” Robbie said, sending him a flat look. “Your point is taken. I’m a fool, and yes, I’m embarrassed.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Toby went on, laughing. “There’s nothing embarrassing about dramatic declarations of love.”

“Stop laughing at me,” Robbie said, beginning to shrink in on himself with shame. “I was overcome. It’s a stressful day. I’m trying to save my family and stop things between us from falling apart for stupid reasons. I can’t be held accountable if?—”

Toby grabbed his face before he could finish and stepped in to slant his mouth over Robbie’s. Robbie was too stunned at first to know what to do, but the intensity of Toby’s kiss was overwhelming, and within seconds everything else was forgotten but how good it felt to be in Toby’s arms again and to taste his mouth. Everything else could melt away, and Robbie would still be happy.

Toby ended their kiss, gazed into Robbie’s eyes, then changed his mind and went back for a second kiss. That one was quicker and full of energy and excitement. Robbie felt himself pulled under by the joy of it once again.

“Alright,” Toby said once he was finished the second time, taking a step back, but reaching for Robbie’s hand with a smile. “I accept.”

“You accept what?” Robbie asked, feeling like his head was spinning in circles.

“I accept your plea for me to come back and help the family. I accept your dad wanting to hire me to work for Hawthorne House. And I accept your undying, passionate love for me,” he said with an impish grin.

Robbie rolled his eyes, face blazing with heat.

“Now come on,” Toby said, tugging him towards the car. “We’ve got a family to save.”

EIGHTEEN

It waslike something out of a bloody romcom, and Toby loved it. Misunderstandings, confessions of love on a street corner, and an unexpected kiss to top it all off. All they needed now was a clap of thunder and a sudden, torrential downpour, and Silver Productions would want to make a movie out of his and Robbie’s whirlwind romance along with whatever medieval shows they were planning to produce.

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