Page 15 of Warrior's Cross

“Didn’t it still hurt?” Cameron asked incredulously. “A lot?”

“Yes,” Julian admitted. “And it made me cranky,” he added with a slight reddening of his cheeks that wasn’t because of the freezing temperature outside.

“That was the night you asked for Miri,” Cameron remembered.

“‘Tell the woman to bring the check,’” he repeated flatly. Julian lowered his head silently. “I owe you an apology for that,” he finally stated.

Cameron shook his head, though Julian wouldn’t see it. “It’s okay. Blake explained. Sort of.”

It registered suddenly that Blakeknewthis man. Julian couldn’t be all that bad if Blake knew him, could he? Surely Cameron was safe with him. He stood there pondering, slightly dragging one foot back and forth, making a furrow in the snow as it fell between the towering concrete and glass buildings and onto the lit streets all around them.

Julian shook his head in return and gave Cameron a small, embarrassed smile. “My own time is very limited,” he explained. “I’m jealous of the time spent at the restaurant,” he said candidly.

“Jealous?” Cameron was at a loss. “I don’t understand. The food’s notthatgood,” he said.

“But the service is extraordinary,” Julian said softly.

There wasn’t any breath left in Cameron’s chest after Julian’s explanation, so he couldn’t even start to answer. He could only stand there as the sparkling flakes fell silently and thick around them, staring at the man he’d been fantasizing about for months. He finally shrugged helplessly, unable to think of anything else to do.

Julian shook his head again and smiled as he looked at Cameron.

“I look forward to seeing you,” he explained. “Whether it’s bringing me my meal or waiting on the table next to mine. I don’t want someone else doing it.”

“All I do is serve the food.”

“And all I do is sit there and watch you,” Julian countered.

Cameron’s gut clenched and his breath caught. After several heartbeats, he blurted, “I watch you too.”

Julian’s face broke into a wide smile. It completely changed the way he looked, and even the way it felt to be around him. The apprehension that had tightened Cameron’s chest eased up somewhat, and he found himself staring raptly. Dark and brooding, Julian was sinfully handsome. But when he smiled, he was absolutely devastating, and Cameron didn’t think he’d be able to move from that very spot anytime soon. Not as long as Julian was smiling at him.

“I know,” Julian said simply.

“You... How?” Cameron asked. He did almost all his watching from the safety of the service area.

Julian looked at him silently for a moment and then smiled again and looked behind them. The snow had already blotted out their footprints. “Midnight Mass will start soon. I’ll let yougo,” he finally murmured, not answering the question in the least. “I merely needed to tell you.”

Cameron couldn’t drag his eyes away. “Julian?” The word came out deep and slightly breathless. It was the first time he’d spoken it aloud.

“Yes?” Julian responded calmly in turn as he looked back at him.

For a wild, insane second, Cameron wished it were in him to do something brash. While working, he knew exactly what to do in almost every situation. Outside of work, it was decidedly the opposite. But right now he wished he had the nerve to ask this man, practically a stranger, to come home with him. He felt sure he wouldn’t get another chance. But he simply couldn’t force the words between his lips.

“How’s your arm now?” he asked weakly.

“It’s doing well,” Julian answered with another bemused smile.

“Thank you for asking.”

Nodding, Cameron took a step back, telling himself to quit babbling and leave with a hint of dignity intact. “I’m this way,” he said, gesturing to the right.

Julian glanced in that direction and tilted his head like he wanted to say or do something but was uncertain. The quiet, frozen surroundings and Julian’s indecision stirred something unusual in Cameron, and from far away he heard himself ask, “Do you have someone to get home to on Christmas Eve?”

Julian looked at him closely as the snow began to fall even harder. It made it difficult to see, even though they stood only a few feet apart.

He looked off in the direction of Holy Name Cathedral before returning his piercing gaze to Cameron and stepping closer. He shook his head, looking down at Cameron’s upturned face. “No one.”

The snow was getting so heavy it was catching on Cameron’s eyelashes, and he had to keep blinking. When he heard Julian’s reply, he steeled himself for what had to be the craziest thing he’d ever done in his life.

---