Page 33 of Just a Bit Guarded

But one thing was for sure: all else being equal—had Will been gay—Gadiel wouldn’t even look at Scott.

The question was: did it matter?Will wasn’t gay. Did it matter that Gadiel might be harboring something of a crush on him? In all honesty, had Will not been a relative, Scott would see his appeal. Will might be boring and far too serious, but he was hot. What gay man with functional eyeswouldn’tcrush on a six-foot-tall hottie with a body like Will’s?Will was steady and self-assured, which weren’t really qualities Scott looked for in a man, preferring charming, pretty twinks, but he could see the appeal of a man like Will. So Gadiel’s crush was understandable, really.

But that didn’t mean Scott had to like it.

He didn’t. If he and Gadiel got together, he would always wonder if Gadiel wasn’t settling for him just because he was gay and looked somewhat similar to Will. Yikes. Even thinking about it made him cringe. He liked Gadiel a lot, but he wasn’t going to be anyone’s second choice. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that.

“Hey guys,” Scott said.

Gadiel practically jumped and gave him a startled look, as if he’d forgotten about his presence entirely.

That only solidified Scott’s decision. “I think there’s no point in me following you. I’ll catch a cab to my hotel.”

Will frowned. “You’ve just been mugged. You don’t have money.”

“I don’t need money when I have my phone,” Scott said, pulling it out of the inner pocket of his jacket. The muggers hadn’t yet taken it away before Will saved him.Speaking of which, he needed to call his bank and block his card.“See ya. Or not.”

“What?” Gadiel said, hesitantly. “What do you mean?”

Scott gave him a crooked smile. “Look, Gadiel, I like you a lot—you’re funny and gorgeous—but I’m no one’s second choice.”

Gadiel frowned in what seemed like genuine confusion. “What?”

Scott felt a pang of doubt. Was it possible he was mistaken?

But then he looked at the way Gadiel was still gripping Will’s hand, noting how close to each other they stood, clearlycomfortable in each other’s personal space, and Scott knew he wasn’t mistaken. Even if nothing was going to happen between them, clearly there wassomethingthere. Something Scott wasn’t touching with a ten-foot pole.

“I’m not an idiot,” Scott said with a chuckle. “I can read the room.”

“I don’t understand,” Gadiel said, still frowning.

For the first time, Scott actually felt the age difference between them. Christ, the guy was so young, not even out of his teens yet. Maybe he was genuinely clueless about what was going on here.

“A word of advice,” he said, softening his voice. “Straight guys are a very bad idea, no matter how hot they are. Trust me on that.”

Gadiel stared at him blankly before flushing. “I don’t know what you mean,” he said, not looking at Will.

“Right,” Scott said with a snort. “And the fact that you look at my cousin like you’d choke on his dick if he let you means nothing, of course.”

Gadiel opened his mouth and closed it.

Scott looked at Will.

There was a very strange expression on his face. Scott couldn’t read it at all. But Will didn’t look shocked by his words. Then again, if even Scott had noticed Gadiel’s little crush, Will had likely clocked it days ago. He’d always been the observant one.

“Text me when you get to your hotel,” Will said evenly, as if Scott hadn’t just said what he’d said. “Let’s go, Gadiel.”

Blushing furiously, Gadiel let him steer him away.

Puzzled by Will’s non-reaction, Scott turned around and went looking for a cab.

What a night.

Chapter 16

As they entered his apartment, Gadiel had never felt so many contradictory emotions at the same time.

Part of him wanted to hide in his room and mope. Not only had he managed to ruin what could have been a great relationship with the perfect man of his dreams by getting a wildly inappropriatethingfor the straight cousin of his would-be boyfriend, but said cousin now knew about it. Apparently, he’d been that obvious.It was mortifying. He’d never be able to look Will in the eye. He never wanted to see him again.

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