Page 52 of Just a Bit Guarded

Will quickly headed in the direction the woman had pointed.

“Thanks,” Scott said, and ran after his cousin.

They rounded the corner and immediately saw Gadiel.

He hadn’t been kidnapped or killed—or whatever horrors Will had imagined.

He looked perfectly fine.

More than fine.

He was walking leisurely in their direction, a large grocery bag in his left hand. In his other hand he was holding a smaller bag with what looked like croissants.

And he wasn’t alone. A guy around Gadiel’s age, maybe in his early twenties, was walking beside him. Judging by his playful attempts to take the grocery bag away from Gadiel, he was trying to be helpful to the cute guy he wanted to get to know better.

Gadiel was shaking his head, clearly declining his help, but there was a smile on his face.

Will came to an abrupt halt, watching them for a moment. His face was as inscrutable as ever, but his eyes burned a hole where the guy was touching Gadiel’s arm.

At that moment, Gadiel finally noticed them.

It was almost comical, the way his entire face lit up when he saw Will. His footsteps quickened and he came to a stop only once he was in Will’s personal space.

“Hey,” he said breathlessly, giving Will what could only be described as heart eyes. He was looking at Will like it had been months since he’d last seen him, not just half an hour. “What are you doing here? Were you looking for me?”

“Yes,” Will said, his voice clipped, taking the grocery bag from Gadiel. “You weren’t in the store.”

“Oh, I went to the bakery to get the croissants you love,” Gadiel said. “Were you worried?”

“What do you think?” Will said testily.

“Sorry,” Gadiel said, leaning in and pecking him on the cheek. Will scoffed, looking unimpressed.

“Aw, I’m really sorry, Will,” Gadiel said, pecking him on the cheek again and peering up into his eyes through his thick eyelashes. “Don’t be mad at me?” He kissed the corner of Will’s mouth.

And to Scott’s amazement, Will folded like a cheap lounge chair, the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. “All right,” he said, more softly. “But don’t do this again. You know I have reasons to worry.”

Scott blinked, utterly stunned. He couldn’t remember Will ever admitting being worried.Hell, he couldn’t remember Will ever being this okay with being touched in public. Will was usually very uncomfortable with any form of PDA. He didn’t allow his girlfriends to even hold his hand in public, much less keep kissing his face.

“Eh, you should have said that you had a boyfriend,” the guy behind Gadiel spoke up.

Gadiel and Will kind of froze. A series of emotions flickered over their faces as they stared at each other. Gadiel’s cheeks turned pink before he finallyturned to the guy. “He isn’t—we aren’t—”

“Let’s go,” Will said curtly, steering Gadiel away none too gently and completely ignoring the guy.

Gadiel practically melted into his side, allowing Will to guide him away. He didn’t spare his unlucky admirer even a glance.

Knowing very well how that felt, Scott threw the guy a sympathetic look and followed Will and Gadiel back to the apartment.

He noted that Will didn’t remove his hand from Gadiel’s side until they reached the apartment building, but maybe he wasn’t aware where his hand was—he and Gadiel were bickering over which Jurassic Park movie they should watch.

“Don’t be a snob!” Gadiel was saying as they entered the apartment. “The new movies are perfectly fine! They’re very entertaining!”

Will snorted, dropping the grocery bag on the table. “They’re dumb. You just like the actor who plays the lead.”

Gadiel flushed. “And what if I do?” he said with a challenging look in his eyes. “Nothing wrong with enjoying some eye candy. He’s hot. I like competent, older men.”

Will’s face was blank. “Fine,” he said, putting the groceries away. “Don’t let me stop you from enjoying your eye candy.”

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