Page 36 of Undercover
Besides. The fucker started it.
“Are you sure you’re even straight? Or did you follow me up here hoping for a quickie?”
Dave sputtered, going from red to purple, and I took the opportunity of a good exit line to shoulder past him and make my escape down the stairs. He shouted something after me as I clattered down, but I couldn’t quite catch it. Complimentary, no doubt. Maybe telling me my ass looked great in my tux trousers.
Either way, I didn’t think he’d call the cops for real, but I did want to get the hell out of there before the situation escalated any further. Gabe had told me he needed to see and be seen by his family a couple of times before we left, but surely having his brother nearly call the authorities to accuse me of trespassing and theft counted as seeing and being seen.
I slipped back into the party via the same gap between potted plants Gabe and I had gone through in the first place, taking a quick peek around to make sure no one was paying too much attention.
They weren’t. The party had gone into full swing while Gabe and I had been absent, and at least two hundred beautifully dressed people sipped, laughed, chattered, and wandered around arm in arm looking at displays of photos of yachts past and present. I snagged a glass of too-sweet Prosecco off a waiter as I merged my way back into the crowd. I didn’t plan to drink it. We’d be leaving as soon as I could grab Gabe, and I didn’t want to drive with a fresh drink in me. But I needed camouflage.
And to call the field office and get them working on financials for Dave and Whipley, as soon as possible.
I’d gone halfway around the edge of the room before I spotted Gabe, apparently deep in conversation with a distinguished-looking older man, about Gabe’s height but with a presence that transcended physical size. They both laughed as I approached, though I couldn’t tell who’d made the joke. Either way, the other guy smiled at Gabe as if utterly charmed. Of course, who wouldn’t be?
Did it work in reverse, though? Did Gabe have a thing for older men? I didn’t have any reason to think so, and he’d just been with me,andI really needed to get my knee-jerk responses under control before I turned into, well, a jerk. I didn’t own him. I wasn’t even really dating him.
No, fuck that. Iwasdating him. He might not know precisely whom he’d been dating, but I was me no matter what name I used, and all the important stuff transferred over. My personality, which he bizarrely seemed to be able to tolerate. My body, which he definitely liked. My sense of humor, such as it was.
And my feelings for him, which weren’t affected in the slightest by where I worked or the last name on my badge.
Gabe wanted and deserved someone to treat him well. He deserved it far more than he knew, given the self-deprecating way he talked about himself.
I could be that man.
And I could tell him the truth once I’d shown him how I felt. Once I’d proven to him that I cared about him for himself, and not for his relationship to Middleton Marine. That meant I needed to solve my case, tomorrow if possible. First thing in the morning.
And after that—after that, there would be anafter. I could stick around. Wait until I couldn’t possibly have any ulterior motive, and then tell him, and beg him to forgive me. Hopefully he’d forgive me because he wanted to, and not because his insecurities drove him to feel like he didn’t have the right not to, but I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. We’d cross it together, I hoped.
First step: acting like a supportive boyfriend, not a jerk.
I stepped up beside Gabe, giving his interlocutor a nod, and slipped my arm casually around his waist. Not possessive, just friendly and affectionate.
“Oh,” Gabe said breathlessly, his eyes almost feverishly bright as he looked up and smiled at me. “Alec, there you are! Dr. Wilson, this is Alec Borodin, my date. Alec, Dr. Steven Wilson. He’s thinking of investing in Middleton. He’s also on the board of governors at Burlington U. We were just—talking about that.”
No wonder he sounded like he hadn’t gotten enough oxygen. Gabe spat all that out without taking a single breath.
The board of governors at Burlington U. Would this Dr. Wilson have some influence on Gabe’s academic career? Was that why Gabe seemed so worked up?
Dr. Wilson turned to me and held out a hand. “Very pleased to meet you, Alec. Steven, please.”
Gabe took my champagne glass out of my hand so I could shake, the maneuver so smooth it felt like we’d been practicing for years.
I summoned all the charm I really didn’t have. If Dr. Wilson—Steven—was someone Gabe wanted to impress, then I’d make the effort. Operation Not a Shitty Boyfriend Even Though I Lied Through My Teeth started now, damn it.
“The pleasure’s mine, Steven. What’s your academic field? Something to do with the water? Or is boating more of a leisure interest?”
His smile widened. “I was on Moo U.’s sailing team as an undergraduate, actually. You know, before you two were born.” I laughed politely, since I knew I probably ought to, but damn, I hoped I looked that good at his age. “And then I taught geography there for thirty years after I did my doctorate at Yale. I’m a Burlington man, born and bred. Are you local too, Alec?”
I quickly ran through everything I’d told Gabe about myself. No, I’d avoided anything about my origins, so I ought to be safe enough telling the truth without risking contradicting myself and landing in the soup.
“Upstate New York. I’m new to Burlington.”
Steven nodded. “Welcome to Vermont. I hope you’re very happy here.” He smiled at Gabe. “Looks like you’ve found a good reason to stay.”
Gabe looked up at me, something in his face that made me want to kiss him then and there, kiss him until he forgot everything but me. “Yeah,” I said, more to Gabe than to Steven. “The best.”
Gabe’s sweet, soft smile made me forget everything but him. Jesus. I didn’t stand a chance.
