Page 54 of Love in Mission City
“Septimus.”
I growled. I wanted to kill Simone for having shared my first name. No one called me that. Except my father, but he’d been gone for years. And so was my mother, although she hadn’t left willingly.So not the time to think about your dead mother.
Orlando grinned.
“I told you, my name is Knight.”
“Your last name is Knight.” He swiped at his tablet with some ferocity. “Your first name is Septimus.”
“Says the man named after a British actor.”
He grinned. Again. Or kept grinning. I wasn’t certain because every time I looked at him, I imagined slamming into him and making him come repeatedly. Then reaching my own climax.
My cock twitched.
“AyoungOrlando Bloom. Who knew I’d turn out to look so much like him?”
My cock twitched. Because, when he’d boasted about being named after the actor, I’d searched the internet. Yes, Orlando Bloom had been acting in films all the way back to the late nineties. He’d been in thoseLord of the Ringsmovies which, apparently, this Orlando’s parents loved. And, yeah, after seeing his mother’s blonde curly hair and his father’s straight black, the curly bleached-blond hair of their son somehow…worked. Even though it was short with spikes on the top.
Don’t think about him naked. Don’t think about him…
Too late.
My twitching cock now reached the state of full boner. Only the mahogany desk saved me embarrassment as my charcoal trousers did nothing to hide my interest in his, uh, body.
“Are you okay?” He arched an eyebrow.
I held his gaze, those mesmerizing blue eyes startling in their intensity. Heat crept into my cheeks. “Warm day.”
“I know. Here, let me lower—”
“I’m fine.”
“—the blinds.” He stopped midway to the windows. “But even with the shading I convinced you to put on them, which does nothing to obstruct this stunning view, the sunlight still streams in.” He gazed out. “I don’t know how you don’t spend all day every day staring out the window. If I had this office, I’d turn my desk to look out.”
“Not very practical, since I need to see my clients when they visit.”And you when you pop in here without an invitation. He wasn’t wrong about the stunning view, though. My floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked all of Mission City, the Fraser River, and off to the mountains in Abbotsford and, most importantly, the dormant volcano over in Washington State. Mount Baker in all her majesty with little snow remaining. Our warm winter meant the snow pack hadn’t been as abundant as in previous years. Which meant dryer conditions and a higher probability of wildfires.
“Yo, Knight, where’d you go?” Orlando waved his hand in front of my face.
I pivoted just enough to see out, but not enough to show my crotch. “You’re right about the view.” I smiled wistfully. “When George and I renovated this century-old house, having the back wall entirely made of glass had been a point of debate.”
“You wanted vistas, and he wanted safety? How is your ex doing these days?” No missing the bite. Orlando and George had only met a couple of times, but there was a tremendous amount of animosity between the two.
Ironic because George and I parted on good terms and, as he was one of the best contractors in Mission City, we often worked together. We’d started a company together, but constant spats—including the one over this renovation—had ended both themarriage and the business partnership. But we remained friends and often worked together.
Why Orlando and George detested each other on sight was quite beyond me.
“George is doing well. Bidding on the Collard job, I believe. So you’ll be working with him.”
Orlando snorted. “I hope he doesn’t get it.”
I scowled. “Honestly, what’s with you? He’s one of the best contractors—”
“I hope Jacob Fogal gets the job.”
Jacob was a super nice guy. Gay to boot, and newly married. To a sweet young man named Felix. An elementary school teacher, if memory served. “Jacob’s behind in his schedule after doing the remodel on what wound up being his house. He’s struggling to catch up.”
Orlando arched his eyebrow. Yet again.
