Page 86 of Gideon
“Well, I don’t know whether you’re aware, but I actually haven’t got a manager anymore.”
“Mate, that’s very good news,” he says warmly. “I don’t like Frankie. Never did.” He pauses. “So what are you going to do?”
I shrug. “Interview new ones.”
“Well, if I might make a suggestion, my manager, Max, is the best. He’s old school, though, so don’t expect any smoke blowing up your arse.”
“How disappointing,” I murmur, and he laughs. It’s contagious, making me smile.
“How about you meet him?”
“I’d like that,” I say, suddenly feeling like I’ve had a road appear under my feet that’s never been there before. It might end up leading me off a cliff, but it’s a path I’m choosing to tread myself rather than being forced to follow.
“I know, how about seeing as you’re in Cornwall, you come for a couple of days and stay with me and Jude in Devon? We’d love to have you.”
“Would I be okay to bring my partner?” I ask, the words sounding awkward but good at the same time.
“Mate, we’d love to meet him. What’s his name?”
“Eli,” I say, and I can’t even say his name without smiling. “Eli Jones.”
Five minutes later, with a weekend invitation secured and the offer of a plum role extended, I come back into the study to find Niall and Silas standing alone talking.
“Where’s Eli?” I ask immediately. Panic fills me. “Has he gone?”
“No,” Silas says quickly. “Of course he’s still here. He’s not going anywhere far from you.” I relax, and he pats my arm. “He’s gone with Oz and Milo to make something to eat.” He smiles at me. “You did well, son.”
I feel warm inside at that. Silas’s good opinion has always been something I’ve yearned for and never quite had the feeling that I’d got. “It had to be done. I had to be honest.”
“I’m incredibly proud of you,” he says calmly, and we smile at each other. “You did well with finding Eli too. I couldn’t have picked someone better than him for you.” My smile widens. Somehow, praise for Eli means more to me than praise for myself.
“Probably good that you didn’t try,” Niall says tartly, slinging his arm around my neck and hugging me tight for a second. “Given Silas’s taste in men runs to impossibly bossy Irishmen, I’d count yourself lucky, Gid. You’d have spent your time being told what to do by a very loud person.”
“Ah, Eli has his moments,” I say slowly.
Silas smiles and looks at me contemplatively. “What?” I ask, slightly worried. “Why are you looking like that at me?”
“Do you want a house on the grounds?”
“What?”
“You can have the cottage you’re in now or any of the free ones if you want something bigger.”
“Why?”
“Because I like my family around me,” he says calmly.
Niall grins. “Come on, Gid, you know you want to live with us forever and ever.”
“No, I bloody don’t,” I say in a revolted tone. “It’s like you’re setting up a gay commune. We’ll be wearing robes and chanting next.”
“Well, I’ll leave that to you with your extensive knowledge of meditation,” Silas says smoothly.
I sigh. “Eli told you, didn’t he?”
He breaks into peals of laughter, joined by Niall.
I smile at them affectionately. “I don’t want a house here, but I am intending to buy nearby if Eli wants to.” Silas smiles and I grin at him. “You twats are the closest thing I have to family.”
