Page 19 of Julien (Confessions 2)

“Turn around,” Priest said, and Julien turned to face him. “Robert’s making us cheese soufflés for dinner?”

Julien opened his mouth to reply, but Priest beat him to it.

“Was that your idea or his? I know you don’t make this dish anymore. You haven’t since—”

“I know,” Julien said, and then shrugged. “But it’s what Robbie wanted to learn to cook today. I couldn’t say no.”

Ah, okay. Now things are starting to make a little more sense. Priest slowly nodded as he studied the lines on Julien’s strained face. My beautiful, troubled man, you don’t even know what he’s doing, Priest thought. But Robert sure does.

“What?” Julien said, when Priest remained silent.

“I was just thinking that Robert is a very smart man.”

The look of confusion that came into Julien’s eyes wasn’t one born out of disagreement but from the shift in the conversation, so Priest enlightened him.

“He knows what this dish means to you, Julien. This meal. It wasn’t an accident that he asked you to make it with him.”

Julien shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. He said he wanted to learn the meal that won me my first challenge. He never said anything other than that. Plus, I never mentioned why I picked it on the show. In fact, I was very vocal about not saying anything. That’s how I got my nickname.”

Priest brought their joined hands up to his lips and pressed a kiss to Julien’s palm. “I know. And so does Robert. He’s not stupid. He’s waiting for you. Don’t forget, he watched every episode. Saw you lose your shit on television over being questioned about this very meal. And now that he knows about Jacquelyn… He’s waiting for you to open up to him, Julien. He’s letting you know he’s ready when you are.”

Julien’s eyes blurred, and as he looked beyond Priest’s shoulder to the bedroom, Priest took Julien’s face between his hands.

“If he’s to come to L.A. with us next week, you need to talk to him.”

“I know,” Julien said, his eyes coming back and locking with Priest’s. “I almost did this morning after you left, but there was a lot going on and I changed my mind.”

“I understand, but what’s happening with me isn’t going to change anytime soon. This is,” Priest said. “And I think tonight might be a good time to talk about it, don’t you?”

“Oui, I do.”

“Good,” Priest said, and was relieved to find that, as usual, he and Julien were on the same page. “Now, where is our chef for the night?”

Julien indicated their bedroom with a lift of his chin. “He went in there to take a shower and organize space for his clothes.”

Priest looked over to the soft glow coming from their bedroom. “Should I be worried?”

“Probably,” Julien said, and a smile finally curved his lips. “He hasn’t come out for nearly an hour.”

“Lord help us all,” Priest said as he let go of Julien and headed across the living room. “How about I see if I can speed him up? Don’t go anywhere.”

“Promis,” Julien said, and Priest stopped and looked back to see Julien watching him with a serious expression. “Ma place est juste là, auprès de toi.”

My place is right here with you. Julien’s words touched Priest more than he could’ve known, especially with the reminder last night that Julien deserved so much more than a man associated with those who had given him life.

Priest inclined his head and said softly, “Bien. Je t’aime, Julien.”

“Je t’aime aussi,” Julien said without pause. “Now go find our chef, oui?”

ROBBIE HUNG HIS favorite plum-colored peacoat alongside the other jackets he’d carefully organized in the space Julien had shown him, and when he was content it wouldn’t fall off the hanger or be crumpled in some horrid way, he stepped back to admire his handiwork.

There, almost done, he thought, as he looked at the neatly folded pants ranging from jeans to leather, and the bright array of shirts, Henleys, and folded sweaters up on the shelves running around the top of the walk-in closet. Not to mention his fabulous shoe collection lining the perimeter of the floor.

As he let his eyes move to Julien and Priest’s sections of the closet, Robbie grinned to himself. He really had added a splash of color to their lives, hadn’t he? He still thought it would’ve been funny if his wardrobe had been in the middle. All his color in the middle of the blacks, creams, greys, and whites.

Oh, and these suits… Robbie ran his fingers along the expensive wool of what he knew had to be Priest’s perfectly pressed suits. Then he picked up one of the sleeves and rubbed his cheek against it. Mmm, there’s something about a man in a suit that is just so damn sexy.

“Should I be worried that you’re standing in the closet feeling up one of my jackets? Or should I just chalk this up to normal behavior and expect it from you on a daily basis?”

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