Page 41 of Henri (Confessions 5)

But just as he’d thought when first tracking down Bailey’s number, the risk he had to take in order to get what he wanted would be well worth the reward in the end. At least, that was what he hoped.

As he continued alongside the house, Henri spotted a window toward the front and glanced inside to see two men hanging out in the kitchen. The one sitting at the island had short, dirty blond hair and wide shoulders that tested the fabric of a long-sleeve fire department shirt, and the one moving around in the kitchen… Henri stopped for a second to get a better look at him.

The man had dark hair that was streaked through with silver, and he was so familiar that it was uncanny. Henri racked his brain, trying to place the man. It wasn’t like he’d lived here so long that he would recognize a stranger. But then the guy smiled, and suddenly it hit Henri.

He was the news guy. Not the local one, but one of the national news guys. What’s his name? What’s his name? And then, like a light bulb going off, it came. Alexander Thorne. That’s his name, Henri thought, and then he frowned. Bailey knows Alexander Thorne? How?

As that piece of information registered, he heard the sound of muffled talking coming from the back of the house, and when laughter followed, he made his way toward it and found himself standing by the side of a raised deck.

I’ve lost my fucking mind, Henri thought. That’s the only excuse I have for standing out here in the dark like a total creeper. But as the laughter faded and silence again enveloped the night, Henri chanced a look across the deck and spotted Bailey.

Damn. He looked even better tonight than the last time Henri had seen him, and suddenly he didn’t care that he was acting like a lunatic, because that man was fucking gorgeous.

Dressed in jeans and a navy hoodie, Bailey looked relaxed, comfortable, and so damn appealing that it took everything Henri had not to call out to him right then and there. But not wanting to scare the living shit out of Bailey, he knew he needed a subtler approach.

Henri fished his phone out of his pocket and pulled up Bailey’s number. He thought about sending a quick text, but as he took another look, he decided he wanted to hear Bailey’s voice instead.

Moving away from the deck, Henri hit call and waited for a ringtone of some sort to go off out the back. But when the only thing that greeted him was silence, he frowned.

Maybe Bailey had turned his phone off since he had company? Henri had no idea, but when the call went to voicemail, he hit end.

I mean, really. What the fuck am I going to say if he answers, anyway? Hi, I’m standing outside your house. Can I come in?

Henri re-pocketed his cell and moved to take a final look at the man he’d come for. It was probably for the best that Bailey hadn’t answered anyway; he’d wanted one night, and Henri had promised him just that. But when the sliding door to Bailey’s house opened and Alexander Thorne stepped outside, Henri’s vision turned a little bit…green.

“Don’t look now, but it seems your one-night stand is looking to make it two,” Alexander said, flashing his famous smile. But Henri was done caring who the guy was; he was zeroed in on what he was saying, because it had sounded as though Bailey had been talking about him.

“I can’t be positive,” Alexander continued when Bailey didn’t respond, “but I’m assuming the person you listed in your contacts as Ghost is the man who keeps up and vanishing from your life. Am I right?”

Ghost? The nickname was so spot-on that it made Henri grin.

“Give me that,” his cop finally said, snagging Henri’s attention. As he strained to see what was going on, Henri heard Alexander say, “So, you going to call him back?”

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Henri grabbed his phone from his pocket, hoping to God Bailey didn’t call before he could mute the damn thing, and just as he switched the phone to silent, Bailey said, “Cover for me. I’ll be back in a minute.”

BAILEY STARED AT the missed call on his screen and told himself to breathe. Somewhere in the back of his mind—okay, maybe right up there at the front—he’d been hoping for this.

Yes, he’d agreed to one night. Yes, he’d agreed not to think beyond that. But he’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that the entire time he’d been with Henri, he’d also been thinking…what if?

What if this wasn’t one night? What if this turned into more? What if this sexy guy who’s made me feel more alive tonight than I’ve felt in my entire life could actually be mine? Then what would I do?

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