Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84085 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Nah. I’m heading to bed. That was enough fun for me,” Ed murmured, stretching his massive arms over his head.
Charlie couldn’t say he was surprised Kairo followed him into the kitchen. He grabbed a beer out of the fridge and held it out to the other man, who took it with a grin. Charlie snagged one for himself and shut the door.
Leaning against the counter, he twisted off the cap and tipped his beer toward Kairo. “All right, you got me alone. Spit it out.”
“You’re not over Will.”
Charlie sighed. At least Kairo didn’t beat around the bush.
“And?”
Was there any point in denying it? He’d slept with plenty of guys over the years and run into more than enough of them later. Not one of them caused even a flicker of emotion in him other than a faint feeling of amusement or annoyance.
But Will…he was so different.
Will was the one he’d dated. Will was the one he’d practically lived with for a year. Will was the one he’d bothered to memorize hundreds of little things about, because when it came to Will, everything fascinated him. He knew Will liked hot black tea or white tea with strawberries. Never green tea. He knew that even when Will was in the grumpiest of moods, all he needed to do was massage the man’s arch with the right amount of pressure and Will was moaning like they were filming a porno. His former lover was a tactile creature who loved to touch soft things as a way of calming his nerves. He loved being held. He would burrow so close as if he wanted to climb right inside of Charlie’s chest. And Charlie had loved that, too. Holding Will’s slim body in his arms so that there was no separating them.
Will was the only one he’d seriously considered turning his entire life upside-down for just so he didn’t have to walk away from him.
Yet in the end, he hadn’t. He’d kept his job because he thought it was the thing that defined him. He’d walked away so Will could have a shot at a better, happier life than what he could offer.
“We all get why things ended badly in Paris,” Kairo said as he removed the cap from his beer. “But we’re not in the CIA anymore. We can date now and actually be ourselves. Come on! Soren of all people is in a serious relationship now.”
“With an assassin,” Charlie pointed out.
Kairo scoffed as if that was the least of Soren’s problems. “Alexei is a total sweetheart. He’s good for Soren, and we both know he’d do anything to keep his boyfriend safe.”
Alexei doing anything was part of what gave Charlie nightmares about that man.
“Think about it,” Kairo continued, bumping his arm against Charlie’s. “Soren. The guy who fell apart when his boyfriend got killed because of a job. He found his bearings again, and now he’s happy.”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “I get it. If someone as hopeless as Soren could find someone, there’s a chance for even me.”
“I don’t know. I think you might be in worse shape than Soren.”
That earned a glare, to which Kairo grinned broadly.
“I’m saying the guy who was your fucking everything—whether you want to admit it or not—is right here. It’s like a sign from the heavens or fate or something. Some higher power is putting a second chance in your lap.” Kairo pointed at him with his beer, his expression turning frighteningly serious. “That shit does not happen in real life.”
“That sounds wonderful. Very Hallmark,” Charlie mocked, and Kairo did not seem amused. “But even if I lost my mind and took your advice, you seem to be forgetting one very important thing—Will hates my guts.”
Kairo snorted. “Details.”
“That’s a big fucking detail.”
“The fact that he hates you so much probably means that he’s not over you, either. You might be able to fix things between you. Get your second chance.”
“And what?” Charlie held out his hands in front of him. “What the hell do I have to offer? What’s changed from Paris?”
“A lot has fucking changed, and you know it. You’ve changed, even if you don’t want to believe it.” Kairo paused and took a deep drink of his beer. “You can do anything with your life now. Besides, it seems pretty obvious that Will isn’t all settled down as some cute country doctor. You don’t know what he wants anymore.” Kairo snorted. “The scariest thing for you might be discovering that you don’t love him now because he has changed so much.”
Lovely. Kairo just had to think of something that hadn’t occurred to him.
Could Will have changed that much?
He was definitely colder and harder than he remembered, but was it possible for the core of who Will was to really change?
“I’ve got a suggestion you’re going to hate,” Kairo started.