Page 20 of The Way Home

“I know. He told me.”

Her eyes flicked back to his. “He’s very sensitive. And I’ve… I’ve always protected him.”

Caleb’s stomach tightened. Was this a warning? Or was she upset that Jamie was dating at all?

“I don’t plan on hurting him,” he said, louder than intended. The rustling from the other side of the door stopped abruptly.

Ellie held his gaze for a beat longer just as the bedroom door opened. A very flustered-looking Jamie padded into the room, and Caleb tightened his grip on the flowers to stop himself from reaching out.

There you are.

God, he was even more gorgeous than Caleb remembered.

His curls were adorably messy, like he’d tried on half his wardrobe before settling on the light green shirt that made his eyes look even brighter. When Jamie brought a hand up to brush a curlfrom his eye, Caleb could make out the slight bulge of lean muscle in his arms. And those khaki shorts…

Caleb clenched his jaw to keep from staring at Jamie’s muscular legs.

“Hey!” Jamie said excitedly before scrambling to add, “Erm, sorry for the wait.”

Caleb cleared his throat. “No problem. I was early.”

“Are those—?” Jamie’s cheeks flushed as he looked at the flowers.

“For you. Yeah.” Feeling like a complete idiot, Caleb stepped forward and handed them over. “I, uh—yeah. For you.”

“Wow, I’ve never…” Jamie’s whole face went red, right up to his ears. He slipped past Caleb into the kitchen. “Thank you.” He fumbled through a cabinet until he found a vase and filled it with water. “I’ll just put these up, and then we can go? El, are you off to work?”

“Yeah, I’m heading to the hospital.” Ellie crossed the room, pressing a quick kiss to Jamie’s cheek before heading for the door.

“NICU?” Caleb asked, nodding toward her scrubs. Pink usually meant pediatrics, but he wasn’t sure how it worked in Europe.

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Yeah. I’m doing my clinical rotations.”

“Have a good day at work, El!” Jamie chirped as he carefully arranged the bouquet in the center of the counter. He reached out and gently brushed one of the blue petals with his fingertip.

Ellie kept her eyes locked on Caleb.

“Have a good time, boys.”

Jamie cursed himselffor being so bloody indecisive. They stood at the counter of The Snug Mug, his favorite little coffee spot near his flat, which he was realizing now had a really ridiculous name.

A queue began to form behind them.

“Have you decided yet, sir?” the barista asked again.

Jamie’s cheeks heated. “Sorry,” he muttered, glancing nervously at Caleb and then back at the menu. “Just one more moment…”

He felt the impatience building behind him as he tried to decide what he wanted to drink. Ellie had already made him coffee that morning, so he was fully caffeinated, and if he got another, he’d probably end up jittery. He didn’t want to be jittery on his date with Caleb—he was already flustered enough after the man had shown up with the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers he’d ever seen.

But the chai here wasn’t very good, and he didn’t want to order something he didn’t like. Also, was it bloodyhotin here—?

“Hey.”

A large hand pressed lightly into his lower back.

“Take your time.” Jamie’s shoulders loosened at the sight of Caleb’s sweet smile. He exhaled and turned back to the counter. “I’ll have a half-caf caramel latte, please. With oat milk.”

“Lovely,” the barista grumbled, scribbling on the cup and sliding it down the counter. Caleb paid before Jamie could protest, and they moved to a table near the window overlooking the street.