Page 128 of In at the Deep End

Their eyes met.

Phil gave a knowing smile before leaning in.

“If you’d like to join us, there’s room for one more.”

Matt’s heart skipped a beat.

Fuck.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Colour climbed Matt’s neck, staining his cheeks.

Phil’s invitation still hung in the warm evening air, delivered with the same easy confidence Owen had witnessed dozens of times before. Nobody was pressuring anybody. If Matt laughed and declined, Phil would shrug and move on. That was how these evenings worked.

Except this felt different. Matt hadn’t seemed scandalised or uncomfortable. If anything, he’d gone very still, as though something had quietly clicked into place.

Owen found himself wanting to know what.

He’d been in this position before, many, many times. An invitation. A grin. A glance that said interested? Usually the answer came easily. Maybe. Why not?

Tonight, he found himself trying to read whatever was happening behind those thoughtful hazel eyes. He didn’t read panic or embarrassment.

Matt was simply thinking.

Owen had promised himself from the beginning that whatever happened between them would happen because Matt wanted it, not because he felt compelled to say yes.

Phil followed Owen’s gaze. “No pressure.” He kept his tone light. “Just thought I’d ask.”

Matt gave a small, apologetic smile. “It’s not that… I’d just rather…” His eyes met Owen’s. “I’d rather it was just us.”

The air felt so fucking still.

For a heartbeat, everything else faded. The music, the voices, even the laughter drifting from the garden room.

Owen stared at him for a heartbeat longer than he intended.

At last, he smiled. “Then it’s just us.” The words were out before he’d considered them, sounding totally natural.

He hadn’t weighed the alternatives. He hadn’t even thought about them.

Phil looked from one to the other. A slow grin spread across his face. “Fair enough.” He kissed Owen’s cheek again. “I’ll stop trying to corrupt the gardener.”

Owen returned his smile. “Much appreciated.”

Phil laughed. “You’re no fun anymore.”

“I get that a lot lately.”

With a theatrical sigh, Phil disappeared back into the garden room, his arse jiggling, hips swaying, hand raised in a wave as he disappeared from view.

Someone turned the volume up, and music swallowed the noises coming from inside.

Matt hadn’t looked away. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

The question caught Owen off guard. “Why would I mind?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t want you thinking I was judging anyone.”