Page 24 of Emeric

“Oleander?” He didn’t ask in a jealous way or as if he were disappointed.

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but I noticed the way you looked at him the last time I was here. To be fair, he looked at you the same. And since I’m laying this out there, Oleander and I almost got together earlier this month.”

“Oh.” He dropped his chin to his chest, his gaze on the ground.

“Sylvan?” I stepped closer until we were almost touching. When he didn’t respond, I gently placed my hand on his bicep. “Hey, look at me, please.”

He did slowly. “I’m not a confident man, Emeric. If you didn’t want to be with me, you shouldn’t have agreed to the date.”

“I’m not sure where you got that from, considering I said I was glad you texted me.” I kept my voice soft so as not to escalate this. “I want to be honest with you. That means talking about Oleander too. You asked me on a date, not him. I gladly accepted because I wanted to see you. Are you only interested in me, him, or both of us?” There was no point in not saying what I thought. If we were going anywhere, this needed to be discussed to avoid confusion.

“Both of you.”

“Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Why did you only ask me here tonight and not Oleander as well?”

“You’re being difficult. You know that, don’t you?”

I laughed. “If we put everything on the table now, there’s no reason to do it later. We can enjoy each other’s company and dinner without the stress of worrying about discussing this.”

“Because asking you to dinner was easier than asking him. I’ve known him for years. I’ve wanted him for just as long, but he always seemed untouchable. Why would he⁠—”

I cut him off with a soft squeeze of his arm. “If you were about to say what I think you were, the answer is because you’re very desirable.”

“Sure, whatever you say. Anyway, I didn’t want him to say no and figured if you rejected me, it wouldn’t be as bad. It would suck, but not after the years of wanting and saying nothing kind of suck. Plus, I see him more than you. I’d have to face him knowing he rejected me.”

“That makes sense.”

“It does?”

“Yes. We desire each other and Oleander. We’ll deal with him later. Right now, let’s make it about us.” I had a sudden urge to get Sylvan inside and spend the night soaking in everything about him.

His shoulders relaxed as a small puff of breath left him. “I like the sound of that.”

I released his arm. Instead of stepping away from me, Sylvan leaned closer and looked up at me under his lashes, a small smile on his lips. My arm slid around his shoulders like it was meant to be there.

We stepped inside, my hand slipping to his lower back. He closed the garage door, then let us into the room, where he entered a code.

“Do you ever go through the other door?” I asked.

“No, I don’t have the code to it. It’s better that way. I trust Jordan. If he doesn’t want me down there, I’m fine with it.” I could only guess what was at the bottom of those stairs besides a basement. It could be anything. He wouldn’t put Sylvan in jeopardy, so I didn’t think there were bodies there, especially given Jordan wasn’t here often.

“I read some of your book,” I told him to change the subject. I wasn’t about to dig into what else there was in the house. Like Sylvan, the less I knew, the better.

Sylvan stopped in the living room and turned to face me, my hand slipping from where it was on his back. “I’m not sure if I want to know what you think. I’m used to criticism. After doing this for as long as I have, I’ve built a thick skin, but sometimes I still get upset over reviews, which I shouldn’t read for that very reason.”

“I love the story.” The realization hit me that I would do anything I could to ease his mind, except lie. I’d had the thought before, but it was much stronger now. Sylvan should never be upset.

He beamed. “Really?”

“Honest. The only reason I haven’t been able to read more is due to my work schedule. I’m so tired when I get home that I pass out after I shower and grab a quick bite to eat.”

“You need time to rest. I don’t mean just so you’ll read my book. No one should work themselves to the point of having no downtime. Our minds need a break, a way to check out and just be. I understand how hard it must be with your hotel. I can’t imagine running a business like that. Just handling my small company of me is a lot more than I want to deal with.”

The kind of break he referred to was more than a weekly lunch with my sister. He meant time every day to decompress and relax before the stress of a new day crept in. I hadn’t been awarded that luxury in a while. Well, before I watched a movie with Oleander, that was. It was nice to do that. More so because I spent time with him.

“I have plenty of people who work for me, but I tend to take a lot on myself. It’s a bad habit. One day I’d like to break it, although by this point, I doubt it will happen.” Money wasn’t the issue. Not enough hours in the day, and a need to control everything was.

He tapped his chin. “We’ll revisit this another time. Let’s go eat.”