Chapter Seven
ZACH WATCHEDthe lights of the city going by and resisted the urge to fidget. When he’d agreed to go with Asher to his best friend’s holiday party, he thought it was going to be something informal, perhaps an open house with people coming and going, much like the party his parents threw every year for their friends. But he learned how wrong he was when Asher said it would be a suit-and-tie affair. Which was why he was now seated in Asher’s expensive luxury sedan, dressed in a custom-made suit that had cost more than every other suit in his closet combined and wondering how in the hell a boy from Princeton was going to fit in with people from the tip-top of New York Society.
Asher was from that world, and he had the money and the apartment to prove it, but Zach forgot about Asher’s wealth when they were together. For one thing, Asher didn’tactlike he had tons of money. He seemed perfectly content doing things like going ice skating or stopping to buy roasted chestnuts from a street vendor in front of Zach’s apartment. Zach had gone to school with plenty of snobbish rich kids who talked about their parents’ wealth and power, but Asher was so down-to-earth, Zach was always a little surprised when Asher did things like call his driver to pick them up or offer to take Zach to the tailor who made his suits. Zach was a bit uncomfortable, and he wondered if Asher’s friends would think someone like Zach wasn’t good enough for him.
The closer they got to the Madison Avenue high-rise where Asher’s friends lived, the tighter the knot of tension in Zach’s stomach grew until he found himself clenching his hands in his lap to keep from opening the door of the sedan and bolting off into the night.
“Are you okay?” Asher reached out to rest his hand on top of Zach’s, peering at him with visible concern.
Zach managed a weak smile. “Just nervous,” he admitted. “I feel a little out of my league.”
“You’re not out of your league,” Asher said firmly, squeezing Zach’s hand. “You’re an intelligent, well-educated professional. Just because you weren’t born with a multimillion-dollar trust fund doesn’t mean you’re somehow less than anyone in that room.”
“Intellectually, I know you’re right,” Zach said, turning his hand over so he could curl his fingers around Asher’s, taking comfort from the touch. “But the butterflies in my stomach are not persuaded by logical argument. I feel like I did the first time I argued a case—sort of a sense of unreality combined with a desire to throw up.”
“You’ll be fine.” Asher leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Derek is a lot like me, and Caroline is sweet.”
“I hope you’re right.” Zach drew in a deep breath and told his pounding heart to slow down. “I’m afraid I’ll do something to embarrass myself horribly and you’ll wonder what you ever saw in me in the first place.”
Asher touched Zach’s chin and guided Zach to look at him directly. “You could get drunk on spiked eggnog, set their Christmas tree on fire, and vomit on their designer rug, and all I’d want to do is take you home, tuck you in, and help you recover from your hangover in the morning,” he said, his blue eyes warm and sincere.
Asher’s expression made Zach want to melt, and he smiled again, this time without the pensive edge. “If you say so,” he murmured. “Will you promise to take me home and tuck me in even if I don’t do all those other things?”
“I thought I might take you to my home and tuck you into my bed after we leave,” Asher replied, then leaned in to kiss Zach lightly. “And I do say so. I’m proud of you, Zach. That’s why I wanted you to come with me tonight. You can’t embarrass me.”
Asher’s assurance made Zach feel better. He liked the thought of Asher being proud of him, and he hoped he would justify that level of trust. “Please just don’t abandon me to a bunch of society people, okay? I wouldn’t even know what to talk about.”
“I’ll stay with you the whole time,” Asher promised. “But we aren’t a separate species, you know,” he added, amusement lacing his voice. “We talk about the same things other people talk about. Derek is a huge Yankees fan, for example, so if you can talk to him about baseball, you’re golden. Actually, you don’t even need to talk once he gets going. Just listen.”
That coaxed a chuckle out of Zach. “That I can do. So long as they don’t want to talk about fashion, antiques, or celebrities I can probably cope.”
Once they reached the high-rise where Derek and Caroline Goulder lived, Parker got out and opened the door for them. Asher waited until Zach exited the back seat, then reached for Zach’s hand and held it as they approached the entrance.
“Have I told you how hot you look in your new suit?” Asher murmured in Zach’s ear once they were in the elevator, heading up to the top floor.
“Do you really think so?” Zach turned his head, smiling bashfully. “More or less than in the skinny jeans?”
“Tough call.” Asher looked Zach up and down, pretending to study him. “It’s a different hotness, I think. The skinny jeans make me want to push you against the nearest wall and fuck you senseless. The suit makes me want to dance a waltz or a foxtrot with you, offer a glass of champagne, and then get you naked so I can lick the champagne off your bare skin.”
Zach couldn’t help the shiver of desire that ran down his spine at the thought of Asher doing those things to him. “Well, if you don’t have champagne back at your place, maybe we could stop for a bottle on the way back?”
“Or we could improvise with a nice white.” Asher flashed a wicked grin at him.
The elevator doors slid open, and Asher placed his hand at the small of Zach’s back to guide him to the Goulders’ door. They were met by a distinguished-looking older man with silver hair who greeted Asher with warmth as he let them in.
The Goulders’ place looked much like Asher’s—large, filled with expensive furniture, and with a stylish decor straight out of a magazine or a designer’s notebook—but the difference was that the Goulders had decorated for the holidays, and the high-end sound system was playing Christmas carols.
Asher peered at the guests, most of whom were holding glasses of wine and plates of finger food, and then he steered Zach over to a couple standing near a huge Christmas tree gleaming with thousands of white lights that reflected off silver and crystal ornaments. The man was tall and blond, and his handsome face lit up when he saw Asher.
“You made it!” The man beckoned them over and touched the shoulder of the petite brunette woman standing beside him. She too looked pleased when she saw Asher approaching.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Asher said, smiling warmly as he shook hands with the man and kissed the woman’s cheek. “Derek, Caroline, I’d like you to meet Zach Richardson. My date,” he added, sliding his arm around Zach as if to emphasize the point.
Derek regarded Zach with an open, friendly expression as he held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Zach.”
Zach took Derek’s hand and smiled politely. “Nice to meet you as well,” he said. He resisted the urge to lean against Asher, not wanting to seem too needy or possessive in front of Asher’s friends. “Happy holidays.”
“Happy holidays to you too,” Caroline said as she extended her hand to Zach and smiled at him. “I’m so glad to meet you. Asher has been dropping hints about seeing someone the last couple of weeks, and I was hoping he’d bring you tonight. He’s never brought a date before, though, so I wasn’t going to hold my breath.”
