“Makes sense.” Jake’s gaze suddenly sharpened. “Paul Mercer, as in the Triton Cruises Mercers? We own stock in your company. We’d heard Devin got involved with some rich guy traveling under a fake name. Goes to show you how these stories get garbled in the telling.”
“I traveled under my mother’s maiden name so I could talk to the staff and guests without intimidating anyone,” Paul said, focusing on Jake since he seemed more open-minded about the situation than Beau. “Devin was my staff liaison. I was going to tell Devin the truth after the cruise was over, but his boss outed me before I got the chance.”
“Sounds like a misunderstanding. Not that we know anything about that, do we, Walker?” Jake tightened his arm around Beau. “Seems like there’s only one question that matters, anyway.”
Beau snorted and elbowed Jake in the ribs, but he didn’t argue, and he seemed to relax a little, as if his ruffled feathers were smoothing back down at last.
“What question is that?” Paul asked.
Jake smiled. “Are you going to make an honest man out of Devin, or do we need to get the shotguns?”
Paul turned his gaze down to the shredded napkin on the laminated placemat, considering his answer carefully. “We’ve only known each other two weeks,” he said, lifting his head to look first at Jake and then at Beau. “So no, I’m not considering marriage yet. But my feelings for him are strong enough that I’d like to see if our path could take us in that direction. At this point, however, it’s not up to me. What I want and what I feel are irrelevant if Devin doesn’t want to give me a chance. All I want right now is to talk to him and find out.”
“After what I’ve heard, I thought you were a bullshitter,” Beau said, giving Paul an assessing look. “But that sounded like an honest answer to me.”
“It definitely did,” Jake agreed. “What do you think, Beau? You can’t drag this out, because if Dev decides to take that job he’s been offered, Paul will never find him.”
Icy fear that bordered on panic spread its tendrils throughout Paul’s body, immobilizing him so all he could do was stare at Jake, aghast. Why would Devin consider another job when he’d been offered a promotion on thePearl? It didn’t make sense.
“What job?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“That’s Devin’s business, not yours,” Beau said, a frown creasing his brow briefly, but then he glanced at Jake. “I reckon you’re right. We could let Devin know Mercer is here, and he can make up his own mind about what to do.”
“That’s reasonable.” Jake gave Beau a smile of approval. Then he looked back at Paul. “Where are you staying?”
“The Holiday Inn.” Paul shrugged and smiled wryly, hoping what he was about to say didn’t cause offense. “It’s the only hotel I saw aside from a dubious-looking place outside of town.”
“The Tumble Inn,” Beau said, cracking a smile for the first time. “Yeah, you made the right call driving on by that place. Most folks who get a room there ain’t planning to stay the night, if you know what I mean.”
“Maybe I should talk to Carter and Liam about franchising a hotel here in town. One that doesn’t have an hourly rate,” Jake said. “Well, then, if that’s settled, you have a phone call to make, Walker. Unless you think you ought to go see Devin in person.”
“I’ll call him,” Beau said. “Give me your number just in case, Mercer. If Devin wants to see you, you’ll hear from him. If not, you’ll hear from me. Either way, you’ll get an answer soon.”
“I appreciate it,” Paul said, relieved they were willing to help him. Even if Devin said no, at least Paul could walk away knowing he’d tried.
Beau got a pad from under the counter, tore off a slip, and handed it to Paul along with a pen. Paul jotted down his phone number and room number at the hotel and handed the paper back.
“You’ll be at the hotel?” Beau asked.
“Yes, I’m going straight back there,” Paul said. “I’m not planning to go anywhere for the rest of the day.”
Beau studied him for a moment before pushing away from the counter. “I’ll make you up a plate to take with you. The food at the hotel ain’t shit.”
Paul was surprised by the offer, but the barbecue did smell delicious, and despite his nerves, his stomach was starting to growl, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. “I’ll pay you, of course.”
“Naw, think of it as either congratulations or condolences, whichever turns out to be appropriate,” Beau said, and then he disappeared into the kitchen.
Jake chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t let Beau’s bark scare you. That man is a natural-born caretaker. I thought he hated my guts. Then one night he showed up at my house with homemade fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, plus chicken soup for my sister-in-law, who was pregnant and on bed rest. He’s not happy unless he’s feeding people—and he’s damned good at it too.”
“Devin is the same way,” Paul said, remembering the dinner Devin had cooked for him. At the time, he’d thought it would be the first of many meals he would watch Devin prepare, but now he wasn’t sure if his visions of domesticity would ever become reality.
Jake leaned across the counter and lowered his voice. “Let me give you some advice, Paul Mercer, because I think you really do care about Devin. Walker men aren’t the best with subtleties, and they aren’t mind readers. They say what they mean, and they tend to expect the same directness from everyone else. No doubt that’s why finding out you weren’t who you said you were hurt Devin so much and why it probably made him doubt everything you’d ever told him. Some of them also have this odd inferiority complex, like they could never be good enough for the man they want. So if you want Devin, you have to be as direct as you can, okay? Don’t tell him what you think he wants to hear. Tell him the truth, even if it’s not pretty and even if it makes things harder. Trust me on this. I want to save you the ten years it took me to figure out what I just told you for free.”
Devin didn’t seem to have an inferiority complex, but knowing Paul was due to take over Triton Cruises might make him feel their relationship was imbalanced, so Paul was grateful for the advice. He’d already planned to be honest anyway, but Jake’s suggestion reinforced that it was a good idea.
“I’ll do that,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Sure. Devin’s a great guy. He deserves to be happy.” Jake straightened up. “And so do you.”
