“I won’t chicken out,” Devin replied. “Thanks, Beau. I guess not all the Walker men are dumbasses.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Beau said, chuckling. “But we can learn not to be. Good luck, Dev.”
“Thanks, cuz. I’ll need it. Bye.”
Devin hung up the phone, then drew in a deep breath before looking at his parents, who were sitting at the table. His mother dabbed her eyes with a napkin, and his father snorted and shook his head. Buddy pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and tossed them to Devin, who caught them reflexively.
“Take the truck, son,” Buddy said quietly. “For the record, I was a dumbass too, once upon a time. Thankfully your mama got me over it.”
That sounded like a tale he’d have to hear at some point, but not today. “Thanks,” Devin said, then crossed to the table to give each of his parents a hug. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Of course, sweetie,” Mihoni said. She squeezed his hand. “Good luck.”
“Thanks.” With a last smile for his parents, Devin left the house.
He wasn’t certain what was going to happen, and by the time he got to the Holiday Inn, his guts were knotted up with anxiety. But he made himself continue, entering the hotel and taking the elevator up to Paul’s floor. His steps were slow as he headed along the hall, and it took him at least half a minute of standing outside Paul’s door to get his breathing under control. Whatever happened would happen.
He knocked on the door, the sudden, horrifying thought occurring to him that Paul wouldn’t be there after all. But a few seconds later, the door swung open, and Paul stood there, his expression a mix of hope and trepidation.
“Devin.” The word came out almost like a sigh of relief, and Paul stepped aside to let Devin into his room. “I’m glad you’re here. Please, come in.”
Devin couldn’t help staring at Paul. He’d missed Paul so much, and part of him wanted to wrap himself around Paul and hold on for dear life. But instead he stepped into the room, feeling awkward. “Beau told me you were here.”
Paul’s room was one of the larger suites the hotel had to offer, and it had a separate sitting area with a love seat, two chairs, and a coffee table, with a door leading to the bedroom. Paul took a seat in one of the chairs and gestured for Devin to join him.
“Yes, I spoke with him and Jake,” Paul said with a wry smile. “That was quite a vetting process.”
Devin took the other chair, perching on the edge and clasping his hands in front of him on his knees. “I can imagine. Beau is protective of everyone he cares about.” Devin tried to smile, but he knew it was a feeble attempt. “I’m surprised you’re here.”
“I was surprised when you never showed up or called that night,” Paul said. “Although I suppose ‘scared out of my mind that something terrible had happened’ is more accurate than ‘surprised.’ It wasn’t until I spoke with Kate that I realized what must have happened. I decided to give you some space and see if you got in touch. When you didn’t, I wanted to see if I could find you because we do need to talk.”
Devin swallowed hard. “I’m sorry you were worried. I was… in shock.” He looked down at his hands. “It was hard finding out you weren’t who I thought. That you hadn’t told me. When Kate offered me the sous chef job and said you had been all for the idea, it seemed….” He looked up, knowing his pain was probably showing, but unable to hide it. “It seemed like you might be trying to buy me off. I wanted to go confront you right then, but Kate said you’d already left, and she was sure you were on your way back to Charleston.”
Paul frowned and leaned forward in his chair. “Kate said all that?” He shook his head, the frown deepening. “When I met with her that morning, she asked how you’d done as my liaison, and of course I gave her a positive report. She said your performance with me was the last piece of information she needed before offering you a promotion. Apparently, she’s been keeping an eye on you, and she’s been impressed. I had nothing to do with it other than agreeing that you deserved the promotion. I also didn’t say anything about going back to Charleston. That washerassumption because I had my luggage with me.”
“But I didn’t know that,” Devin replied quietly. “All I knew was that you weren’t Paul Bailey. You were Paul Mercer, the heir to Triton. I’m not even sure what I was thinking.” He paused, knowing he wasn’t being completely honest. He’d never told anyone about what had happened with Brad, because it was too humiliating. But if he was going to have a chance at salvaging things, he needed to tell Paul everything.
Swallowing against the painful lump that formed in his throat, Devin looked down at his hands. “No, I do know what I was thinking. What I was feeling. That I’d been set up again. I had a bad experience with an ex—maybe not as bad as yours, but bad. Enough that I’ve never said a word to my family about it.”
Paul tilted his head as he fixed Devin with a puzzled frown. “A bad experience?”
Devin nodded. “While I was in culinary school, I worked as a waiter at a country club in Houston. I figured it was a good way to get exposure to a higher class of cuisine. I met someone there. His parents were members, and he came with them when he was home from Cornell for summer break. Brad was tall and athletic and handsome, and I was… dazzled, I suppose. He asked me out, and dating him wasn’t anything I’d experienced before.”
Devin looked up at Paul, not hiding his pain. “He took me to fancy restaurants, wasn’t ashamed to be seen with me in public kissing or holding hands. We were together a year, and I was sure it was love. He had to go back to school for his senior year, but we texted and emailed, and we saw each another when he was back for holidays. He would talk about how proud he was that I was making my own way. It ended when he took me to a party and had too much to drink. I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, he was hanging all over a friend of his and saying he was only with me because he wanted to make his rich parents suffer. They didn’t approve of him being gay or that he’d brought home a ‘poor half-breed Indian from nowhere.’ He said he was planning to dump me as soon as he graduated, because I wasn’t rich or educated. I was in love with him, and he used me.”
Paul’s eyes widened and flashed with sympathy. “You got burned by an asshole too,” he said. He sat back and studied Devin, his expression pensive. At last, he stood up and approached Devin, and he bent to clasp Devin’s hands and urge Devin to his feet. When they were eye to eye, he squeezed Devin’s fingers gently. “I’m sorry you were hurt by a selfish jerk, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you who I was sooner. But I’m no more like Brad than you’re like Jack. I was there at the hotel that night, waiting for you. I was going to tell you the truth, and I was going to ask if you wanted to keep seeing me. I wanted us to discuss options for making this work.”
Devin felt his eyes stinging, and he gripped Paul’s hands tightly. “I know you’re not like Brad. I thought I was over what happened with him, but when I found out that you were the heir to Triton, I started to doubt everything. I’d been fooled once before, seeing only what I wanted to see, and I thought I’d done it again. That I’d fallen in love with someone who could never feel anything for me because I’m just… me. Not rich or educated. Not from a family that goes to country clubs or flies to Europe because they can.”
Paul gripped Devin’s hands hard enough to hurt as he stared at Devin with fierce intensity. “You fell in love with me?”
Devin drew in a breath, wondering if he’d messed things up again. The admission had slipped out, and his heart began pounding, dread rising up in a suffocating wave. At least with Brad, he’d never admitted what he felt, so Brad hadn’t known. Devin had broken up with him before Brad could humiliate him to his face, and Devin had walked away from the relationship with his pride, if nothing else. But what he felt for Paul was so much more.
But now he’d told Paul his feelings, and there was no taking it back. All he could do was be glad Paul was a much better person than Brad could ever hope to be and hope Paul wouldn’t say he could never love Devin in return.
“Yes, I did,” he said softly. “I know it’s foolish, since we haven’t known each other long. Even though I didn’t know your real name, I knew you were the one I wanted to be with forever.”
Paul released Devin’s hands and captured his face to draw him into a kiss that bordered on desperate. Devin froze, but then relief flowed over him, and he wrapped his arms around Paul, parting his lips with a moan of need. If Paul was kissing him, then there was hope, and Devin clung to it, wanting to believe there was a chance for them after all. After a week of disillusion and heartache, the touch of Paul’s lips was like a healing balm, and he gave himself over to the kiss, wanting Paul to feel the depth of Devin’s love.
