“We go back to normal,” Josh says. “We’re just more careful about it from now on.”
“Go back to normal?” Heath scoffs. “That’s the card you’re playing here? Are you shitting me?”
Josh shrugs. “Why is that such a travesty? We were all going great together, no problems whatsoever until Ella got thrown into the shit by Connor and made public.”
Heath’s shoulders tense. I see it, even through his fluffy robe.
“Cannes wasn’t fuckingnormal, Josh. It wasn’t just a single-nighter with asee you laterat the end of it. We were all in fucking tears at the villa before you left for the airport. I’m not just a regular client who books a slot in your calendar for some ass play. Don’t put me down as one.”
“Of course you’re not. You never were.”
Silence.
All three of us sit in silence.
Heath is right. Of course he is. Cannes was anything but normal.
“We can always book in longer proposals,” Josh suggests when the silence reaches its peak. “We just need to make sure they’re private. This one worked great, didn’t it? We had loads of fun, even if you did starve my asshole.”
Heath laughs a bitter laugh, staring out of the window.
“I was sitting here holed up for three days straight before you checked in, so as not to attract attention.” He shakes his head. “Fuck random city locations and suites down the corridor from each other. I want you to be back at my place. Home. Not in a hotel in the middle of nowhere.”
Josh reaches for Heath’s hands across the table, grabbing them in a squeeze.
“Hey, so do we. But what if we get caught on the way to yours? What if one of the paps gets a picture of two hookers turning up at your house for a filth fest? It would be absolutely fucking devastating.”
Heath looks at me now, not Josh.
“What do you think, sweet curva? How would you feel if you got caught on the way to my place? Got snapped by the paps on the way to serviceThe Count? Because that’s what I’m known as. A fucking vampire on the show. It’s just a job, the same as anyone else’s. My social media presence is full of Nighttime Whispers news and snippets, nothing more. I don’t even bother looking at it, people manage it for me.”
I take a breath.
“I’d feel terrible if I got recognised on the way to your place. If you had to go through what I did, trolled online and chased by a hate mob, I’d feel horrible for it. It would be a million times worse for you than it ever was for me. You wouldn’t just disappear into the woodwork like it never happened once the dust settled. Your name would be associated with mine for ever. Heath and the hooker.”
Another bout of silence.
Three minds churning as my guts lurch.
Josh finishes up his coffee and puts his mug down.
“This needs a lot of thought, from all three of us. Not just a conversation in a random hotel room when we’re all still reeling from seeing each other again.” He looks at me, then to Heath, locking onto Heath’s gorgeous eyes. “At least tell me I’m right on that one. Let’s do it this way. You think, we think, we come back together and we work it out.”
“Great. Excellent,” Heath says. “We all have a jolly good think and come back together towork it out? Alright, Mr Rational. How about we get a project planner and map out some pros and cons when we do? We could all put some bullets points on it, for consideration. Maybe even have a talking spoon and take turns presenting our case around the table.”
Josh gets unusually flustered, his eyebrows raised high. He holds up his hands in frustration, and I squeeze his knee under the table, letting him know I’m feeling it, too.
We all are.
“Fuck sake, Heath,” he says. “This isn’t the best time to be making life choices. Emotions are heavy right now, we’re working on no sleep, all of us going mad because we’ve missed this so much.” He reaches for Heath’s hands again. “We need time, all of us. Clear heads. Then we can make plans that work, for all three of us.”
I nod, because I agree with him on that. If I was being true to my heart’s calling, I’d throw my arms around both Heath and Josh and say we all needed to be together, no matter what, but I need to follow Josh’s lead with some degree of sanity, because if Heath went through even half of what I did…
It doesn’t even bear thinking about.
“Fine. You win,” Heath says, and drops Josh’s hands. He gets up from the table and heads across to the dresser, the animosity like a dark cloud. “Let’s get us booked in for anotherproposal.Another crappy hotel room, yes? Play it nice and cool. I’ll be sure to tick some boxes this time, shall I? Set out the specifics in stone.”
“That isn’t how it is,” Josh replies. “Stop being a prick, Heath. We’re all feeling the same. Sick at the thought of leaving. I’m just about managing to keep my head together.”
