“I don’t want your money, Rhys.” Beckett dropped his head back and stared up at the ceiling. “You know that.”
“I’m not offering it to you for free,” Rhys interrupted. “I’d make you a loan. It would be a good investment.”
“You’re offering me a loan to open my own restaurant.”
“Aloan,”Rhys emphasized.
“What’s the interest rate?”
“Zero.”
“No,” he said.
“Half a percent.” Rhys rolled his eyes.
“That’s far below the market rate.”
“You know a guy.”
“Do I?” He moved his hands up Rhys’s chest, flicking the tips of his fingers against Rhys’s nipples. They hardened into little pebbles beneath his touch.
“You do.” Rhys’s lashes fluttered and Beckett sucked in a deep breath.
He knew he needed to get over himself. Life had given him more than a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love with Rhys. It had given him an opportunity that never would have been his otherwise. Beckett was a good cook. He could have a successful restaurant; he believed that in his gut. He just needed the chance, and Rhys was right here, giving him the chance.
“Okay,” he conceded.
“What?” Rhys’s eyes went wide in shock.
“Okay,” he repeated. “I’ll take the loan.”
Rhys sat up, bringing them nearly face to face. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, eyes brimming with tears of happiness that he refused to shed.
“Yeah,” he said, a tentative smile spreading across his face. “I’ll take your money and open a restaurant.”
“You’re borrowing it,” Rhys corrected. “I don’t make careless investments. I’m offering this to you because I know you’ll succeed. And you can pay me the loan back once the restaurant turns a profit.”
“Who knows when that’ll be?”
“That’s the stipulation.” Rhys said, expression clear. “I’ll have Brent draw up an agreement.”
“Alright.”
Rhys leaned in, slanting their mouths together. He dragged his tongue across the seam of Beckett’s lips until he opened with a moan. Between them, Rhys’s cock thickened and pressed against Beckett’s hip with a gentle kind of insistence, the complete opposite of every other part of him.
“You’ve made me the happiest man,” Rhys whispered.
“I think that’s my line.”
“You’ve agreed to marry me, which makes my dreams come true. And I’ve worn you down enough that you’ll take a loan soyourdreams can come true. I don’t think it gets much better than that.”
“Be careful, Rhys.” Beckett pressed the side of his nose against Rhys’s and closed his eyes. “You’re getting soft.”
“Quite the opposite, darling.”
Rhys’s cock jumped against his hip.
