“There’s no reason you can’t combine both. You’re young; you should be having fun and be able to enjoy yourself.”
Yet Zach knew if he began seeing someone and spent time away from home, his mother would become nervous and fearful by herself. “I’m fine. How are you doing, that’s really why I called. Everything okay at the house?” Over the years he’d tried not to go to too many conferences and leave his mother, knowing how she hated being alone, but she’d been better lately, and he absolutely had to go to this one.
“I’m all right. Marcus stopped by for a visit. He really is a darling.”
“He’s a good friend, and he loves you. I’m glad he came to see you.” Zach checked his watch and saw that he had ten minutes to go before a panel discussion began that he was supposed to be moderating. “I gotta go. Love you.”
“Love you too, sweetheart. Call me later.”
“I will,” he promised and hung up. There was nothing he wanted to do less than moderate a panel discussion right now; he’d love to be able to sit in this comfortable chair, hidden behind the palm trees, and people-watch. Or go to the beach, listen to the waves, and recreate the magic from last night with Sam. Unfortunately duty called, and with a deep sigh he stood and walked toward the lobby.
“Family obligations, huh?” The man from the sofa fell into step next to him. “Those can be a drag.”
Surprised by the man’s blatant admission to eavesdropping on his conversation, Zach politely nodded and shrugged. “Uh, yeah. But it’s my mom, so I’m okay with it.”
The man slanted a look at him from beneath raised brows. “Not many guys will admit to that.”
Zach shrugged again but didn’t answer. He didn’t need to justify his relationship with his mother to a stranger or anyone. Sure, she was a bit overbearing and intense, and Zach had rebelled like many teenagers, but that was before he understood how his father’s precipitous death affected her, creating a deep-rooted sense of fear of loss and anxiety. He’d made sure to take some psych classes in college, so he understood her behavior was a result of her love for him, not a need to control; if she clung a bit too tight and worried a little too much, he never complained. It was a small burden, and he counted himself lucky to have a parent who cared. Realistically, he knew he should break away, exert his independence, but with him always home and not involved in any relationship there’d been no need.
“You’re here with the convention, right?” The man wouldn’t leave his side and continued to follow Zach as he made his way through the lobby to one of the smaller ballrooms where the panel discussion was being held.
“Uh, yes. Are you?” The man wasn’t gay; he wasn’t trying to pick him up, at least Zach didn’t get that vibe from him, so he wondered what he wanted.
“Yes.” The man extracted a card from his wallet. “Henry Walker. I’m the owner of Eyes on You, a computer forensics investigations firm.”
Zach pocketed his card. “Nice to meet you. I’m Zach Cohen.”
“I know.”
Zach looked startled until the man laughed and pointed at the placard set up on an easel in front of the entrance to the room. On it were pictures of the four panelists and himself as the moderator. He winced at his picture; it was a year old and showed him with his glasses, sitting in front of a computer, the screen advertising the dating website he’d created.
“You’re famous. I admire your work, and I’ve followed your success the past few years.”
The heat rose to Zach’s face. “Hardly famous. Well, nice to meet you.” He walked inside to the front of the room and sat at the end of the long table where a placard with his name had been placed. Henry followed him and sat in the front row, studying the brochure they handed to everyone who walked in the room. Zach hated that his social media information was put out there; his brief bio as well as his Facebook page, Twitter, and other footprints, but he knew it couldn’t be helped. Besides, anyone with a little knowledge could find those things out. His phone buzzed with a text from Julian.
Having fun? How’s the conference?
At that moment, Sam Stein strolled into the room, and Zach forgot about the text, his mother, and what day of the week it was. Strong, tough, and with a sharp, watchful look in his eyes, Sam Stein in person was better than any fantasy Zach could’ve ever dreamed up. It was hard to believe he’d woken up this morning, naked in bed with this man, but the soreness of his ass and the ache of underutilized muscles brought a slight smile to his face. The memory of Sam slamming into him last night, breath hot and heavy on his neck, large hands gripping his hips, had Zach fighting for self-control. Damn. He could hardly moderate a panel with a hard-on.
To his shock, Sam took the seat next to Henry Walker. Zach recalled Sam saying he was a private investigator and wondered if the two men worked together. Were they lovers? Maybe Zach had been wrong before about Henry, but then to his relief, he saw the shine of a gold wedding band on Henry’s finger. God, he was like a kid with his first crush, but nothing could have stopped the steady pounding of his heart.
His phone buzzed with another text, and he was certain it was from either Julian again or Marcus. If he didn’t answer, Zach knew the next thing would be a call. With those two, it was like having a collective of mother hens constantly pecking at him. Normally he handled their overprotectiveness with humor and tolerance, but right now he needed some space.
Moderating a panel discussion. Talk later.
It didn’t take five seconds before he got a response.
Too bad. We thought maybe you got lucky.
Zach once again eyed Sam who was talking to his friend.
Maybe he would after all.
Chapter Six
Despitenotunderstanding what the hell he’d sat through and listened to for the past hour, Sam knew enough to be impressed with the panelists and especially Zach as the moderator. For all his youthful appearance and modesty, Zach kept the discussion flowing on topic and was able to answer questions on the fly from the audience if one of the panelists came up blank.
Henry folded up his program and stuck it in his pocket. “This guy Zach Cohen is crazy-smart, even if he is a bit nerdy.”
