That surprising insight from Jeremy lent Blake to believe Jeremy might speak from personal experience, but when he remained silent, Blake chose not to push and changed the subject.
“I think it went well, don’t you?”
Jeremy kissed the top of his head, then returned to replacing the bagels in their brown paper bag. “Yeah. We survived. Tonight I think we should go to Nora’s and meet up with Noah. End the day on a calmer note. I can’t wait for you two to meet.”
From emptiness to abundance. Life was rocketing forward at a breakneck speed and he hoped he could handle all the change. Blake gave him a weak smile. “Sure.”
****
The quiet ambianceof the Italian restaurant did little to soothe Blake’s jangling nerves. Nor did Jeremy, who, bolstered by his familiarity with the restaurant, was annoyingly at ease, joking and laughing with the owners.
He drained his second full glass of water and muttered to himself, “I don’t know what to say to him. I don’t want to sound like an idiot.”
“Don’t be crazy. Noah is the least judgmental person ever. He’ll love you.”
Taking a sip of his wine, Blake couldn’t help but wonder,And what about you? Could you love me too?And as quickly as that thought came into his head, Blake quashed it. They hadn’t known each other that long. Too early to think about love. What they shared was an incredible, lust-filled relationship. That they liked each other so much, Blake counted as a bonus.
“I hope so.”
“There he is.” A smile lit up Jeremy’s face, and Blake’s heart accelerated, both at how handsome he was and that he loved his brother so much. Jeremy couldn’t be more perfect, and Blake’s heart squeezed tightly.
An extremely good-looking man walked toward them with a smile. Around Blake’s age, Noah was a bit taller and leaner than Jeremy, but they had similar features, although Noah’s were more finely drawn. They shared a hug.
“Noah,” Jeremy said when they separated. “This is Blake.”
“Hi.” They shook hands. Noah transferred the warmth of his smile to Blake, and Blake found himself returning it.
“So nice to meet you. Jeremy has been singing your praises. I’m glad we finally have the chance to sit down and get to know each other.” The waiter came over to pour Noah a glass from the bottle on the table.
Perfect. Jeremy was right—his brother was close to perfect in looks. Blake understood how he once modeled and saw the faint lines of scars on his face that Jeremy had mentioned came from an attack that ended his career. Not surprisingly, Jeremy also warned him ahead of time that Noah hated talking about it, so he knew not to bring it up.
“Same. And I love your show. I hadn’t made the connection until Jeremy mentioned it the other week. It’s a great concept, and you give wonderful advice.”
Nora, the owner, came bustling up to the table. “Ah, my two favorite men and now another face to love. Come, let me choose a special meal for you, hmm? I promise you’ll love it.”
Noah’s bright blue eyes gleamed in the candlelight. “I’m game. You can’t go wrong with anything here.”
Jeremy took Blake’s hand and played with his fingers. “What do you say? You up for it?” It shouldn’t surprise him after all the time they’d spent together that Jeremy would be so openly attentive, yet Blake still felt a bit shy. He glanced at Noah, who watched them, a small grin teasing his lips.
“Of course. I’m sure everything will be delicious.” The smells alone were intoxicating, and Blake, unable to eat all day from the nerves, was starving.
“Perfetto.” She threw them another fond look, then hurried back to the kitchen.
Still holding his hand, Jeremy sipped his wine, and Blake warmed to the feeling of belonging.
Noah transferred his easy smile from Nora to him and settled back in his chair. “So tell me a little about yourself. You already know me from the show.”
Before he could open his mouth, Jeremy jumped in. “Blake works on multimillion-dollar corporate accounts. He’s a CPA. For a big firm.”
A bit surprised at Jeremy’s boasting, Blake shrugged. “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. It’s numbers and taxes.”
“Don’t put yourself down, babe. You work damn hard.”
Noah took a sip of wine and twirled the stem of the glass between his fingers. “I’m sure you do. I have patients who are CPAs, and I know how hard passing that exam is. And I’m sure it gets crazy around tax time.”
“Oh, definitely. I was telling Jeremy that.”
The waiter approached, laden with platters of baked clams, mussels in tomato sauce, stuffed artichokes, and a caprese salad.
