“I love when men fight over me. Go ahead, boys. Keep going. Shall we start a bidding war?” Spencer preened and tugged at the sleeves of his tuxedo. “Who wants to take a picture?” He grabbed André’s hand and pulled him, beginning to walk away toward the line forming by the photographer. “Come with me, my very rich and beautiful best friend.”
“Hello, Spencer. The store looks beautiful tonight.”
A dark thrill ran through him at Wolf’s deep voice, and he stopped. “Wolfie, you came? I should be honored.” But when he turned around, his smile faded. Wolf, gorgeous as usual with those lionlike topaz eyes and his sharp as glass cheekbones, had already caught the eye of several photographers as well as fashion editors and models.
But Spencer’s focus wasn’t trained on his friend. It was on the man at Wolf’s side. A very good-looking man, who filled out his expensive tuxedo nicely. Thick black hair sprinkled with silver, warm brown eyes, and a smile reserved for Wolf completed the package. And speaking of packages, Spencer could see it looked as healthy as the rest of the man.
Who the fuck is this?
“Hello. Who do we have here? Wolfie, you didn’t tell me you were bringing a date.”
Concern rose in Wolf’s eyes. “You did say we could. Did I read the text wrong?”
With a frozen smile, Spencer waved his hand in the air. “Not at all. The more the merrier, you know that’s my motto. What’s your name?”
“I’m Gary. Gary Hamill. I hope it’s okay to be here. Wolf told me all about your job, and it’s fascinating to see behind the scenes.”
“Oh, absolutely. I’m happy to give you a personal tour if you like.” He hooked his arm through Gary’s. He was going to find out about this man, even if he had to spend the whole night with him. “Come with me to the bar, Gary. We’ll get a drink, and you can tell me all about how you and Wolfie met. I’m dying to hear.”
Gary allowed himself to be drawn away, but Spencer didn’t miss the over-the-shoulder look he sent Wolf, who frowned and spoke a few quick words to Chess before hurrying to follow them. Not giving a fuck, Spencer continued on to one of the bars set up with the signature drink of the evening, the Max, a mixture of champagne and pomegranate liquor with a splash of orange juice.
“Here you go.” He took one for himself and toasted Gary. “To new friends. Now, tell me how you two met. He’s a devil for keeping secrets, even with us, his best friends.”
Clearly uneasy, Gary sipped his drink. “We found each other on an app and met for dinner. But we both have busy schedules, so we haven’t been able to see each other much.”
“Are you a lawyer too?” He gulped half his drink at once, breaking his cardinal rule of not drinking too much at events, but he was in a tailspin of misery, thinking Wolf had found someone compatible.
“No. I’m a child psychologist, but my focus is on research, rather than seeing patients.”
“That’s interesting,” Spencer lied, wondering what the hell Wolf and Gary found to talk about.
For the first time, Gary smiled at him. “You don’t have to pretend.”
Wolf joined them, looking a bit harried. “I got stopped by three people asking if I would take off the tuxedo jacket so they could see the pants. One of them tried to grab my ass. What’re you running, a department store or a brothel?”
“They probably thought you were one of the models. You are a handsome devil tonight—I always did like you in a tux.” He smoothed the lapel of the jacket, letting his hand slide down the firm planes of Wolf’s chest.
“Are you okay? You look upset.” Wolf gazed at him with a softness he hadn’t seen before. “You did a great job again. Two for two.”
Warmed by Wolf’s unexpected praise, he allowed his hand to linger. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
Gary cleared his throat. “Do you put on many events like this, Spencer?”
He dropped his hand. He’d almost forgotten about Gary. “Depends. But I discovered an amazing new designer, whose clothes we’re featuring on some of the male models you’ll see tonight. He just had his first show at Fashion Week.”
“It was a huge success,” Wolf said. “You should’ve seen. The place was packed.”
Spencer ducked his head. “Thank you.” Was Wolf being so nice to let him down easy now that he’d found the perfect man?
“I’ve never been to a fashion show, but I’ve seen the clips on television. I imagine it’s quite a scene.”
“Oh, quite. Like this but on steroids.” They shared a laugh, and Spencer called over the bartender. “Bring my friend a Scotch on the rocks, please.”
“You’re part of the college-friends group, right? Wolf told me about all of you.”
“Did he? Yes, we’re very old friends.” He threw Wolf a bright smile. “Intimately close.” A flush rose over Wolf’s cheeks, and Spencer forced himself to shut the hell up before he said or did something stupid. “I’d best go mingle and make sure everything’s running smoothly. Let me know if you need anything. Later!”
He left the two men and made his way through the almost shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, barely registering who said hello to him.
