“Nice to meet you as well. Thanks for letting me crash the party. I hope to see you again soon.”
I’ll just bet you do.
He watched them walk out and get in their car. Elliot and Chess crowded around him.
“What did you think, Spence? He seems like a great guy,” Elliot said, and Spencer could already see the hearts and flowers circling.
“I was surprised when Wolf showed up with a date, but I’m happy to see he’s trying.” Chess took a glass of champagne from André. “What did you think of him, babe?”
“I thought he was…nice.”
That drew his attention. Not the overwhelming support he’d anticipated, and because he admired André so much, he had to ask. “Just nice? That’s so…meh. So innocuous.”
A mysterious smile tipped up André’s lips. “I know. Maybe they’re only friends, but if you ask me, Wolf isn’t attracted to him. I get the feeling the man Wolf eventually ends up with will knock him off his feet. He’s not going to know what hit him.”
André’s blue eyes held his, and flustered, Spencer ran his hands through his hair.
And then Christo stepped in, in his usual brusque manner, and interrupted their conversation. “Spencer, come with me. We’re about to make the speeches.” Christo took him by the shoulder, and Spencer made his excuses to his friends.
The rest of the evening was spent playing nice with clients and customers, but his head and heart weren’t in it. All he could think about was whether Wolf had taken Gary home with him, and when the party ended and the time came to go home, Spencer didn’t take a car to his apartment, but changed course and headed crosstown to the East Side and Wolf.
He had to know.
Chapter Fourteen
Wolf undid the bow tie and unbuttoned his shirt collar. It was the first deep breath he’d managed that whole evening. Especially after seeing Spencer kissing that man. It was one thing to see him flirting, draped around various people at events, but watching him actively kiss and being kissed did something to Wolf’s insides. His hands curled into fists.
He wanted to grab Spencer and shake some sense into him. Why would he do that? And Wolf couldn’t deny that it had made his blood boil. It had taken every ounce of his self-control not to put his hands on whoever that man was and throw him through the wall.
And take his place.
Despair had slammed into him at the sight of Spencer with another man’s lips on his, and it had ruined the rest of his evening with Gary. He’d stomped over to the bar, asked the bartender for a Scotch, and gulped it down. He joined a conversation André and Gary were having, not really paying attention to what was said. Time ticked away and Wolf was ready to jump out of his skin. He’d had enough and decided it was time to leave. On the ride home, he and Gary had shared a car, and he’d sat silent, brooding.
“It’s Spencer, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, that’s his name.”
Gary’s eyes had lit up with laughter. “You’re cute. And funny. But you forget I’m trained to see things and pick up cues from people.” He put a hand on Wolf’s arm. “You mentioned on our first date that there was a guy years ago, who was the only one who made you feel. I’m asking if that man was Spencer.”
Wolf had lifted a shoulder.
“Don’t be embarrassed. He seems like a wonderful person, full of life and fun. But most of all, he cares about you.”
“You picked up all that from the few minutes you talked to him?”
“It wasn’t hard. He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
Warmth suffused him, and yet Wolf had still refused to see it.
“He lives to torment me. That’s what you probably noticed.”
Gary pressed his lips together. “You know, just because the person we fall in love with isn’t the one we imagined as ideal for us, doesn’t mean it can’t be the most beautiful thing possible. Maybe Spencer isn’t that man, but that shouldn’t stop you from exploring your feelings, especially when it comes to love. That can never be a mistake. You might be surprised.”
He’d thought hard about what Gary said. He’d never thought about falling in love at all. He didn’t understand the kind of emotional attachment that would make you give up everything for another person. His father had given in to his sickness and sexual deviancy. It hurt and damaged innocent people and cost him his freedom and his family. And his mother…rationally Wolf knew she’d been sick and should’ve gotten help, but he’d been only thirteen at the time. He’d long since forgiven her because he understood now that depression was most likely the root of her problem, but in their social circle, no one dared talk about mental illness or seek help for it. Instead it took her life.
Monogamy and fidelity he understood, and he firmly and fervently believed in those. Which was why he knew he and Spencer couldn’t be together. If Spencer had ever indicated he was interested in relationships, Wolf might’ve summoned up the courage to take that step. But Spencer had repeatedly stated he absolutely wasn’t interested in being with one man.
And yet…when he’d watched Spencer hurry out of the room and disappear, something hadn’t sat right in his chest, and he’d had to follow him, thinking that if Spencer had too much to drink, he might not make the best decisions. Wolf had remembered that night when he’d found Spencer in his building, stumbling drunk, and combined with seeing that giant of a man following Spencer, it had alarmed him. Was he a stalker? Someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer? If Spencer was in trouble, Wolf needed to know and help.
