“Why don’t you meet the boys in the conference room?” King told Ryden. “I need a word with Jay. We’ll meet you all there in a minute.”
Ryden nodded and hurried off while King motioned to his office. Jay walked in and sat on the couch, waiting for King to close the door and take his seat behind the desk.
“I’m sorry you had to come back early,” Jay said. “I hope Leo wasn’t upset.”
“Coming back early was Leo’s idea. One, he was worried about you; two, he’d had his fill of travel. He was ready to come home. He probably won’t leave the house for weeks. You know how much he needs to decompress and recover from traveling.”
Jay nodded. He understood. As excited and happy as Leo was to honeymoon in Japan with his new husband, the overstimulation and anxiety would eventually cause him to seek the comfort of his own home. He’d probably crashed hard when they got home.
“That’s why I sent him a super comfy human dog bed for your living room and a Swedish Fish-themed gift basket. I also asked Colton to set up puppy visits with Leo so he can spend some time with Cocoa.”
King’s warm smile reached his eyes. “Thanks, Jay.”
“You’re welcome. We take care of one another. That’s what families do.”
“Speaking of taking care of family,” King said, eyes narrowed. “We’re going to find these assholes. I promise you. I will make them regret ever having laid a hand on you. But first, how are you holding up?”
Howwashe holding up? Jay let out a shaky breath. “This kind of thing comes across my desk more often than it should, and now that it’s happened to me… It’s so surreal.”
“Maybe you should take some time off.”
Jay shook his head. “I want to help you all catch whoever’s behind this because whatever’s going on, it’s bad.”
“Before we get into that, tell me about you and Ryden.”
Jay blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
King arched an eyebrow at him.
“Don’t give me your judgy eyebrow.”
“What? I don’t have a judgy eyebrow.”
“You totally have a judgy eyebrow. It’s the left one.”
King touched his left eyebrow. “I don’t think an eyebrow can be judgy.”
Jay snorted. “Yours can.”
“I’m not judging. I’m…concerned. When Ryden told me what happened at the wedding, he didn’t leave anything out.” He gave Jay a pointed look. Which meant King knew about them kissing and making out.
“I had to make it look real.”
King hummed. “Of course. Go on.”
Was he seriously going to keep this from King? Jay knew better. “Last night, we slept together.”
King’s eyes went huge, and Jay held a hand up. “Not like that. I was sleeping in the guest room, and I had a horrible nightmare. The kind that was so vivid that I didn’t want to be alone. So I went to his room, and he invited me to join him in bed. There was no funny business, just comfort.” Jay couldn’t help his dopey smile or how he melted at the memory. “He was so sweet.” He felt his cheeks go warm. “Okay, I kissed him. For real, this time. Not that the first time wasn’t real.”
“First time?” King was so confused. “There was a first time? When was this?”
“Um, a little while back in Red’s office. It’s not important. We kissed, for real, twice. But that’s all.”
“I thought you hated him.”
Jay met King’s gaze, his lips quirked in the corner. “I think we both know I never really hated him.”
“You used to throw books at him.”
