Marlon looked sheepish, an expression Vahin was surprised he was capable of.
“I needed it too.” Vahin gave him a quick kiss, then pulled back. “As much as I want to strip you naked, if I don’t tend to the food right now, it’s going to be ruined, and I spent way too much money and time for that to happen.” Vahin moved away from Marlon and headed back to the kitchen, still speaking over his shoulder. “Plus, I’m going to grill you on everything that happened today. I need details.”
Marlon followed him, started to take a seat, then paused. “Can I help with anything?”
“Nah, just sit. The rest is easy, and we’re close to being done.” Vahin gestured to the fridge. “There’s beer if you want some.” He grinned at the look of relief on Marlon’s face.
“God, yes.” Marlon walked over and opened the refrigerator. “One for you?”
“Yes, please.” He’d been tempted to have one while he was cooking, but he’d been afraid he wouldn’t stop. With Marlon there, it felt different. He took a swig after Marlon twisted off the cap and handed him a bottle. He started to ask about what Marlon had found out, but Marlon spoke first.
“What are you making? It smells amazing in here. Kinda like Christmas or something.”
“That’s probably just the spices. It’s lamb biryani. Something my mom used to make all the time. She used goat every once in a while, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about that.”
Marlon scrunched up his nose before he adjusted his expression back to neutral with a laugh. “Sorry about that. I’m glad you chose lamb, not that goat doesn’t sound delic…. Actually, no, I can’t lie about that. I’m glad you chose lamb.”
Vahin almost wished he’d gone with the goat, even though he would have had to go out of his way to get the meat. It would’ve been worth it to see Marlon force himself to eat it.
Taking his first swig of beer, Marlon crossed the kitchen and opened the oven door to peek inside. “So any otherinterestingingredients I should know about?”
Vahin waited until Marlon looked over at him before responding. “Oh, you know, some pigeon livers.” He couldn’t hold back a laugh at the horror that spread across Marlon’s face. “No. Just lamb. You’ll be fine, you big baby. It’s delicious. You’ll love it.”
Marlon narrowed his eyes skeptically. “I think I might need to see your recipe.”
“There isn’t one.” Vahin tapped his temple, then pointed to one of the barstools at the kitchen island. “Enough about the food. Sit and tell me about your day. I need to know what to expect.”
Marlon’s face fell as he moved to take a seat.
“Oh shit. It’s bad, huh?”
“No!” Marlon raised a hand and nearly knocked over his beer he’d set on the island. He steadied it and looked back up at Vahin. “No. Nothing bad. But nothing definitive. I know you’re wanting answers, but I don’t have those for you. And I won’t for a bit, probably.”
“Okay.” Vahin forced himself to get plates and silverware as he spoke, trying to keep things normal. Trying not to panic. “Then tell me what you do know.”
Marlon took another swig of beer, and Vahin considered yanking it away to get the man to start talking. After he swallowed, he leveled his eyes on Vahin. “I talked to the chief. It’s in your favor that you asked for an ID before the minor actually took a drink. It’s also good that the ID was a passable fake. It didn’t have an unreal age, like one hundred or something. It also helps that Andrew didn’t….”
Vahin bugged his eyes out as Marlon’s voice trailed off. “Andrew didn’t what?”
Marlon hesitated longer, thoughts playing across his face so quickly Vahin couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“What is it, Marlon?”
“This is a gray area.” He sighed. “Actually, no, it isn’t. I shouldn’t be talking about any of this with you, with anyone. And if I didn’t know Andrew did this because of me, I wouldn’t even dream of it, not even with you.”
Not even with you.Like Vahin had already crossed, truly crossed, into a special category that received special treatment in Marlon’s world. The words eased Vahin’s worry and made him really look at Marlon again, beyond his handsome face and the potential help he offered. Though it had been a matter of days—stress-filled days—he knew Marlon had crossed that line within him as well. Vahin inspected his emotions a split second, judged them to be genuine, then spoke as he laid down the silverware and placed his hand over Marlon’s forearm.
“I’m not going to repeat what you tell me, even to Steven and the others, if you don’t want me to. But you also don’t have to tell me anything at all. That’s not why you’re here. That’s not why I want you here. It’s not why I want to cook for you or have you in my bed.”
“I know that. I wasn’t trying to imply—”
“I know,” Vahin cut him off.
Marlon studied him for a moment, then smiled softly. He covered Vahin’s hand with his own, his palm cold from the beer bottle. Their gazes held. Unspoken promises—promises that were coming too soon but were there nonetheless—were made. Finally Marlon broke their stare and cleared his throat.
“It’s in our favor that Andrew didn’t have any sanction to conduct a sting on you or Mary’s. There’s a lot of ties that protect Andrew, however. The chief isn’t sure if those ties will protect him this time, or if the tickets against you and Mary’s will be upheld. Andrew’s involvement could help or hurt their validity. It depends on which judge gets them. If they even get that far.”
Vahin tried to follow Marlon’s meaning, and thought he did, for the most part. “So you think there’s a chance that it all might go away?”
