Jesus, what had he heard? Wasn’t it bad enough he’d forgotten himself two seconds into applying sunblock and turned it into an erotic massage? It was a miracle Evan hadn’t thrown him off the cliff for taking liberties. Though he’d heard plainly his sound of discomfort when he’d all but grabbed the man’s ass.
Evan, the straight man he couldn’t stop thinking about, who would soon go back to his normal and entirely heterosexual life. He needed to get a grip, or their remaining time together would be agony.
“What will you do if Hannah’s on the return flight?” he asked.
Evan stumbled in the loose gravel and grabbed a low-hanging branch to remain upright. The glare he shot over made Heath wonder if he wouldn’t just drag him back up the hill for that well-earned tossing.
You should be so lucky.
“Uh, offer to trade my seat for standby on another flight?”
Why did that make him feel worse? Outing him as a bad person was supposed to make him feel better, dammit. Everything about their situation would be infinitely easier if Evan were the story’s villain.
“So you really are a cad?”
“Do you always talk like a character out of a classic novel?”
Heath knew he didn’t mean it as a compliment, but he preened anyway. “Depends on which one you have in mind. Say Brontë. I’ve always thought I could pull off Charlotte’s melodrama.”
“I’m pretty sure you surpass it.”
“That’s backhanded praise, but I’ll take it. And the answer is yes. I was reading by age two and never learned to stay in my lane. Ilovelanguage. The more esoteric, the better. It’s a miracle I didn’t perish in a locker before high school.”
“So why am I a cad? Because I want to spare both Hannah and I an awkward time?”
“Because you could make it up to her on the return flight, but instead you’ll leave her wondering what she did wrong.”
Was it the suggestion he try again that tasted like castor oil, with a similar effect on his stomach? Or was it the sad acknowledgment he still felt responsible for all his own relationship failures? He suspected the answer was simply yes.
Before he could think any further on the matter, Evan grabbed his arm and spun him, pressing him against the trunk of a nearby palm. The entirety of his blood supply rushed from his brain to points south, and the way Evan leaned closer and stared him down only made it worse.
“Since you’re so intent on harping on this, allow me to clarify a few points.”
Heath’s knees buckled. The stern formality of lawyer Evan was already dangerously enticing, but coupled with the proximity—he felt lightheaded.
“Hannah was the initiator of both the bathroom and the future contact situations. Both times, she made it clear I was under no obligation to follow through. In fact, when we spoke at the airport, she straight-up admitted it would be a terrible idea for us to hook up. I agreed, and she gave me her number in case I ever wanted to grab drinks in town. I don’t, so I tossed it.”
“Why would it be a terrible idea?”And why can’t you accept that you’ve hit rock bottom? Why must you commence digging?
“We didn’t have any chemistry.”
Heath barked a laugh. “Bullshit.”
“She’s gorgeous and sucks a mean dick, but there was no click.”
He fought against the image of Evan getting his cock sucked. Head thrown back, eyes closed, teeth chewing his luscious bottom lip. It was a dangerous fantasy, and one he should not entertain while the man himself was standing so close he could feel the heat pouring off his skin.
His voice was thick as he clarified, “No click?”
Evan shrugged and leaned closer, looking him over with heavy-lidded eyes. “Can’t you feel it when you have chemistry with someone?”
Heath nodded, certain he could feel every molecule in the universe shift with those eyes on him. If this was what it was like to have Evan Westin’s full attention, it was no wonder Hannah had been throwing her underwear at him. Chemistry be damned.
“Well, so can I, and it wasn’t there. Not with her.”
He’d forgotten about the fiancée. Forgotten that Evan hadn’t been a full twenty-four hours from the collapse of a relationship he’d expected to last forever. Of course he hadn’t felt a click. He’d been heartbroken. Probably still was.
In his own defense, remembering his own name was near impossible with Evan so close. One hand on the tree trunk at his hip and the other just above his head, Evan had him pinned. Their foreheads were a breath away from touching. So close that Evan’s breath tickled the fine hairs on his neck.
