“Sorry.” Christian snapped his mouth shut. “I’m simply…surprised is all.”
Acespun. Christian felt Angel and Emily shuffle behind him to avoid being inadvertently hit by the flaming eye arrows Ace shot his way.The cowards!
“What? You’ve never seen two men kissing before?”
“No.” Christian was quick to shake his head. “It’s not that. It’s that I’ve never seenyoukissing before. All these years you’ve been playing the part of a monk. I only thought…”You’d decidedto eschew all romantic entanglements after your husband died.
He daren’t say that last part aloud. He’d learned the subject of Ace’s husband was strictly off-limits. Ace turned green and clammed up anytime the man’s name was mentioned.
“What?” Ace advanced on him until there were only a few feet separating them. “What did you think?”
Any other time, Christian would have risen to thechallenge in Ace’s eyes. He wasn’t one to back down from a fight. But he knew the flyboy’s frustration didn’t have anything to do with him. It had everything to do with the redheaded colossus standing slack-jawed in the room behind them. Christian just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Well, that, and he couldn’t seem to say the right thing to bring Ace’s boil down to asimmer.
Then it hit him. Ace was boiling. Colby “Ace” Ventura was actuallyboiling!
Christian fought a smile. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Ace was agoodman. A caring man. A loyal man. Sure, he liked to bust his teammates’ bollocks, and he had a bothersome habit of stealing Christian’s perfectly toasted bagels out of the oven when Christian wasn’t looking. But when push cameto shove, there was no denying one simple fact: Ace wasnice. And for too many years he’d shut himself off, holding on to his remorse, never letting anyone get close enough to light a fire under his ass. But to Christian’s delight, it looked like Rusty was just the guy to stoke the flames.
“I was thinking it’s about bloody time you let someone in,” Christian said.
Once again, that seemedto be the exactwrongthing to say.
“I’m not letting him in!” Ace pointed an accusatory finger at Rusty. “Because despite every battle the LGBTQ community has fought over the years, he refuses to beout! Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to go punch something. If I can find anything that isn’t five hundred years old and worth a bazillion dollars, that is.”
When Ace turned on his heel,Angel popped out from behind Christian’s back and blurted, “Christian and Emily have decided to do the deed. But they insist on keeping it casual.”
Ace stopped in his tracks, his back still to them.
Emily punched Angel in the shoulder. Then she punched Christian too.
“Ow!” he complained. “Why are you hitting me?I’mnot the one who said it.”
“And why are you hittingme?” Angeldemanded, what passed as a scowl shadowing his face. “I thought youwantedme to spread the word.”
“Learn to pick your moment, man!” Emily tossed her hands in the air. “Jeez!”
Ace glanced over his shoulder. Some of the heat was gone from his eyes. “Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Christian countered. “That Emily and I have decided to give the ol’ rumpy-pump a go?” He found himself battlingthe sophomoric urge to screamhell yeahbefore slapping high fives with everyone in the room. “Yes. It’s true. It’s also true that we’re keeping it casual. Emily wants that made clear. It’s the only way she’s agree to mix business with…pleasure.” He stressed the word and waggled his eyebrows at Emily.
“Oh, for the love of Shoeless Joe Jackson!” she sputtered. The slash of pink in her cheeksmade her look fresh and young—and heightened the appeal of her already enticing little beauty mark.
“Good.” Ace nodded. “It’s about time.” Then he trudged down the hall and disappeared around the corner, presumably to find something to hit.
“And with that”—Angel dusted off his hands—“my job here is done. Time for me to head out while there is still light to see by. I can find food fortonight and a car to appropriate for tomorrow.”
Right. They must do that, mustn’t they?
As much as Christian wanted to take Emily’s hand and yank her up those stairs so he could have his way with her, he couldn’t forget the mission came first. Always. Right now, their mission was to do whatever it took to get the hell out of England.
“There’s a sheep farm about a mile east,” he said.He’d seen it on the map of the area he’d pulled up on his mobile after checking for the business hours at the manor house. “I should think it’ll have foodandtransportation. I’ll come ’round with you to scout it out.”
“I’ll come too,” Rusty volunteered, heading in their direction. He still looked a little shaken and a whole lot peeved by Ace’s kiss.
“No.” Angel shook his head. “I preferto work alone.”
Christian crossed his arms. “No shit, Sherlock. But we’ll come nonetheless.”
