Kyle nodded as he grabbed a pair of shoes from his side of the closet. “I’ll be down soon.”
Jamie left the bedroom and took the stairs down to the first level of the apartment. The sound of workers bustling around to decorate and set up for the engagement party reached his ears. Someone had turned on the television and Jamie would have ignored it except the channel suddenly cut away to a newscast.
“—regularly scheduled programing to bring you live footage of Alpha Team on the ground in the aftermath of the explosion that rocked a warehouse district in Atlanta this morning—”
Jamie stopped mid-stride, the breaking news story catching his attention.
“—saying it’s the work of a splinter cell from the Sons of Adam terrorist group, but police and federal agents have yet to make a statement in the midst of the ongoing fight—”
The grim face of a reporter on the street cut away to that of an aerial view of a burning building partially obscured by thick black smoke pouring into the sky. Jamie watched the report for several more minutes, so engrossed that he didn’t hear Kyle approaching.
“You forgot your suit jacket,” Kyle said, shaking the slate gray suit jacket at Jamie.
Jamie turned away from the television, smiling at Kyle. “Thanks. I got distracted.”
Kyle peered around him at the newscast before he, too, ignored what was being reported. He held up the suit jacket in both hands so Jamie could slip his arms into the sleeves. “Better I bring it down now before you sent me up to retrieve it later. I’d say we should renovate and get an elevator put in, but some days going up and down the stairs is all the exercise we get.”
Jamie tugged at the collar to help settle it over his broad shoulders. “No elevator. We just got rid of the last contractor.”
He turned around and Kyle reached out to smooth down the lapels of the suit jacket. Jamie took a moment to admire how he looked. Kyle was wearing slim-cut, dark-wash designer jeans and a short-sleeved button-down shirt with no tie. Jamie’s white dress shirt was undone at the collar, his usual tie left up in their bedroom. The invitations for their engagement party doubling as a house party had stressed business casual attire, only because he’d talked his mother down from a full-on black-tie affair.
Jamie and Kyle had stayed with Alexei and Sean for almost a month following the attack on Washington, D.C. as their new three-level luxury apartment was renovated to their exact specifications. Which meant the MDF had overseen the hiring of all contractors while Katie had overseen the implementation of their security system. The plas-glass windows had been replaced with military-grade bulletproof ones that could stop a fifty-caliber bullet. The original attending computer had been uninstalled and wiped, replaced with one built by the MDF and Katie.
Securing their home as much as possible was worth the price tag it came with. Since money wasn’t an issue for Jamie, he’d gone all out, turning their apartment into as much of a fort as possible. They’d salvaged what they could from the old condo, but had needed to buy quite a bit of new furniture to fill out the bigger space. The last renovation had finished nearly three weeks ago, and since then, Jamie and Kyle had been enjoying finally getting to live in their new home.
“Jamie, can you please come here for a moment?” his mother called faintly from the other side of the expansive living space.
Kyle poked Jamie in the chest. “If this is how Charlotte is during our engagement party, we should just elope for the wedding.”
“If we do, my parents might disown me and then how will I keep you in the luxury you’ve become accustomed to?” Jamie asked.
“I wouldn’t care so long as your mother wasn’t turning the first floor of our home into a ritzy event.”
Jamie leaned down and kissed the scowl off Kyle’s face. “I talked her down from going all out, you know.”
Kyle stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “Goddamn rich people.”
Jamie swatted him carefully on the ass. “Careful how you talk about my fiancé.”
Kyle flipped him off and Jamie walked away laughing to go see what his mother needed.
“You’re lucky I love you,” Kyle called at his retreating back.
Jamie waved a silent acknowledgment of his words. He’d have preferred a less staged affair than what his mother was putting on, but since the only people invited were the team, their significant others, immediate families, Liam, Nazari, and Stirling, Jamie thought they’d gotten off pretty lightly.
He’d refused to let his father invite any politician friends nor did he allow his mother to add on any of the socialites she knew. His and Kyle’s engagement party was strictly for family and very close friends, those who knew what they’d gone through to get to this moment. Jamie and Kyle had invited the team’s immediate families because they served in their own way right alongside those in uniform. Jamie didn’t want to share their joy with complete strangers, and he knew Kyle had felt the same way when they’d whittled down the guest list.
Compromise meant his mother got to throw an elegant, exceedingly expensive engagement party for close to fifty people. Rather than hosting it in some restaurant that would bring the paparazzi running, they’d opted to hold it at their new home. His mother had employed a famous chef to handle the food: appetizers while people mingled, dinner served from a buffet rather than a sit-down meal that Jamie had fought hard, and an array of miniature desserts that were all the rage right now.
Drinks would be made by the guests, as Jamie had refused to allow any catering workers to stay. Katie’s mom had volunteered to get the food ready when it was time, along with several other moms of the team. Jamie and Kyle had wanted small and intimate; getting that required quite a bit of money. He didn’t mind the cost and never would, not when it came to Kyle.
His mother was in her element as hostess, and Jamie hadn’t wanted to take that away from her. Letting her handle the details outside of the guest list was a small sacrifice so long as she adhered to what they wanted.
“What do you need, Mother?” Jamie asked.
Charlotte turned her head to smile at him, her blonde hair pulled up in a sleek chignon. “There you are, dear. I wanted to let you know everything is ready and your father and sister are on their way over.”
He leaned down and kissed his mother on the cheek. “That’s great. The others should be arriving any minute.”
