“You know him? That’s Thomas’s man.” Matthieu raises a discerning eyebrow. “You see the resemblance, right?”
Thomas’s man?
Thomas’s man?!
Since when have Thomas and Sam been together? It’s a joke, right?! EvenThomascould do better than?—
“Why is Rafael in our salon?” Thomas asks, rounding the corner behind them. He looks at Julien, then back to the salon. The cogs start to turn.
“Are you fucking Sam Campbell?!”Julien asks.
Surely not. Obviously something is wrong here. The Australian clearly received Julien's invitation by accident.
“Even in French, I can still recognize my name,” Sam calls out from the other room.
Instead of answering, Thomas points a stern finger in front of Julien’s face.“You cannot be with Rafael.”
“I’m going to uhhh…” Matthieu slinks away without finishing his sentence.
Julien smacks Thomas’s finger aside. “I’m an adult. I can’t do whatever I want—whoeverI want.”
“That goesdoublefor me.”
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
“Everything okay here?” Sam slides up behind Thomas and places a protective hand on his shoulder.
Oh, they’re so fuckingfamiliar. They’re already meeting families and casually touching each other? After Sam crashed Julien off the track?!
They’re probably only togetherbecauseSam crashed into Julien. Bet Thomas really liked that. What fucking losers.
Before Julien can respond, an arm wraps around his middle and the heavy weight of a wide hand settles on his waist.
“Are you alright?” Rafael asks, leaning to speak in Julien’s ear.
Thomas scowls. “Don’t touch him.”
“He can touch me all he wants!”
Who the fuck does Thomas think he is? If Julien wants to climb Rafael and slobber all over him, it’s his prerogative. Fuck whatever Thomas thinks.
Rafael tugs Julien away from his stupid oldest brother and places a soft kiss on his temple. “C’mon, let’s go help with dinner.”
“You’re not surprised enough,” Julien accuses as they set the table. “Thomas is fucking a Red Boar driver. He’sliterallysleeping with the enemy. You have to care at least a little bit.”
“I did.” Rafael folds a fabric napkin into a pretty little fan and gently balances it upright on a plate. “But I’ve known about it for longer than you have. Had more time to get over it.”
“Get over it,”Julien repeats with a scoff, slamming a spoon down. “Sam ran me off the road and Thomas introduced him to our family as hisspecial someone.”
That’s probably why Thomas didn’t invite him tonight. Bet he thought he could get away with it as long as Julien didn’t know.
Wait.
Julien sets a fork down and stands straighter with his hands on his hips. “How long have you known?”
Rafael avoids eye contact and continues folding the napkins. “Uh… since last season?”
“Last season?!”
