“Morning, Miranda,” Colin said, then turned to Joshua. “Sorry, bud. But I’m going to give my two cents about this.”
“Go ahead, Colin,” Miranda told him, then shot a glance at Joshua who was clearly seething. “And he’s right, Josh. He deserves a say.”
“He still has issues with fatigue,” Colin told her.
“Not that much!” Joshua interrupted. “And not that often!”
“Josh, you fall asleep at thedinner table. Please don’t try to tell me that’s normal for you. It’s not.” He turned to Miranda. “Mypreference,” he said, “would be that he not start out working five days a week. That he start slower. Three days, maybe, then work up to five.”
He turned toward his husband. “That was the issue I wanted to discuss last night. You managed to…um,distractme, but I didn’t forget. You set up this meeting with Miranda behind my back before we could have that conversation, and you did it on purpose. But you don’t get to make this kind of decision without my input. You’d hate it if I did that to you, and you damned well know it.”
Joshua stared straight ahead, brows furrowed, his lips pressed into a tight, thin line.
Colin sighed and turned back to Miranda. “He can make whatever decision he wants to make. I’m not his boss. I’ve said what I’dprefer,and that’s all I have to say.” He stood and reached to touch Joshua’s hand, but Joshua shoved his hand away. Colin shrugged. “OK. Have it your way.” He turned to Miranda and waved in farewell, then strode from the office.
“Josh,” she said to her fuming employee. “We need to talk about this.”
* * *
It wassix o’clock that evening, and Colin Campbell-Abrams was seated alone at a table in the darkest corner of McCafferty’s. He was nursing his second Murphy’s Irish Stout and glowering at the wall in front of him. He hadn’t seen or spoken to his husband since that afternoon at the Rainier Clinic, and was certain that when he finally arrived home, he’d be greeted by an explosion of epic proportions.
He sighed and spun the glass, studying the bubbles rising to the surface of the chocolate-colored liquid. The pit of his stomach ached with a dark and frigid sadness. At the front of the bar, patrons were laughing and talking together, but Colin wasn’t tempted to join them. In the midst of this group of people where he knew he would be more than welcome, his heart ached with loneliness, and a deep longing for only one man.
God, he’s so pissed at me,Colin thought. He bowed his head, surrendering himself to his pain, thinking back to the horrifying moments when he didn’t know where his husband was, or even if he were still alive, and he began to regret taking a stand earlier that afternoon. “I should have just let him do what he wanted,” he muttered. “Then if it went bad, it’s on him, not me.”
He startled when a wallet fell onto his table with a thump, and looked up to see Joshua taking a seat beside him. “May I join you?”
“Of course,” Colin said. “I didn’t think you’d…I figured you’d be…”
“At home pouting?”
Colin shrugged but gave no reply.
“Colin, you were right. Fatigueisstill an issue for me.”
“I know you’re pissed at me.”
“Actually, I’m not. I was annoyed at myself and embarrassed at being caught out.” He squinted at Colin through his dark lashes. “Ididtry to sneak the Miranda meeting past you.”
Colin shrugged and stared down at his drink. “I should have stayed out of it. If you ended up having problems…” His voice trailed off and he shrugged again. “Then it’s on you, I guess.”
“Not possible for you,” Joshua said, then reached to take his husband’s hand. “That might have been thesmartmove, because it would have spared you the sight of my annoying drama queen routine. But it’s not in you, Colin. And it’llneverbe in you to stand blithely by while I walk into something that has the potential to harm me. It’s just not in your DNA.”
He leaned toward Colin, still clutching his hand. “And I’mgladit’s not in your DNA. I don’teverwant that part of you to change.”
Colin turned toward him, feeling the warmth of Joshua’s smile melt the icy pain that had frozen his heart.
“I’m so sorry, my beautiful love,” Joshua whispered. “Please forgive me.”
“You don’t ever have to ask that,” Colin told him. “Not ever.” He drew Joshua close and kissed him, then kissed him again. “God, I’m so glad we’re OK.”
“We will always be OK, Colin. Always. Please don’t mistake my occasional drama queen routine for real problems between us.” He kissed Colin and caressed his cheek. “I’m going to work three days a week for two weeks, then go to four days a week for two weeks, then back to five—if that works for you.”
“That’s perfect,” Colin whispered. He took Joshua’s hand and pressed his lips against the palm. “Thank you.”
“I don’t deserve you,” Joshua said. “But I thank god every day of my life that Ihaveyou.”
Colin smiled. “No, you deservebetterthan me, but we’ll argue about that another time.” He reached to caress his cheek. “Welcome home, darling,” he whispered, then kissed him again.
