“But, my darling, youarean honest broker,” Joshua whispered, his voice wavering.
“Am I?” Colin asked, a small smile touching his lips. “I know Iwantto be. But I am also not a man who is lacking in ambition.”
“You’d never let it influence your work,” Joshua assured him. He rested his palm against Colin’s cheek. “I know you. You couldn’t live with yourself.”
Colin nodded, then turned his face into Joshua’s palm and kissed it. “Keep reminding me of that,” he murmured against Joshua’s skin. “Please.”
“There’s no need,” Joshua murmured. He reached with his other hand and carded his fingers through Colin’s hair. His touch was slow, and the thick waves tugged at his fingers, unkempt as always, despite Colin’s constant efforts to tame them. “I believe in you, Colin. I always have, and I always will. No one has to remind you to be an honorable man. You don’t need reminding. It’s part of your DNA. You are your father’s son to the marrow of your bones and incapable of a dishonorable act.”
Colin’s head lifted, and his eyes met Joshua’s. “Josh,” he whispered, his honeyed-green eyes swimming with tears. “Sweetheart, I…” He bowed his head, unable to go on, and Joshua knelt at his feet.
“You don’t have to say it,” Joshua said, then wrapped his arms around Colin’s broad shoulders and held him close. “You don’teverhave to say it.”
CHAPTERSEVEN
THE ONLY LIVING BOY IN NEW YORK
The following morning, Colin bent over Joshua as he lay sleeping and nuzzled against his cheek. “Bye-bye, darlin’. See you tonight.”
“Wait!” Joshua cried, reaching to clutch Colin’s arm. “Wait, Colin.Don’tgo.” He tugged Colin onto the bed and drew him closer, winding both arms around his neck. “Don’t go,” Joshua whispered again, tightening his arms until his face was buried against Colin’s neck.
“Honey, I gotta go!” Colin insisted, laughing. “Got court!”
“Fuck court,” Joshua moaned, gripping tighter. “Stay with me.”
“Can’t!” Colin told him. Still laughing, he grabbed both of Joshua’s wrists. “Court!” he repeated, nuzzling against Joshua’s cheek. “Cases! Judges! Cops!Bad guys!” He kissed Joshua several times, holding his wrists pinned against the pillow. “Gotta go be a knight in shining armor! Gotta put the bad guys away!”
“Mmmm,” Joshua grumbled, his face twisted in an unhappy scowl.
Colin laughed and kissed Joshua one last time before getting to his feet. “Tell you what,” he said, grabbing his briefcase. “Don’t cook tonight; I’ll take you to dinner to make up for it.”
Joshua squinted up at him. “And what do I get fordessert, Mr. Knight-in-Shining-Armor?”
Colin tossed him a wave and strode out the door, but his voice echoed down the corridor. “You can order off the menu.”
“You’d better get home early!” Joshua called after him, then sighed and burrowed into his pillow, still grumbling: “Ihatebad guys!”
* * *
Openingnight forAutumn’s Pridewas a month away. Advanced tickets were already on sale, and Ursula’s production company—christened Dreams Theatrical—was entering its third week of rehearsals. The Actors’ Equity Association mandated that these rehearsals not exceed seven out of every eight and one-half hours daily. Since Nate was determined that every one of those hours be utilized to its fullest, he was now spending at least twelve hours a day at the Westside Theatre.
His official title was playwright, but from the time rehearsals began, he functioned as an assistant director, which never failed to furrow Ross Tanner’s brow. But Nate’s lawyer had ensured that the authority to act in this capacity was guaranteed by a clause in his contract, leaving Tanner with no recourse but to bristle behind his back and complain to Ursula at every opportunity.
Tanner’s annoyance with Nate’s expanded role didn’t forestall his attempts to entice Nate into joining him in a director/playwright partnership. Emboldened by Nate’s lack of experience with Broadway-type productions and mistaking David’s absence as a sign that their relationship was in trouble, he believed he could either badger or seduce Nate into an agreement that would secure his reputation as a top-tier creator of award-winning plays.
But Nate saw through the razor-thin veneer of charm with which Tanner coated his appeals and refused to consider such an arrangement. He tried, at first, to be diplomatic, softening his rebuffs with polite excuses. But when Tanner’s pleas began to include an element of blatant seduction, Nate’s refusal became dagger-sharp and very much to the point.
“I’mina partnership, Ross!” Nate spat out, stabbing Tanner’s chest with an index finger. “One I have no intention of abandoning to provideyouwith a leg up to a Tony Award! And if youeverdisrespect my marriage again, Ursula will be looking for a new director!”
David had visited twice, once with Nate’s stepdaughters and once alone, but aside from a few intimate moments, neither trip gave Nate much satisfaction. With few exceptions, his every waking hour involved overseeing rehearsals, doing endless script rewrites, attending production meetings, taking notes during every rehearsal, and sharing those notes with Ross Tanner and Ursula. By the time the weekend arrived, he was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open, let alone find the energy to play loving host to his husband.
David had begged him to slow down but was met with stubborn refusal. “You’re behaving like a control freak,” he accused later as they lay naked in Nate’s leather- and chrome-accented bed. “Slow down! Let Tanner take over some of these tasks! I’m no expert on the theater, but living with a producer for four years has taught me alittlesomething! You’re taking on functions that are way, WAY beyond what’s customary for a playwright! Aren’t you supposed to sit at a cramped desk doing endless rewrites?”
“I have to stay on top of things, or god knows what Tanner will do to sabotage this production! He’dloveto seeAutumn’s Pridefall on its face!”
“It would look just as bad for him if the play did poorly,” David argued.
“Look,” Nate said, resting his hand on his husband’s chest. “I told you about his goddamn flirty proposition that we become….” Nate rolled his eyes and made fake quotation marks in the air. “…partners! Partners, my ass! Getting rich feeding off my talent is more like it. He’d like nothing better than seeingAutumn’s Prideflop to get back at me for turning him down and humiliating him in the process. I won’t let that happen, David! I can’t! UVA is invested in this production. And the cast and crew have worked hard.”
