“I am.”
“Good. He seems like a keeper.”
“He really is.” David cleared his throat. “Okay. Bye.”
He turned and pulled the door open—
And walked straight into a warm body coming through.
Instinctively, he reached out to steady them before they fell. His hands closed around the sleeves of a puffy coat.
And in that coat:
“Farzan?”
fifty-five
Farzan
Seeing David again had felt like plunging into an icy bath. Every nerve, every skin cell, every fiber of his being reacted.
Unfortunately, he also froze up, which meant he didn’t get out of the way in time when David, still talking to Kyra over his shoulder, walked right into him.
Right away, David’s strong hands steadied him, but it was too late for the cake he’d been holding, which was now smeared across his coat.
“Farzan,” David said, and hearing his name across David’s lips warmed him to the core.
“Hi.”
Everything he’d had in his mind flew out his ear. Everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to apologize for. Washed away as soon as he got a hit of David’s cologne. Vetiver and home.
David looked good, too: fresh haircut, crisp slit in his eyebrow, and a smile that could melt a glacier. And on his lapel, a shiny new pin.
“You passed?”
“I passed.” David was still smiling. At him?
Or from relief?
“Congratulations. I knew you could do it.”
“Thanks.” David’s eyes strayed upward. “You cut your hair.”
“Yeah.” Farzan cleared his throat. “I kind of hate it.”
“God, me too. But you’re still the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.”
Farzan blushed. How could David still say something like that, after everything that happened? But the little flame of hope in Farzan’s chest burned brighter as David looked down at Farzan’s coat, then at the platter in his hands where a now-smushed cake sat.
“Shit! I’m sorry. Come inside, let me help you clean up…”
Farzan felt twenty pairs of eyes tracking them as David led him to a quiet corner, away from what was obviously a party. David took the ruined cake from him, swapped it for a black cloth napkin. Farzan took off his puffer coat and tried to rub out the crumbs and icing, while David studied the cake. His smile had gone wistful.
“What are you doing here?”
Farzan swallowed. He still couldn’t remember his speech.
“I wanted to see you,” he said. “I hope that was okay.”
