“I do. Really.”
And for some reason, Ramin believed him. “He said I was too boring to marry.”
Now Noah’s smiledidvanish. His eyes burned and his jaw clenched. “What a jerk.”
That was one way to put it.Fucking assholewas Arya’s preferred epithet.
“You’re not boring,” Noah insisted. “You’re seriously the most interesting person I know!”
Ramin snorted at that.
“Okay, point taken, we’ve had a gap in the knowing each other part, but really. That guy doesn’t know what he’s missing.”
“Thanks,” Ramin said softly. “I’m over it. Mostly.”
“Mostly? It’s recent then?”
Ramin finished the last of his wine, then reached for his water; his mouth was bone dry. “If three weeks ago counts as recent.”
“Three weeks?!” Noah nearly shouted. “I’d still be in bed crying.”
Ramin laughed. “Well, I spent the night in bed crying and looking at trips to Italy, so…”
Noah laughed, too, the cloud that had fallen over their dinner breaking. “Okay, I’m really sorry for what happened, but I’m glad you came here.” His voice lowered. “I’m glad I ran into you.”
“Yeah.” Ramin lowered his own voice and looked down at his hands. It was nice, talking to someone who didn’t know Todd. Who hadn’t known Ramin as part of a pair.
Who didn’t think he was boring.
He looked back up. Noah was still smiling at him.
He didn’t realize how much he’d missed Noah’s smile all these years.
“Me too.”
eight
Noah
Noah’s head was pleasantly fuzzy. He wasn’t exactly a practiced drinker. Not that he didn’t like wine—he and Angela used to have a glass each with dinner most nights—but since the divorce he hadn’t drunk much. So now, half a bottle—combined with jet lag and probably a little dehydration—had him happy and loose.
He felt young and carefree with the evening breeze in his hair and an old friend beside him, laughing like they were the only two people in the world. For a moment, Noah could almost forget about Angela wanting to move here. About Jake maybe moving with her.
Noah swallowed. Did wine always make him so maudlin?
He was so caught up, he nearly walked right into a busy intersection. He halted, throwing up his arm, because Ramin was following him.
“Oop, careful.” Ramin’s chest bumped against him before he stopped, but Ramin broke the contact right away. He’d been like that all night, if their legs accidentally brushed under the table, or if their hands touched while reaching for the wine bottle. Noah didn’t know if Ramin was worried he was a homophobe—a valid fear, given Noah’s parents, though an unfounded one, given Noah’s bisexuality—or if hewas still hurting from his breakup and didn’t want to touch anyone. Or if it was some secret third thing. Noah had showered before dinner, so he knew he didn’t smell weird.
“It says don’t walk.” Noah pointed.
“There’s no one coming.” Ramin gestured. “And the locals don’t wait.”
Noah glanced up and down the street; sure enough, there were no cars around. He didn’t mind waiting, though. He didn’t want to say bye to Ramin just yet, even though he knew he needed to get back.
He cleared his throat. “Well, I try to set a good example for Jake.”
“Okay. We can wait.”
