4
Oscar looked up from where he’d been playing with his phone as he heard Ryan come into the room.
A low whistle escaped him before he could stop himself, the chair he’d been swinging back on making a dull thud as the two legs that had been up in the air hit the tiled floor.
When May said he’d look good in a suit, she hadn’t been wrong.
With his normally ruffled hair slicked back neatly, and his collar buttoned up, and the cut of his jacket emphasizing his incredible shoulder-to-waist ratio in a way that sweaters and jeans never could…
Ryan washot.
And Oscar had known that. Ryan had definitely had a whole lot of cute, nerdy, boy-next-door appeal from the moment he’d arrived.
But this was different. This was…
“Wow,” he said aloud. “You werebornto do this.”
A blush bloomed up from under the pressed white collar of Ryan’s dress shirt. The gunmetal tie he’d chosen made his eyes look darker, the stormy grey-blue suddenly ten times as intense.
Oscar forced himself not to staretoomuch at the way Ryan’s throat bobbed.
He definitely didn’t let himself imagine licking it. Not for long, anyway.
“Thanks, I think,” Ryan mumbled, looking down at his undoubtedly well-polished shoes.
“I’m being sincere,” Oscar said. “But I can stop.”
“Sincere is fine.” Ryan wet his lips, looking up again.
Oscar tried not to smiletoobroadly at the pretty pink blush that had spread to his cheeks. Or be too thrilled with himself for putting it there.
He knew he didn’t stand a chance with his handsome, shy,straightco-worker, but there was no rule that said he couldn’tenjoyhim. Even if it was just for the evening.
The idea of having to spend it around rich people suddenly didn’t seem so bad.
“So, uh…” Ryan began after a few moments of silence. “I’m guessing you’ve been to one of these things before?”
Oscar nodded. “May kind of uses me as the poster boy for the sanctuary,” he said. “Finn’s been here the longest, but apparently zoologist sounds more impressive than veterinarian. People take their cats to the vet, y’know? They think zoologists only work in zoos.”
“How come youdon’twork in a zoo?” Ryan asked, as though it was something he’d been curious about for a while.
“I like it here.” Oscar shrugged. “There’s no pressure for anything to beentertaininghere. It’s just about looking after animals that don’t have anywhere else to go. I guess it seems… purer, in a way. Except when I have to go entertain people so they’ll help us keep the place open.”
Ryan laughed at that. “Necessary evil. Everyone needs money.”
“I mean, you’ve seen the payroll,” Oscar said wryly. “That’s not why anyone’s here.”
“Right, but you still need to make rent and buy groceries,” Ryan said. “Which means the sanctuary needs an income. I mean… it could use more than a little work, too, and I bet you could do more for the animals if you had a steadier cashflow.”
“Yeah,” Oscar admitted. “Yeah, we could, which is why despite whining about it, I’m here and ready to go.”
“Right, which was what I meant to ask. Do I need to like… know anything, or…?”
Oscar chuckled. “If youdo, I’m not the right person to ask. May says this crowd finds me charming, but I don’t know… why, exactly. I just stand around and talk about animals to them.”
“You care,” Ryan said immediately, like it was obvious. “I mean, about the animals. And they might be rich people, but I bet they care, too. Maybe not quite like you do, and maybe they don’tunderstand, but… enthusiasm is infectious, I guess.”
“Huh.” Oscar paused to consider that.
