Kodi patted his shoulder gently. “Make sure you don’t hurt Kari. His heart is as soft as marshmallow.”
It was said quietly, but Kodi knew Kari would hear. He swallowed a sigh of frustration when a wide-eyed Bowie looked at Kari and then at Kodi, who disappeared down the corridor, whistling.
Asshole.Kari knew Kodi thought he was being helpful, making him face his feelings. His brother was far more intuitive than many gave him credit for.
“Come in, Bowie. I’m just about ready to leave.” Any hope Bowie would just pass off Kodi’s comment as him being his usual self died when he stepped into the office, frowning.
“What does he mean, don’t hurt you? Have I donesomething wrong?”
The trembling chin did Kari in every time and forced him to come to a quick decision. “Shall we go out for dinner to the gourmet burger place you were interested in trying? We can talk there…away from work.”
The nod, when it came, was measured, anxiety rolling off Bowie.
Kari could give him reassurances, but until they talked, they’d be pointless, so he held in a sigh and guided Bowie out of the office.
It will be fine. It will be fine.
Then why did it feel like he was about to jump off a cliff with no safety net?
Chapter Seventeen
Bowie
Bowie followed behind Kari, barely making a sound, his mind too full of thoughts about the fact they were about to have a meal in a restaurant.
In public.
Reaching their table, Kari pulled out a seat before the server could do it and waited for Bowie to sit before easing the chair closer to the table.
Wide eyed, Bowie glanced about the restaurant, unsure if this was a wise decision. Wouldn’t folks get the wrong idea? All he could see were couples surrounding them.
The place was way more upmarket than any burger joints he’d ever been in. In fact, as far as he could tell, this wasn’t really like any place he’d eaten in before, outside of work occasions. The tables all had checkered cloths and were very much laid out like an old-fashioned American diner. Dayglo signs and sixties car memorabilia decorated the walls and a jukebox in the corner played sixties swing music. It was brightly lit, yet there was anintimacy to the table placements, with a decent gap between them to prevent it feeling overcrowded or that anyone was encroaching on their space. It made it blatantly obvious to Bowie that this was a place folks went on a date. Not a work type thing.
He didn’t say this was about work.
Bowie bit his thumbnail at how he’d missed that, and his animal half had once more picked up on what he hadn’t.
This was all really confusing. What did Kodi mean with his comment about him hurting Kari? Had he somehow revealed that he sometimes pretended there was more between them?
Ask Kari.
I tried that, and here we are.
Bowie worried at the side of the nail, glancing about once more. The only people he’d ever gone out in public with, when it wasn’t a work thing, were the other PAs. Although after the visit to the sex club Frey had orchestrated, Bowie had avoided the last couple of trips out. He saw way more than he’d wanted to that night and ended up drinking cocktails to block out the reality of Jupiter having stuff done to him… in public! Bowie didn’t need to see Jupiter’s body parts. No, he most definitely didn’t want that.
Kari, on the other hand…
Bowie felt the sweat gather on his upper lip at what he’d imagined since Kari was in his home. His place smelled so good, and try as he might to shut off sexy types of thoughts, which had no business being in his head when Kari was being so wonderful to him, Bowie was really struggling as the weeks slipped by and Kari made no decision to leave.
Kari’s behavior made Bowie feel certain things. Things he hadn’t felt with Rex. Things that were more connected to relationships, or so he thought from what he witnessed between Hollis and Taylin. Except thinking—feeling—like that, was it taking advantage of how lovely Kari was to him, all the time?
He wasn’t in a relationship, no matter what it felt like. Bowie told himself he needed to behave, shut out those types of feelings. Only his animal side didn’t agree they were doing anything wrong with pretending there was more between them than friendship. Especially when Kari was doing all the wonderful things that made Bowie deep down happy.
“What would you like to try?” Kari questioned, his gaze on the menu he held as a server hovered at his elbow.
Blushing right to the roots of his hair at being caught losing track of what was going on around him, Bowie grabbed for the menu and went with the first thing he read. “The gourmet burger, please.”
Kari glanced from his menu to Bowie, frowning. “Are you sure? It’s got onions on it, and ranch sauce.”
