Tris returns, and he looks guilty. “I’m so sorry. I need to go pick up my gran. Her ride home from strip bingo drank too much.” He puts his glass behind the bar and leans over to kiss my cheek. I kiss him back, and I don’t miss the way Marcus watches us. “I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
We stare after him, and my eyes cut to Marcus. He sighs and anxiously taps his fingers on the counter, so I change the subject.
“So, will I be meeting your brother soon?”
Marcus’ shoulders lose a bit of tension. “I hope so. But Sebastian is taking on a lot while I’m down here, so I’m not sure when he’ll have time to make the trip.” He swivels his chair so that he’s facing me, and I do the same, our knees grazing. Now that Tris is gone, he seems a little less jumpy.
“And he doesn’t mind that you make all the big decisions?”
“I’m the one with the business degree. My brother . . . if he could spend all day in the kitchen, he would.”
I fight back a smile at the adoration in Marcus’s tone. He’s obviously very proud of his brother. It makes me a little jealous,to be honest. I’d give anything for someone to love me like that. I’ve always been an afterthought.
Marcus grimaces, and at my questioning look, he says, “It’s just . . . not what I want anymore.”
“What’s not what you want?”
He raises his eyes to mine. They look a little red-rimmed and glassy. “I don’t like all this,” he gestures widely. “Running a business. I started the pub in Vancouver because it was Sebastian’s dream to be a chef, and I had the power to make that happen.”
“Would you rather be running something else?”
Marcus looks down at his empty glass, then places it on the bar with a soft clink. “No,” he says, shaking his head. The warm lights over the bar make his highlights shine almost auburn, and I have the urge to run my hands through his hair. “I just want to live somewhere quiet. Peaceful.” He looks so tired all of a sudden, like the world is weighing him down. “I don’t want to do this anymore—be the boss.” He glances up at me. “Don’t get me wrong, I worked hard to get here, and I’m good at it, but it doesn’t make me happy. Maybe it never has.”
“You have the money,” I say quietly. “Why don’t you leave?”
His expression hardens as he raises his brown eyes to mine. “I can’t. Not yet, anyway.”
I want to ask more, but the change in his demeanor suggests he’s done talking on this topic. I stand and stretch. “Well, I should get going. Thank you for the opportunity. And the drink.”
Marcus nods. “Let me walk you out.”
CHAPTER FIVE
MARCUS
Outside, the air is crisp and Seattle is alive with streetlights and car horns.
“Which way are you going?” Jeremy asks.
I point vaguely to the right. The alcohol is buzzing in my system. I’m not drunk, but the whisky, coupled with talking about my brother and my hopes for the future, has put me in a sour mood. I don’t know why I unloaded all that on Jeremy. I’ve never told anyone about my desire to leave the pubs behind.
Jeremy nods. “I’m in that direction too.”
I just nod back, not trusting myself to speak, and we walk along the sidewalk together, a respectable distance between us. Fall leaves scatter around my feet, kicked up by the marine breeze. I feel wetness on my face and squint up into the inky sky.
“I hate mist,” I mutter. “Either rain or don’t. Jesus.”
Jeremy snorts a laugh and pulls up his hood, tucking his hair behind his ears. I peek at him from the corner of my eye. His movements are so elegant that I feel clunky and awkward next to him. But I also can’t stop staring because something about the fluid way he moves is making my dick hard again. Andwhen Jeremy shivers, I have the overwhelming urge to give him my jacket, which is fucking weird.
Just before we reach the entrance to the parking garage, Jeremy stops at a bike rack and digs out his keys, unlocking a red and blue e-bike from the rack.
I watch him doubtfully as the mist turns into a steady drizzle. “You’re riding home in this?”
“It’s fall in the Pacific Northwest, Marcus. I’m used to the rain.”
“It’s dark out.”
“I’m not going that far.” He fastens his helmet.
