Julius pushed open the door to the apartment, and I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Jackson was still with me before stepping inside. The same leather couch, the kitchenette, the view north over the old part of the city. But there were small things that hadn’t been there before. A plant on the windowsill. A crocheted throw, folded over the arm of the couch. A candle on the counter, unlit but present. Little deliberate things that said someone had thought about it.
“We didn’t know exactly what you’d need,” Julius said from the doorway, “so we thought about what we would want. If anything’s off, we can fix it.”
“Nothing’s off,” I said. “It’s perfect.”
He nodded like it was no big deal, but I could see he was pleased. His gaze moved past me to where Jackson had set my bag down by the bedroom door. Something quickly passed across his face, but he moved on without comment, and for Julius, that restraint was a minor act of heroism.
“There’s a lasagna on the counter. I figured you hadn’t had a chance to eat much today. If I’m wrong and you did, just slide it in the fridge for tomorrow,” Mika said.
“We didn’t dare stop, which means I haven’t eaten yet, so thank you,” I said.
Jackson placed his hand on my back and looked down at me. “I need to go up and talk with Wolfe for a little bit. I’m sure you three have plenty to get caught up on.”
He wasn’t wrong; we did have plenty to talk about, but I didn’t want him to leave. I understood he had to, though, so I just nodded and turned to Mika and Julius. “Do you two want to eat some lasagna?”
He was almost to the door before I called out to him. “Jackson, will you be back?”
“If you want me to come back, I will.”
I gave him a nod, and he smiled at me before walking out the door.
Mika and Julius had both already eaten, but Mika practically shoved me into a chair and put a plate of lasagna in front of me. “Eat it. We can talk after.”
I did as he said. When I finished, I turned to him. “I don’t know if I was just super hungry or what, but that might be one of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten.”
“It’s the adrenaline. It either makes you hungry or horny… or both.” Julius raised one eyebrow in question.
“You want to know about Jackson,” I said.
“Unless you’d rather tell us all about the horrible week you’ve had,” he replied.
I didn’t even have to give it any thought. “God no. Not tonight, anyway.”
“Well, we’ll be here whenever you’re ready to talk about it.” Mika reached over and patted my leg.
“Buuut,” Julius said. “If we aren’t going to talk about that…”
“I didn’t even know his first name was Jackson until you said it. How wild is that?” Mika said.
“I know.” Julius nodded. “I’ve never heard anyone call him anything but Crowe. So tell us all about it, Noah. What’s the thing with you and Jackson? I mean, come on, the way he looked at you before he left”—he fanned himself— “talk about heat.”
“If we’re going to talk about this, I think we need wine,” Mika announced. “Luckily, I put a bottle in the fridge for just such a time as this.”
A few minutes later, we were all sitting in the living room sipping our wine.
“So, Julius, how are things at the salon?” I asked.
“Oh no, we’re not doing that. You’re going to tell us what’s up between you and that hunky man, so spill it.”
I exhaled. “I don’t know what it is.” I turned the wine glass slowly between my palms. “He kissed me.” I paused. “That’s it. We got interrupted by those men.”
Julius gasped. “No way. Talk about rude timing.”
That was one of the things I liked best about Julius. He always knew how to make me laugh. “Right! They could’ve waited until we were done to try to kidnap me again.”
“It was the least they could’ve done.”
I took in a deep breath. “Seriously, though, I just don’t know if it’s real or if it’s… I don’t know, the situation, I guess.”
