“Yeah. It’s in an okay part of town, but the ballroom is small, and their food isn’t anything to write home about. It’s gonna be interesting to hear what the buzz is tomorrow. I don’t think there’ll be any joy in Muddville. This Le Roi is going cheap, and the boys have gotten used to Charlemagne’s way of doing things…Do you feel all right, babe?”
“Sure. Why?”
“You’ve been rubbing your chest since we got in the cab. You’re too young to have a heart attack.” I gave him a look. “You’d better be too young to have a heart attack. If you die on me, Matheson, I’ll kill you.”
“I’m not having a heart attack, Theo.” He gave that half grin that made me want to jump his bones.
“That’s good. So what’s with your chest? Indigestion?”
“Oh.” He smiled. “Is that what your anxiety is about? No. Actually, I wasn’t rubbing my chest. It was the pendant you gave me, Theo. I’ve been touching it all day to remind myself of how lucky I am to have found you.”
“You like it?”
“I love it, babe. And I love what you had engraved on the back of it. ”
I breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed his hand.
“We’re here, Mac.”
Wills paid the driver, and we got out.
The Bee’s Knees was already crowded. Not only was it Valentine’s Day and they had a live band dressed in loincloths, wings and quivers, but it was a Friday night as well.
“I see a table over there. I’ll get it, and you get the drinks.”
“Good idea. I think I’ll have a White Russian tonight. Strawberry daiquiri, babe?”
“Sure.” Again I watched my lover’s ass as he made his way to the bar. Choice. Very choice. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw me watching him. A smile curled his lips, and he touched his chest.
God, I was so lucky.
And so happy I could have done back flips across the room to the empty table. Before I could turn and head for it, I noticed a couple who appeared to be on their way out approaching him. One of the men said something and extended his hand. He looked familiar, but as much as I searched my mind, I couldn’t think where I’d seen him.
With him was another man who wore tinted, wire-rimmed glasses. The ultimate preppy, he was cute, in a geeky kind of way, and he looked at his companion as if the sun rose and set on him.
Wills grinned at the first man and shook his hand. His expression when he turned to the second man was cool.
I’d ask Wills about it when he got to the table. I turned and bumped into someone who was passing by. “Whoops. Sorry.”
“Sweetcheeks?”
“John?”
“My God, it is you! You’re looking fabulous! How have you been?”
“Good, thanks. And you?”
“Marvelous!”
“You know this man, John?”
John turned pale and swallowed. “Yes. He’s a…a business acquaintance.”
“You must be—” I started.
“Bradford! This is Bradford.” I cut a glance at John, and he gave a weak smile.
“—a friend of John’s.” I switched my words smoothly. “Bradford. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Theo.” I held out my hand.
“He called you ‘Sweetcheeks.'” He barely shook my hand and released it as soon as he could.
“An old nickname.” I studied Bradford carefully. A couple of inches shorter than John, he had strawberry blond hair and pale blue eyes.
His brows beetled. “And how do you know John?”
John’s eyes were panicked. He was average-looking, but his partner was breathtaking. Bradford couldn’t be that insecure in his relationship, could he?
I remembered John telling me that Bradford hadn’t believed in paying for sex. I also knew that Bradford was the first relationship he’d ever had with a non-professional. It made sense that he’d want to keep that aspect of his past securely in his past.
“He was my real estate agent.”
“Yes, I was his…uh…I helped him find his house. Years ago. A lot of years ago.”
“You never told me.”
“It was before we met. A long time before we met. There was no need to mention him.” John’s expression couldn’t have been guiltier if he’d tried.
“I was under the impression that John hadn’t come out until after his father passed away a number of years ago, yet you don’t seem surprised to see him with a man.”
“Bradford, this is a gay bar. It might be stereotyping, but I’d expect anyone I saw in here to be gay, or at least bi. And besides, I have very good gaydar.”
“Then you and John never—”
“No. We were never lovers,” I said.
John cleared his throat. “So, er…how did things turn out with the house…uh…Theo? Are you happy with it?”
“Very much so. I wound up having one of the fireplaces opened.”
“Really?” For the first time he grinned. “That must have made Walter very happy.”
“Yeah. Wally got to say, ‘I told you so.'” I turned to my former client’s lover. “The house had fireplaces up the yin yang, but they had all been sealed off, and my architect thought it would be a good idea to open every one of them.”