“Maybe you can answer that, White Bread.”
He scowled at Tim. “If Theo didn’t care about you so much, Reddy, I’d have no problem…” There was a minute pause. “…hating your guts,” he finished smoothly. “Call me Matheson. Call me Wills or William. But call me White Bread one more time, and by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be singing soprano.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” They were ready to square off against each other.
No, Wills definitely didn’t look ridiculous.
“Stop it, the two of you.” I jumped to my feet and crossed the kitchen to my lover. I’d think about what Vincent had said later, when we were home. “I’m crying because I’m happy you didn’t cheat on me.” I put my arms around him and hugged him tight. “I love you, Wills,” I whispered in his ear.
“Theo.” His arms went around me. “Then it wasn’t a dream?”
“No. I…” I kissed the right corner of his mouth. “…love…” I kissed the left corner. “…you.” I kissed his mouth and sighed into it as he opened for me.
Somewhere in the background I heard a faint chuckle. “Didn’t I say someone was a little over-emphatic about wanting a certain someone out of his life?”
Finally the kiss ended, and Wills rested his cheek against mine, his erection nudging mine. “We should get dressed. We’ll miss rush hour traffic in DC, but it’s still gonna be a drive.”
“We don’t have to leave yet. I called Vincent…”
“What? Oh, my fucking God, why?” Just like that, his erection was gone.
“I wanted you to have tomorrow off. I told him you’d been on the go since yesterday morning.”
“Oh, Jesus. He’s gonna think I can’t deal with a long day.”
“Wills, twelve hours is a long day. Thirty-one hours is two and a half long days.”
“Doesn’t matter. I have to go in tomorrow. I have a meeting with him.”
I waved it aside. “He said he’ll talk to Ms. DiNois about rescheduling your appointments. Oh, and you have the weekend off.”
He raised his head and looked into my eyes. “That’s a good thing. I’m gonna be pretty busy.”
“Yeah?” I brought his cheek back to mine. He needed a shave, but I savored the mild abrasion. “You have something in mind?”
“Mmm hmm. I need to pick up some spackle and repair that hole you put in the wall.”
“Sweets put a hole in the wall?” It was Tim, sitting at the table, Miss Su on his lap, her eyes closed in evident bliss as he stroked her long fur.
“You still here, Reddy? And don’t call him that.”
He held out his arms. “It’s ma place. Where else would Ah be?” He turned his attention back to me. “Babe?”
“And don’t call him that either.”
Tim didn’t respond to that, just continued to watch me and pet Miss Su.
“I…uh…I lost my temper when I read the card that came with the flowers and threw the vase against the wall.”
“You lost your temper, Swe—” He caught Wills’s glare and cleared his throat. “—Theo? You left that out when you told me about the roses and the card.” I hunched a shoulder. “Y’know, in all the time I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you lose your temper.”
I could feel a blush climb to my hairline, and mumbled, “Well, I did yesterday.”
“Hmm.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Wills crossed his arms over his chest, his expression cold and flat.
“Whoa! Take it easy, tough guy.” I ran my palm up and down his arm. “That’s just Tim.”
“What it means, Matheson, is that you must mean a lot to…Theo, whether he’s told you or not.”
Wills relaxed. “Fair enough. He means a lot to me too.”
“You’d better not break his heart.”
“That’s the last thing I’d want to do.”
“All right then. Why don’t you two get dressed and have dinner with us? Thursday’s always a slow night. I’ll get a couple of friends to take care of the Pub for us for a few hours, and we can all go to The Good Ship Anne.”
“Babe?” Now that the excitement was all over, I was starving, and it sounded good to me, but I’d go along with whatever Wills preferred to do.
“Thanks, Reddy, but I’ve been in my clothes for the past day and a half, and I don’t think any decent restaurant would let me through their doors.”
“You can wear my clothes, Wills. I’ve got an extra pair of jeans and a shirt.” I liked the idea of him wearing my clothes.
“That’s a little casual for The Good Ship Anne, and I don’t think anything of mine or Cris’s would fit you. We can go to Ruby Tuesday’s or Applebee’s instead, if that’s all right with you?”
“Sure. I need a shower, though. I must be a little ripe.”
“No, you’re not!” I protested.
“Thanks, babe. You have to say that, though.”
“Oh, yeah? Why is that?”
He leaned against me and smiled through his lashes at me. “You love me.”