Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103033 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
“I think that’s a fantastic promise,” I said. “You can’t have too many friends.”
We stepped to the side as more people arrived, and I reckoned we should find a table soon. Cam waved to me from across the area, and I smiled and waved back. He looked much happier these days, and that made me happy too. Unrequited love was painful. Thankfully, it’d been more a case of Lucian getting out of a bad relationship and slowly becoming ready for Cam. I’d witnessed their interactions online, and I had a feeling they were set for life now with their foursome.
I turned back to Gael and—
“Joshua?”
That voice.
I spun around and came face-to-face with Dean for the first time in probably four years. Holy shit. I mean, I’d known it was only a matter of time before we ran into each other again, especially since he was a Mclean member, but goddamn. He was still a sight for sore eyes.
“Dean. Fuck, it’s been a while.” I couldn’t help it; I lit right up, and I took an automatic step forward.
He smiled warmly and shook my hand, and he gave my bicep a squeeze. “Much too long. How are you?”
“I’m great. You? Last I heard, you were teaching at some fancy university on the West Coast.”
He chuckled. “I was at Stanford, yes. I came back before the holidays.”
Amazing. It felt so fucking good to see him again. Not much had changed. He was still the epitome of handsome, charismatic history professor. Which reminded me—Gael would like him too.
“You should meet—” I cut myself off when I glanced around me and didn’t see Gael anywhere. What the fuck? “He was just here.” I looked across the terrace. It’d filled up nicely since we’d arrived, and I was sure one of the founding members would take the metaphorical stage soon.
“Who?” Dean wondered.
“Gael,” I said. “It’s this sweet boy I’m helping out—long story—but he seems to have vanished.” I had to go look for him.
“Ah. Would that be a Gael Grimes, by any chance?”
I looked back to Dean. “So you know him?”
He smiled ruefully. “I believe it’s me he’s hiding from. He’s in one of my classes—and he hides there too.”
I frowned, confused as fuck.
“Macklin’s trying to play matchmaker,” he elaborated. “Gael is evidently interested in history, so Macklin encouraged him to sign up for my class in hopes I’d…I don’t know. The boy’s been reading too many romance novels.” The boy in question would be Macklin, then. Dean’s brother-in-law. “If he wanted me to notice Gael, he’s first and foremost late to the party, but he picked the wrong approach. I’d never do anything inappropriate with a student—besides, I’m much too old for him.” He didn’t seem too happy to admit that last part. “I love his spirit online, though. I’ve observed him in the history group on the Mclean forum.”
Weren’t we a pair? It was funny because this wasn’t the first time Dean and I had shown interest in the same sub.
“I’m actually here today mostly to find him,” Dean admitted. “I read the attendance list online this morning and saw his name. I don’t want him to hide from me.”
I felt my forehead wrinkle some more. “I find it weird that he thought he could.”
“Eighty-four students.” Dean weighed his response. “I’m sure he thought he could blend in and that I wouldn’t react solely on his name. Which I didn’t at first—I’ll give him that. But once I saw him, I knew I’d seen him somewhere else. He was at a wine mixer that Macklin hosted here before the holidays.”
I nodded and eyed my surroundings again. Well, he couldn’t have gotten far— I cocked my head, noticing Kit in the doorway. He was speaking in a hushed voice, and whoever he was with didn’t wanna come out.
“I think I know where we can find him.” I gestured at the doorway. Gael wouldn’t have many spots to hide in there. The third floor had a sealed-off area with a few smaller dining rooms that Macklin rarely used, and other than that, it was just a bathroom marked with a private sign, a service elevator, and the landing by the stairs. At most, some lost patron wandered up here and wondered where the hell they were.
Dean and I trailed over to the door, and it only took Kit a couple seconds to spot us. He widened his eyes, then blurted out, “Abandon ship, every man for himself!” and ran off.
Fucking hell, I’d missed being around Littles.
“Kit!” I heard Gael whisper-yell.
Dean and I exchanged a grin before I poked my head through the doorway, and there he was, hugging the wall by the service elevator.
“Hey, little one,” I said casually. “You hidin’ from someone?”
He winced and bit at his thumbnail. “Maybe?”
Excellent timing for Dean to walk through the door and reveal himself to Gael.