4. James
JAMES
Isank back against the wall as a handsome middle-aged man entered the room. He wore a charcoal-gray suit over a black shirt and walked with authority, like the CEO of a multinational corporation. His hair was artificially silver, and a small gold hoop dangled from his right ear.
He strode right past William and offered his hand to Enrique. “Your home is beautiful. Thank you for letting us crash the party. I promise this won’t take long.”
Enrique shook his hand. “Do you want a drink or something?”
“No, thank you, just a quick word alone with William, please.”
I started to follow Enrique out of the room, but I froze when William’s eyes landed on me.
“Stay,” he said.
He was probably talking to Enrique, but I stayed, too, unable to ignore the tremor of fear in his voice.
The silver-haired man let out a rumbly, throaty laugh. “Really? You’d think if anyone would want a witness present, it’d be me. I’m only doing this as a favor to your father, you know. He thought it would be a good idea if you and Derek were seen together before tomorrow’s announcement.”
“What announcement?” William asked.
“This is obviously going to stir up old wounds. How could it not? Your father just wants to get ahead of the story. I doubt it will work, but you never know.”
“Ahead of what story?”
The door flew open before the man could answer, and Andy Chapman and Ryan Ashbury came sprinting in.
“I know why Derek’s here, Ryan just—” Andy stopped dead when he saw the silver-haired man, who was smiling like the Cheshire Cat.
“No one’s told you yet, have they?” The man swept his gaze over our blank stares. “Well, let me do the honors, then. Derek has agreed to play Travis in your father’s upcoming movie. While he doesn’t normally take supporting roles, he’s decided to make an exception this one time.”
My jaw dropped. He was talking about my movie, the one based on my brother’s memoir.
The glass slipped from William’s fingers and bounced several times, drenching the wooden floor in amber liquid. “Derek and I are going to play brothers?”
William was right to be stunned. Getting Derek Hall and William Chapman to star in another movie together was like getting Kanye West and Taylor Swift to co-host the Grammys.
“You know, if you hadn’t tried to kill my number-one client, I might actually feel sorry for you right now,” the silver-haired man said. “Did your father honestly not tell you that they offered the role of Jimmy to Ryan?”
“I’m sorry, Will,” Ryan said, stepping forward. “I was trying to tell you earlier. I didn’t want to take it, but this is my chance to make the switch to movies, and—”
“It’s okay, Ryan. Don’t worry about it.” William’s voice was flat and colorless.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Ryan Ashbury was going to play me in the movie? My nephew, Theo, was going to flip. The kid was only Ashbury’s number-one fan.
“Don’t you think Ryan and Derek will look great on screen together?” the silver-haired man said. “They’ll be the hottest duo since, well, since the Hollow Point boys.”
I glanced back at William, and a brick of guilt settled in my stomach. His face was so still it hurt to look at.
“This isn’t about you, William. Don’t be selfish,” the silver-haired man said. “You’d have destroyed this movie, and you know it. But look on the bright side. This is still a big first step for you, and all you have to do is go out there and shake Derek’s hand.”
William’s sharp jaw protruded as if he were clenching his teeth.
“This brings me no pleasure, William. You must know that. I can only imagine how you’re feeling right now.
But actions have consequences, and it’s going to take time—a lot of time.
The healing process has to start somewhere, though, right?
So why not here? Why not now? Who knows, maybe in another ten years things will be different. ”
William still didn’t move, and neither did anyone else. Why wasn’t anyone rushing to comfort him?
“Let me clean this up,” I said, desperate to do something. I set the tray of glasses down, removed the towel from my arm, and crouched to mop up the mess at William’s feet.
When I finished, I glanced up and found William’s dark eyes staring down at me with wonder.
He exhaled softly, then lifted his gaze back to the silver-haired man. “What do you want me to do?”
“Just shake Derek’s hand and walk away. Derek is not interested in being your friend again.
And it was never more than friendship, William.
You know that now, don’t you? In fact, friendship isn’t even the right word for what you two had.
It was more like he thought of you as an annoying little cousin. ”
William glanced at the closed door. “Is he out there right now?”
“He’s waiting in the car, but I’ll text him and have him come up.”
The others left to greet Derek and set the stage for the epic reunion, but William and the guy he’d come with—Miles—stayed behind with the silver-haired man.
“That’s an interesting shirt you’re wearing,” the man said to William. “Bit of advice, though. Maybe don’t try so hard. If you want to get a boyfriend, you have to play hard to get.”
“Shut the fuck up, Tony,” Miles said, placing his huge, muscular body between the man and William. “That shirt’s rad. And for your information, Will’s already got a boyfriend, and he’s a million times hotter than Derek.”
“I’ll admit, you’re very handsome,” Tony said with a bemused smile. “But—”
“Not me. I’m Will’s roommate and personal trainer.”
Tony turned his smile on William. “You live with your personal trainer? That’s adorable.”