Chapter Four #2
But there were plenty of other people in Mission Grove who wouldn’t hesitate to talk to reporters, if for no other reason than for the chance to gossip.
Most of the residents had known him his entire life, and many of them had also met Asher during the Fall Festival.
Cameron didn’t doubt that a few of them would show up in the gossip rags as “anonymous sources.”
“Neither will Luke,” Asher added.
“Lucas McKibbon.” Sitting up, Talon moved to the edge of his chair and reached for his notebook again. “He was there for the Faraday trial?” He said it as a question, but he didn’t wait for an answer. “I need to speak to him.”
Asher’s brow furrowed. “Now?”
“If he’s here. ”
“He is.” His expression didn’t clear, but he did reach into his back pocket to retrieve his cell phone. It took him seconds to type out a message and send it. His phone chirped with a response almost immediately. “He’s on his way.”
A few minutes later, both of the library’s French doors swung open with a dramatic flourish, and Luke sashayed into the room wearing a smirk that tilted one side of his thin lips.
The black sweatpants he wore were at least a size too big, while the soft gray V-neck clung to his slender chest. His sandy brown hair had been artfully tousled, and he’d ditched his contact lenses in favor of a pair of glasses with thick, black, rectangular frames.
Padding barefooted into the library, he stopped beside Talon’s chair and stared down his slender nose at him. Unimpressed with what he saw, if the wrinkle of his nose was any indication, he turned his gaze on Asher and arched one perfect eyebrow.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Actually, I did.” Rising from his seat, Talon extended his hand. “Thank you for coming.”
Luke stared at the proffered hand for several seconds before finally taking it. The contact was brief and awkward, but he didn’t step away when they disengaged. Instead, he tilted his head back, looking up at Talon with a seemingly polite smile that made Cameron nervous, nonetheless .
“What can I do for you?”
Cameron released the breath he’d been holding.
“That is,” Luke continued, “now that you’ve deigned to grace us with your presence.”
Dropping his head, Cameron groaned.
~
Asher knew his friend wasn’t entirely happy that Talon hadn’t dropped everything and rushed to their aid earlier in the week.
He had even threatened to fly to Chicago and drag the PR rep back to Dallas.
At the time, Asher hadn’t thought much of it.
Hell, he’d even found it funny. Luke had always been a bit theatrical, and while he had many virtues, patience wasn’t one of them.
More than once, he had suggested hiring a different firm, or at the very least, a different representative.
Asher had just assumed it was because he didn’t want to wait for Talon to get back into town.
Watching the two men square off now, he had the sinking feeling there was a whole lot more to the story.
Luke’s smile never wavered, but palpable disdain saturated every syllable that left his mouth.
His posture was casual and relaxed, but his eyes narrowed at the corners as he stared up at Talon.
Every few seconds, his hand would twitch at his side, and twice, he swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple bob .
“Uh,” Cameron interjected, “I’m just going to go make more coffee.”
Jumping up from the sofa, he grabbed the half-full carafe from the table, then froze, seeming at a loss for what to do next.
His mouth opened and closed a few times as if he wanted to say something but then thought better of it.
After a few moments of this, he finally gave a jerky nod and started for the doors.
Asher stood as well. Whatever was happening, he instinctively knew he wouldn’t want to be there when it finally came to a head.
“I’ll help you.”
As he passed, however, he slowed enough to catch Luke’s attention. He had the distinct impression that his friend didn’t want an audience, but if Luke looked even remotely uncomfortable, he’d stay.
Luke rolled his eyes and waved him away. “It’s fine.”
Asher glared at Talon, holding his gaze long enough to be considered threatening, then left the library, closing the doors behind him. He’d just caught up to Cameron at the top of the winding staircase when Luke’s voice rang sharply down the hallway.
“Are you fucking kidding me? That’s the first thing you’re going to ask me?”
He and Cameron exchanged glances, shook their heads, then hurried down the steps. Neither of them said anything until they’d reached the relative safety of Asher’s kitchen.
“What the hell was that all about?” Cameron asked, gingerly placing the glass coffee carafe down on the countertop beside the sink.
“No idea,” Asher answered honestly.
“Do they know each other?”
Up until two minutes ago, he would have said no. “Luke never mentioned knowing him.”
Cameron bit down on his bottom lip and glanced upward as if he could see through the ceiling and into the library. “How long do you think we should give them?”
Luke wasn’t the type to keep his feelings to himself, and from the little bit Asher had witnessed, the guy had a lot to say. “It’s probably going to be a while.”
Nodding, Cameron went to the refrigerator and began pulling out various meats and cheeses from the deli drawer.
Next, he opened one of the produce bins and stared into it for a long time before selecting a colorful mixture of vegetables.
Finally, he placed several different jars on the counter and closed the door.
“Cam, what are you doing?”
“You need to eat something,” he said as he crossed the kitchen to the pantry. “You’re out of white bread, but I think there’s a loaf of honey wheat. Oh,” he added, his voice muffled as he rummaged through the shelves, “you also have flatbread. ”
Asher grinned. “The wheat is fine.”
While he was terrible at anything that required more than a spin in the microwave, Asher was perfectly capable of making himself a sandwich. Just like with the coffee and the hot cocoa, however, he understood that Cameron needed to keep busy. He needed to feel useful.
So, instead of arguing with him, he moved around the island, positioning himself to catch Cameron as he turned away from the pantry.
“Oomph,” Cameron wheezed when he walked right into him, trapping the loaf of bread between them. “What the—”
“Thank you,” Asher interrupted, taking Cameron’s face in both hands and tilting his head up so he could look into those icy blue eyes.
“You’re squishing the bread.”
Asher grinned. He didn’t give a damn about the bread. “Thank you,” he repeated. “For everything. I couldn’t do this without you.”
“It’s just a sandwich,” Cameron muttered, his face heating in Asher’s hands.
It was so much more than that, and they both knew it.
Asher bent, sealing their mouths together and teasing those soft lips with his tongue. He smiled when Cameron parted for him on a quiet sigh, then delved inside for a deep, languid kiss he hoped said everything he couldn’t put into words .
Thank you for trusting me.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for not running.
Thank you, Cameron Stone, for just being you.
Ending the kiss, he rested his forehead against Cameron’s and exhaled a shaky breath. “Do you want some help?”
“If I ask you to slice tomatoes, you’re not going to cut your finger off, right?”
Asher chuckled, kissed Cameron’s forehead, then turned away. “I think I can handle it, smartass.”
They worked together in companionable silence, Asher at the cutting board while Cameron assembled the sandwiches. When they’d finished, Cameron looked up at him and sighed.
“Do you think it’s been long enough?”
“Maybe.” He tilted his head, straining to hear anything from the upper floor. “I don’t—”
“Yeah, well, back at you, buddy!” Luke bellowed from the direction of the foyer. There was a long pause, then, “Because you’re an idiot, that’s why! So, you can take your apology and fuck right off with it.”
Another pregnant silence. A grunt. A curse. Then, bare feet slapped against the tiled floor as Luke thundered into the kitchen.
“What?” he demanded when he found them staring at him .
His glasses were a little lopsided. His hair was disheveled, and not in the purposeful way it had been when he’d entered the library. Even more telling, his lips had taken on a pinker hue than usual, and they appeared slightly swollen.
Luke’s eyes narrowed, as if he knew exactly what Asher was thinking, and he was daring him to say something.
Being a fairly intelligent human being with fully intact survival instincts, Asher held up a plate instead and asked, “Hungry?”
“Yes,” Luke growled, marching over and snatching the plate out of his hand. “Thank you.” He sounded no less aggressive. “Talon said you can come back to the library when you’re ready.”
Cameron moved to stand beside Asher, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern. “Luke, is everything okay?”
“Fine.” He bit into his sandwich and chewed savagely.
“Um, do you want to talk about it?”
Luke glared. “No.”
Then, he turned on his heels and stormed out of the room, leaving Asher and Cameron staring after him.