Chapter 13 #2
He hated having fights he wasn’t prepared for, hated knowing there was no getting out of facing her anger and disappointment—Sami’s round, glittering eyes caught him before he spiraled. It was the same way he had looked at Baz earlier, when he told him about his shit day.
Baz’s heart settled down. Whatever happened next, maybe this was worth it.
Aya would understand, or she wouldn’t, but she was a good person. She always had Baz’s back. Whatever she thought of him right now wouldn’t override six years of friendship. Probably. Hopefully.
He made sure his robe belt was still secure—much as Aya was the closest thing to a best friend he ever had, they did not have the kind of relationship in which either of them would appreciate Baz flashing her—and followed the rapid taps of her foot to the kitchen.
Her arms were crossed. She wore an expression that screamed one wrong step and I’ll slap you with my shoe.
Though her heels were by the door and out of reach, Baz stayed on the other side of the kitchen island, just in case.
“I’m sorry I bailed on you tonight. I promise I’ll make it up to you. Can we talk tomorrow—”
“I can see how sorry you are,” Aya spat. “Here I was thinking Baz Hadley has to be on his deathbed to ever miss work and not pick up his phone, all while you’re cuddling the opposition.”
“We weren’t cuddling.” They just happened to be too lazy to move apart, and—Aya didn’t know about that, so who was he making excuses to? Now he truly felt that migraine coming on.
He fetched a mug from the drying rack and fired up the coffee machine. God knew he needed his brain at full capacity right now.
“You promised me there was nothing going on between you! How could you be so stupid? Have you stopped for one second to consider that this is a trap?”
That one, Baz knew the answer to. “I have, actually. But Sami is more than his job. He hasn’t tried to snoop around once, we don’t talk about the case, and trust me, I always knew exactly where his hands were the entire time.
It’s just sex.” Great one at that, but Baz had enough sense to not say that out loud.
Aya shook her head. “This is the dumbest thing you have ever done.”
“She’s right, you’re an idiot,” Sami shouted from the bedroom.
Why? Why did he feel the need to do this?
“You’re not a part of this conversation, Sami.”
“Don’t have it so loudly then.”
Seriously? How was he supposed to portray Sami as a somewhat reasonable person when he insisted on showing his worst side?
“Can you believe that guy?”
Aya looked as though there were plenty of things she couldn’t believe, and Sami’s attitude was low on that list; her mouth hung open, her eyebrows drew together in horror.
“Good god. You like him.”
What?!
“No!” He lowered his voice, checked Sami wasn’t lingering behind him to hear this. “I mean, have you met him? He’s hot, but also rude a-and selfish! And you know what he’s done in the past.”
“You’ve just described yourself.”
“Hey!”
“It’s true. He sounds like a weird lovechild of you and Ian.”
The words made Baz cringe. The thought of a pregnant Ian naked in his bed… he needed to pour a bottle of bleach over his brain to forget that image right now.
“If you wanted to put me off having sex with him ever again, congrats, that will have done it.” He snatched the steaming mug and took a deep breath. Not even the sweet, nutty smell of coffee encouraged his brain to come up with a strategy on how to undo the damage.
“Oh, no, Aya, did you break him?” That was Sami, sauntering in fully dressed. “I worked so hard on housetraining him.”
Baz would have been more bothered by the implication that he was a dog and Sami was calling the shots—which he wasn’t—if it wasn’t for what the hell he was wearing.
“That’s my shirt!”
The Herringbone fabric was perfectly ironed, for starters, something he had never seen on Sami. Not to mention it hung loosely around his much narrower shoulders.
Sami glanced down at himself as if he had forgotten about the theft already. “Yeah. I had to change. What would the neighbors think?”
“You’ve been here for less than an hour, they wouldn’t think anything.” Nor did Baz care if they did. He couldn’t pick one of them out of a lineup if his life depended on it.
“Exactly. How would they know we hooked up if I leave wearing the same thing? Don’t worry, I’ll return it next time.”
“You’re unbelievable.” It was the only word that came close to describing the unfathomable gumption Sami had to invite himself into Baz’s life and take whatever he wanted. What did it say about Baz that he let him?
“Aw, thank you. Ooh, coffee.”
Sami’s thigh bumped the edge of the kitchen counter, yet his face didn’t betray any sign of pain, as if he was used to it. That would explain all the bruises on his leg.
He stole the mug out of Baz’s hands, drank half of it in one go. Clumsy and audacious.
“Would you like that to go?” Baz deadpanned.
And Sami laughed like the piece of shit parading as a human being he was. “No, I can finish it here.”
And finish it he did, in one gulp. He slammed the mug on the counter with a sigh.
“Anyway. Always good seeing you, Aya. That suit looks amazing on you. Green is your color. Oh, and.” He patted Baz’s shoulder. “Please don’t give him too much of a hard time. I really didn’t give him much of a choice.”
That was a lie. Sami had given him more of a choice than ever by announcing his intent to come by, and Baz hadn’t hesitated for one second about what he would do.
Sami plastered a wet kiss on his cheek. His hand brushed over Baz’s backside. “Bye.”
Just like that? Did he have a ride arranged to get home or would he wander around the streets this late by himself?
“Sami, wait—”
The door slammed shut, sending the side table next to it rattling. Right. Well, Sami had never had any trouble getting home before. Although tonight, Baz had thought that, maybe, he wouldn’t have minded staying.
“You are in so much trouble,” Aya said. Baz spun toward her. Why? What would she do?
“Please don’t tell Erika! This means nothing. Just… a lapse in judgment, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Aya echoed. “Baz, if this gets out, if anyone has any reason to believe your personal relationship to Ian’s associate has affected the case, Erika will fire you.
You are this close to getting everything you ever wanted.
” Not even a piece of paper could fit between her index finger and thumb.
“Are you gonna give that up for Sami Adam?”
Of course not. Making partner in a prestigious law firm was all he had cared about since one of Jack’s many rants about how much he hated lawyers. But Sami, the mystery he was, the side he had shown of himself today… but the case! But…
Aya raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. The path of least resistance wasn’t one Baz was familiar with, but he jumped on it now. He drew a deep breath to alleviate the dull pressure against his chest.
“No. You’re right. This is stupid. I don’t know what got into me.”
“Oh, I know exactly what got into you.”
“I was in him, actually.”
Aya’s face squeezed together with a soul-felt groan. “I don’t want to hear the details!”
She had asked. Sort of.
“Sorry.”
Shaking her head, she eyed him up and down once more. “You need to get your shit together, Baz, because whatever this thing between you two is, I don’t think you have any control over it.”
That, she was wrong about. Baz had control. He had a choice. He’d love to be able to claim he had made the wrong one, but… Could anyone kiss like that if they didn’t mean it?
“If I ever catch you skipping out on work again to sleep with your lover, I will twist your balls off.” With that, she marched off. The door slammed shut. The footsteps grew fainter.
Baz’s legs wobbled. He collapsed, forearms first, onto the cool marble counter and buried his face in his hands. Tonight had not meant to end like this! Aya was mad, and god knew what Sami was thinking. This was one huge mess, and it spelled Baz’s name.
He should hit the emergency brake and end things with Sami before it came to bite him in the ass. His treacherous heart whined at the thought. Baz told it to shut up.