Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
NATHAN
I open one eye to discover low light from the window and an empty spot beside me in bed. I reach over and rub my hand against the cold sheet where Colt had been when I fell asleep. The whole evening comes flooding back into my mind. Work. The hospital. Colt doting over me all night.
Shit. The fundraiser .
I reach for my phone and wince when I see the time. Four-thirty? I check to be sure I got the PM part right. Yep, I’d slept through an entire day. What did they put in those pills?
As I untangle myself from the sheets, I spot a sheet of paper on my nightstand.
Nathan—
You needed the rest. Don’t argue with me.
There’s an alarm set on your phone for 5 PM, and I’ll call you then to make sure you’re up.
Don’t worry about anything. Just get ready and head to the venue. I’ll see you there.
Colt
There’s a heart at the bottom of the note, and I swear my heart flutters. I briefly consider crawling back in bed for a few more minutes, but my curiosity over how things are going at the hotel gets the best of me.
I shower and drink the bottle of electrolytes sitting on the bathroom counter with my name on it. Eventually, I find my tux in the garment bag at the back of my closet. I lay it on my bed and start unzipping it when my phone rings. I grab it and grin when I see Colt’s name on the screen. “Hey.”
“Good, you’re up.”
“You know I’m mad at you, right?” My tone doesn’t have any of the heat of my words. “I expected to wake up with you next to me. Not sleep all day by myself.”
“Yeah, well, I might be mad at my boyfriend for working himself into the hospital.”
“Technically, I wasn’t in the hospital. Just the Emergency Room.”
“It counts.” I can imagine the serious expression on his face as he tells me. I have a feeling that I’ll have some groveling to do over the next few weeks.
“You’re still coming, right?” The note Colt left didn’t feel like a breakup note, but I also don’t know why he left in the first place. Last night he’d barely been willing to let me take a piss by myself. Some things don’t require supervision.
“I wouldn’t miss it. I get to see you in a tuxedo.”
“I see why you’re attending.”
“No, I’m attending so that I can strip you out of the tux as soon as the night’s over.”
“Promises, promises.” My cock perks up at the suggestion.
“Get ready. I’ll see you soon.”
I hang up and dress quickly. Most years, I spend the entire day at the hotel with my team. I’m sure they aren’t expecting me to pitch in all day, but I feel guilty for leaving them to work on it alone. After a few tweaks in the mirror, I hop in my car and head for downtown.
As usual, no one in the lobby looks twice as I approach the ballroom. The signage and decorations look perfect. I hope our staff made the inside look just as lovely. I start planning what I might need to do to ensure everything gets the proper finishing touches in—I glance at my watch—for the next twenty-three minutes.
I push through the doors, and my jaw drops. The place looks incredible. All the centerpieces are arranged perfectly, and the other flowers are placed around the room as planned. The staff has the tables set up with more elegance than I remember us having in past years, including somehow making the donation envelopes look fancy. Even the tiny stage looked perfect. I turn my head toward the voices at the side of the room and spot several of our staff members and Colt.
He looks delicious in his tux. The shirt’s top buttons are still undone, and he hasn’t put his tie on yet. His ass is perfect, though, and he fills out the trousers perfectly. He isn’t the only one with plans for tonight. Thankfully, I thought ahead and booked us a room.
“There he is!” Colt gives me a huge grin and waves me over. I start toward them, and he meets me halfway. “How are you?” He keeps his voice low so that no one else can hear.
“Okay. A bit overwhelmed at how this room looks.” He snakes a hand around my waist and pulls me close to him, nuzzling against me.
“You aren’t dizzy or anything, though?” He runs his hands over my shoulders and arms. His face is tight with worry, and the guilt hits me again.
“I’m better. Honest. The whole day of sleep seems to have done its job.” That and the chicken soup he fed me for dinner.
“You promise to let me know if you need a break tonight? We can always find somewhere to get some air or sit down for a few minutes.” He inspects me—that’s the only way I can describe it—looking me up and down from head to toe.
“I promise. Now let’s go see what we can do to help.” All the attention is a bit much.
“Nothing,” Victoria says as she and some of the other staff come closer.
“Nothing? Everything’s ready to go?”
“Yeah, thanks to Colt. We’ve checked everything off the checklist.”
I give Colt a questioning look. How did I get so lucky?
“And then checked to be sure nothing was left off the checklist.” Victoria smiles and nods toward the rest of the group.
“How long have you been here?”
“Not that long.” Colt’s face flushed.
“He’s been here all day. I think he was the first one on site this morning. He’s a real taskmaster, but at least he brought doughnuts.”
Fuck . No one has ever done something like this for me before. My eyes well up with tears that I manage to hold back. “You did this for me?”
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to rest if things weren’t taken care of here.”
I pull him into a kiss that I hope conveys everything I’m feeling right now. Colt slips his tongue into my mouth, and I pull him closer, slotting myself in so there’s no space between us. Mine . Colt is mine.
“Yes, yes, your boyfriend is wonderful,” Victoria says.
Someone else calls out, “Get a room.”
I pull away, panting heavily and resting my forehead against his. “Later?” I whisper close to his ear. He nods, but I swear I hear a slight whimper.
COLT
The night runs smoothly, which is as much of a shock to me as anyone else. It feels strange being on the other side of an event like this. I might not be an employee, but I’d made it clear to everyone that if they needed something or there was a problem, they were to run it past me before they asked Nathan. His color is back to normal, and he seems like his old self, but I’m not ready for him to jump back into everything yet. His system needs time to recover, and we’re not having a repeat of yesterday. All night, I make sure to send any of the waiters with hors d’oeuvres over to him so that he keeps eating. I may also refill his water glass every so often.
Fortunately, all the attendees appear to be enjoying themselves. After checking in with a few people, I grab two flutes of champagne from the bar and find Nathan. He’s engaged in conversations with a few guests, so I hang back for a few moments while they wrap up.
“Feel like celebrating?” I offer him one of the glasses.
“What are we celebrating?” he asks, taking the glass from my hand.
“A successful event?” That familiar tightness in my throat returns. I pull him toward the edge of the room.
“Maybe the fact that the two of us managed to work things out after all these years?” I’d drink to that. I clink my glass against his and take a long sip as he does the same.
“Do you think we could step outside for a little air?”
“Are you feeling faint again?” Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten him a drink. I don’t know how long the drugs they gave him last night might last or whether they mix with alcohol. I grab his arm, hoping to steady him, and look around for the closest chair.
“I’m okay,” Nathan says, putting a hand over mine. “I just need some air.” I take both our glasses and set them on one of the trays before leading him toward the hotel lobby. It’s not an easy task since I keep one eye on his face, looking for any signs of trouble.
“Is this okay?” I motion toward a nook in the lobby with a couple of chairs. “Or would you rather go outside?”
“This is perfect.” I help him settle in one of the chairs before sitting down across from him.
“Are you sure you’re okay? I could go find some water or get my car so we can go home?” He didn’t look pale again, but there was a restlessness to him that bothered me.
“I’m fine. I just wanted a chance to talk to you without any interruptions.”
I swallow hard. That doesn’t sound good.
“Not talk like that.” I must have done a poor job of schooling my expression if he’d picked up on my discomfort. “God, I’m already screwing this up.”
“You aren’t screwing anything up. Take your time. I’m right here.” I lean in and grab his hands, pulling them up to kiss the backs of his hands before letting them rest on my knees.
“I know I’m the one who said I wanted to take things slow, but I think I only have one speed when it comes to you, Colt.” He pauses, and I open my mouth before I think better and snap it shut. “I love you, and before you say anything, you don’t have to say it back. I couldn’t wait any longer, though. I love you, Colt. I think I always have and always will.”
I get out of my chair and kneel down on the floor between us. “Oh, Nathan. I don’t know why you would ever think I wouldn’t say it back. I love you, too. So much.” He leans down and captures my mouth. I kiss him slowly, savoring the taste of champagne on his lips. His hand finds the back of my head and pulls me into him. It’s a good thing we have space between us, or the whole lobby would be getting quite a show right now. As it is, I expect we have a bit of an audience.
“Think they can get by without us for the rest of the night?” Nathan asks.
“Oh, I know they can. Want to get out of here?” I’m already calculating how long it will take the valet to get the car and what traffic will be like at this time of night.
“I have a better idea.” I groan. I’ll do anything he wants, but right now, all I can think about is stripping Nathan down and showing him how much I care about him. He pulls a keycard from his pocket and looks at me with a twinkle in his eye. “What do you say to a short elevator ride?”
“I say, lead the way.” He grabs my hand and starts toward the elevators. “Hey.” I pull him back for a minute. “I love you.”
“I love you, baby.”