Chapter 5 Under One Roof
Nathaniel's Offer
Nathaniel noticed the questions before Evan did.
They were small at first, almost harmless.
A colleague had asked Evan why he had been leaving work early. A neighbor had casually mentioned seeing him at the medical center. Someone from Richard's social circle had apparently heard that Evan had been attending private appointments.
None of it should have mattered.
Yet Nathaniel knew how quickly harmless questions could become speculation.
He had spent enough years in business to understand how information traveled. A single question became a conversation. A conversation became a rumor. A rumor became something people repeated as though it were established fact.
And Evan was becoming easier to notice.
The pregnancy was still early, but there were changes Nathaniel could see even when others might not. Evan tired more easily. He had begun carrying water everywhere. Some mornings, he looked pale before breakfast.
Nathaniel found himself watching him constantly.
Not because he believed Evan was incapable of taking care of himself.
Because he cared.
That realization made Nathaniel uncomfortable.
He was sitting across from Evan at breakfast when his phone vibrated for the third time that morning.
Nathaniel glanced at the screen.
A message from his assistant.
There were questions from someone connected to one of his business partners about whether Nathaniel had been spending time with Richard Brooks's son.
Nathaniel locked his phone.
Evan noticed.
"Bad news?"
"Not exactly."
"Then what?"
Nathaniel set his phone beside his coffee.
"People are asking questions about you."
Evan's expression changed.
"What kind of questions?"
"Nothing direct yet."
"Yet?"
Nathaniel nodded.
"They're noticing that you've been visiting the medical center. Someone has connected you to me. It won't take long before people start making assumptions."
Evan leaned back.
"I knew people might talk eventually."
"I don't want you dealing with that while you're pregnant."
Evan studied him.
"I'm not made of glass."
"I know."
"Then don't look at me like I am."
Nathaniel sighed.
"I don't."
"You do sometimes."
Nathaniel couldn't argue.
Evan had become very good at recognizing the difference between Nathaniel's calm expression and what was actually happening underneath it.
Nathaniel picked up his coffee but didn't drink.
"I want to make an offer."
Evan immediately looked suspicious.
"That sounds dangerous."
"It isn't."
"That's what people say before making dangerous offers."
Nathaniel almost smiled.
"I have a private residence outside the city. It's secure, quiet, and completely separate from my main business properties. There's staff when needed, but the house itself is private. You could stay there for as long as you want."
Evan stared at him.
"You want me to move into one of your houses."
"I want you somewhere people can't easily find you."
"I have an apartment."
"I know."
"And I like it."
"I know that too."
"Then why would I move?"
"Because your apartment isn't designed for the level of privacy you may need."
Evan crossed his arms.
"My apartment is perfectly safe."
"I didn't say it wasn't."
"Then what are you really saying?"
Nathaniel looked at him.
"I'm saying I want you somewhere I can know you're safe without having to worry every time someone recognizes you."
Silence settled between them.
Evan looked away.
Nathaniel continued carefully.
"I'm not asking you to give up your apartment. You could keep it. You could come and go whenever you want. You could continue working. Nothing about the arrangement would require you to change your life."
"Except living in your house."
"Temporarily."
Evan's eyebrows lifted.
"Temporarily has a strange way of becoming permanent with wealthy people."
Nathaniel smiled despite himself.
"Fair point."
Evan stood and carried his plate toward the kitchen.
Nathaniel watched him.
"I'm serious, Evan."
"So am I."
Evan placed the plate down and turned around.
"I know you're trying to help."
"I am."
"But accepting your house feels complicated."
"Why?"
"Because of everything else."
Nathaniel understood immediately.
The age gap.
The pregnancy.
Richard.
Their relationship.
Money.
Power.
The last thing he wanted was for Evan to feel as though he had been absorbed into Nathaniel's life simply because Nathaniel had more resources.
"I don't want you to think you're being bought."
Evan's expression softened slightly.
"I don't think you're trying to buy me."
"Then what concerns you?"
Evan hesitated.
"I don't want anyone looking at this and deciding I'm with you because of your money."
Nathaniel felt something tighten in his chest.
"Neither do I."
"And if I move into your house, that's exactly what some people will think."
"They can think whatever they want."
"I can't."
Nathaniel remained silent.
Evan walked back toward the table.
"I've spent my entire adult life making sure I can stand on my own. I have my own career. I pay my own bills. I have my own apartment. I make my own decisions."
"I know."
"If I move into your home, I need to know that none of those things disappear."
"They won't."
"And I don't want an allowance."
"You won't have one."
"I don't want a credit card that you control."
"You won't."
"I don't want staff reporting everything I do to you."
Nathaniel nodded.
"Agreed."
"I don't want you deciding where I go, who I see, or whether I'm allowed to work."
"I wouldn't."
Evan looked at him for a long moment.
"Wouldn't you?"
Nathaniel took that question seriously.
"No."
The answer came quietly.
"I may worry. I may offer opinions. I may be overprotective sometimes. But I will not control you."
Evan's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Nathaniel stood.
"I can put everything in writing if that makes you more comfortable."
"You would?"
"Of course."
"That's very you."
Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?"
"You trust contracts more than promises."
Nathaniel considered it.
"Probably."
Evan smiled.
"At least you're honest."
Nathaniel stepped closer but kept a respectful distance.
"The house isn't a payment for anything, Evan. Not for the baby. Not for our relationship. Not for your time. Not for your affection."
Evan's eyes met his.
"I know."
"If you stay there, it's because you choose to."
"And if I decide to leave?"
"You leave."
"Even if we're together?"
"Especially then."
Evan looked surprised.
Nathaniel continued.
"I don't want to become another person you have to negotiate with to maintain your independence."
For several seconds, Evan said nothing.
Then he walked to the window.
Nathaniel waited.
Outside, the city moved beneath the gray morning sky.
"I'll think about it," Evan finally said.
Nathaniel nodded.
"That's all I'm asking."
Evan turned.
"Where is this house?"
"About forty minutes outside the city."
"Who owns it?"
"I do."
"Of course you do."
Nathaniel smiled.
"It's currently unoccupied."
"How big?"
"Large."
"That's not an answer."
"It's larger than your apartment."
"Everything you own is larger than my apartment."
"Probably."
Evan laughed.
The tension eased.
But Nathaniel knew the decision wasn't simple for him.
Later that evening, Evan called.
"I've thought about it."
Nathaniel sat straighter in his chair.
"And?"
"I'll stay there."
Nathaniel felt relief before he could stop it.
"But I have conditions."
"I expected that."
"I keep my apartment."
"Yes."
"I keep my job."
"Yes."
"I pay my own personal expenses."
"Yes."
"I don't want you transferring money into my accounts."
"Agreed."
"I don't want access to your private accounts or assets."
"You wouldn't have it."
"And I don't want the pregnancy to become an excuse for you to make decisions without me."
Nathaniel's voice softened.
"That won't happen."
"Then I'll do it."
Nathaniel closed his eyes briefly.
"Thank you."
Evan laughed softly through the phone.
"You sound like I just agreed to a business merger."
"I've had easier negotiations."
"Good. Then maybe you can survive living with me."
Nathaniel smiled.
"I'll try."
There was a pause.
Then Evan asked quietly, "Are you sure you want me there?"
Nathaniel looked around his silent office.
For years, his homes had been beautiful but impersonal. They were places to sleep, work, entertain clients, and return to after long days.
He had never considered one of them a real home.
Now he imagined Evan there.
His books on the shelves.
His clothes in the closets.
His voice somewhere down the hallway.
The thought unsettled him in a way that had nothing to do with inconvenience.
"Yes," Nathaniel said.
"Why?"
Nathaniel took a slow breath.
"Because I don't want you facing all of this alone."
Evan was quiet.
Nathaniel continued.
"And because I want to be there."
"With me?"
"With you."
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Evan said, "All right."
The call ended shortly afterward.
Nathaniel remained at his desk.
He had offered Evan the house because he wanted to protect his privacy.
That was the practical explanation.
But as he sat there, Nathaniel knew it wasn't the whole truth.
He wanted Evan close.
He wanted to know that when Evan woke in the morning, Nathaniel would be somewhere nearby.
He wanted to be present for the appointments, the difficult days, the ordinary ones, and everything that came between.
And perhaps that was the most dangerous part.
Nathaniel wasn't simply making room for Evan in a house.
He was beginning to make room for him in his life.
Roommates
Moving into Nathaniel's residence was supposed to be practical.
That was what Evan kept telling himself as he stood in the entrance hall with two suitcases, a backpack, and the uncomfortable awareness that he had just agreed to live under the same roof as the man he was trying very hard not to fall for.
The house was beautiful, but Evan refused to be impressed.
It was too large, too quiet, and too carefully designed to look as though nobody actually lived there. Every surface seemed deliberate. Every piece of furniture appeared to have been chosen by someone who believed comfort should never interfere with elegance.
Nathaniel stood beside him.