This time his response was nearly instant.
I’d love it.
Why don’t you pick out some dates, and I’ll see if I can find someplace for us to go?
Will do.
He sent me a handful of dates, and I started matching things up with what was available. We were doing this. We were going away together. I was going to show him my beast and finally let him know that he was my mate and not just some guy I liked or someone I was pursuing, but someone I wanted to make a life with. I was so ready for this next step.
Please let him be ready, too.
13
HARI
“I don’t understand why Remy seems so hesitant to move forward.”
Where was the flirty version of him I’d spoken to on the phone?
Jackson poked his head into my office, letting me know he was here for the update on the hotel project. Based on how slow Remy and I were at getting together, the furniture for the hotel would be complete before Remy and I had seen one another naked.
“What do you know about gum leaves?”
Jackson made a “what the fuck” face. “Huh?” But he gripped the door frame, and his eyes narrowed as if he was visualizing something. “Eucalyptus? Not much.”
He avoided my gaze and fiddled with papers on the desk. There was something he wasn’t telling me, and he reminded me of Remy when he got that faraway look in his eyes.
“Is it me?” That question wasn’t for my friend. I was putting it into the universe, hoping for an answer that made sense.
“I can say unequivocally that it's not.”
I swung around because there was no doubt in his tone, and I’d been dreading the “it’s not you, it’s me” conversation with Remy.
“You’ve never met the guy and just walked around the showroom sniffing.” Who did that? But I pulled back and thought of me talking to myself, which seemed perfectly normal and yet wasn’t for some. But being “a nose” was essential when working with wood, though it might not require the same training as a perfumer.
“Boss, he’s leading you on.” Jackson held up one hand when I gasped. “No, not like that. He’s into you, for sure, but he’s not showing you a part of him and who he really is.”
That was a little weird discussing Remy’s cock, unless Jackson had information I wasn’t privy to. Did he have a family already and was living a double life? It happened, perhaps more often than society realized.
“SoI’mgoing to do it.”
“Do what?” I gulped, thinking Jackson was going to drop his pants. Yikes, how had I missed the signals after so many years?
“Show you part of me that’s similar to part of Remy.”
I slapped both hands over my eyes. “Can you do it with your clothes on?”
“No.”
Shit, that confirmed my fears. “Jackson, you’re a good friend but?—”
“Ewww, no, boss. Not like that.”
“Like what then?”
He explained that he did have to remove his clothes so they didn’t get damaged, but he wasn’t interested in us as anything other than a boss, colleague, and friend.
“Glad we got that sorted.” Though I didn’t understand why he had to get naked. I considered that I might be getting punked but doubted Jackson would do that to me.
