“I’ve recently discovered that finance is not what I want to do with my life,” Desmond said, taking the question more seriously than he should have.
Geoffrey snorted. “What, you don’t like money?”
That wasn’t the point. Desmond already had more money than he needed, and just because he didn’t want to work in finance anymore, that didn’t mean he wasn’t a savvy investor who could grow the number in his bank account at will with a bit of concentration. Arguably, he never had to work again, not if he didn’t want to.
But he did want to. He wanted to do something more meaningful than building up cold portfolios for internationalcompanies. He wanted to spend his time around people who laughed and loved and cared for each other. He wanted to?—
His thought stopped dead as he glanced across the lawn and the sea of perfectly dressed guests and absurd clowns. One of those clowns looked familiar. Intimately familiar.
“Javier?” he asked, his heart suddenly beating so hard against his ribs that it felt like its actions alone pushed him away from Geoffrey and across the lawn toward his lover.
Javier was dressed in a lurid green bodysuit with a hat that looked like a ball of pink yarn had exploded on his head after he stuck his finger in an electrical socket. His face was painted beautifully, though. Eye shadow, liner, and lipstick made him look otherworldly and gorgeous, despite the mess he was wearing.
It wasn’t just how he looked. Javier was juggling. Actually juggling with three golden balls that swirled with iridescence. Desmond had had no idea his boyfriend was so talented.
Of course, as soon as Javier caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye he fumbled the balls. The kids who had been watching him laughed, and one of them stole a ball from the grass and ran. Javier didn’t seem to notice. His gaze locked immediately to Desmond’s.
“Desmond,” he said, sounding serious and anxious, despite looking like a fool. He sounded tense and upset, like he was too angry to forgive Des for being such an arse.
It was too much. Desmond turned and ran.
nineteen
. . .
The last person Javier expected to see at the wretched birthday party was Desmond. As soon as their eyes met, his heart ricocheted all around his chest and gut, and his hands went numb.
Which was inconvenient, considering he was demonstrating his marginal juggling skills to a trio of snotty kids at the time.
Desmond looked rough. He had dark circles under his eyes and a pale, drawn look to his face that hinted he’d been struggling since the last time they’d seen each other. That hurt. A lot. It made Javier feel like he shouldn’t have given his man space after all. He’d assumed Desmond needed time on his own to sort things, but now he was certain that had been a terrible idea.
Especially when Desmond turned tail and ran.
“Desmond,” he called and chased after him, leaving the two remaining juggling balls for the other rotten kids to swipe.
Following Desmond through the throng of people scattered across the lawn of the extensive estate was easier said than done. The caterers had just set out a new wave of snacks, so the flow of traffic was all toward the buffet tent set up closer to the house, in the opposite direction Javier wanted to go.
It didn’t help that he was dressed like an idiot wearing a startled, pink mop on his head either.
“And what are you supposed to be?” one of the mums of at least three of the troublemaking kids at the party stepped into his path to ask him. “Are you a Seuss character? Is that what this is supposed to be?”
“No, I’m afraid not,” Javier said, attempting to dodge her.
“Let me guess. You’re an alien?”
Javier didn’t have time to humiliate himself for the woman’s entertainment. Even though that was part of the job description, it wasn’t like he had to worry about damaging the reputation of his agency by pushing past the nosy woman in an attempt to catch up to Desmond.
“You’re a flower, that’s it!” the woman called after him. “I knew I’d figure it out eventually.”
She was right. All of the entertainers were supposed to be part of the garden come to life. And although it wasn’t the right time, there was something hilarious about Desmond being chased across the lawn of a country estate by a giant flower.
“Honey, stop,” Javier called out to him once he was just a few steps behind. He reached out and grabbed Desmond’s arm just as he reached the edge of the jungle of inflatable slides and bouncy houses that was definitely overkill for the party. “Please, stop.”
Desmond’s flight ran out of steam all at once. He stopped so quickly Javier nearly ran into him. He skidded slightly on the slick grass as he came to a stop facing Des.
“I’m sorry,” Desmond said, looking everywhere but at Javier for a moment, then finally meeting his eyes.
The pain and shame in Desmond’s eyes nearly broke Javier’s heart. Inexplicably, it also infuriated him.
