“I want to be here,” Javier smiled, then settled down against Desmond’s side again.
They were silent for a few minutes. Desmond closed his eyes and just breathed into the moment, but he didn’t doze. If anything, he came alive more and more as the prospect of their future stretched before him.
“Do you want to hear my idea?” he asked at last, knowing his lover would know what he meant.
“Absolutely,” Javier said, then kissed the side of Desmond’s neck. “Lay it on me.”
Desmond smiled, then rolled in Javier’s arms until they were face to face. “I want to do something that brings people together,” he said.
“Uh huh.” Javier nodded, encouraging him.
“And you have experience running an agency, finding talent, and dealing with people.”
“I do,” Javier said, a touch warier.
Desmond didn’t let that deter him. “What if we set up some sort of business to bring people together that way? Like we came together the first time, for the concert.”
Javier’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure I follow. Are you talking about a dating service?”
“Not entirely,” Desmond said, ideas popping so fast in his brain that he couldn’t grasp hold of all of them. “More like…like a talent agency for people who need someone to be there for them for important life events.”
“An escort service?” Javier was more skeptical than ever, but with a hint of teasing in his eyes.
“Absolutely not an escort service.” Desmond shut down that idea right away. “Something more like a way to connect people who need someone, even if just for pretend, for a weekend.”
Javier’s confused expression suddenly morphed into a smile. “Like if someone needs a date for a family wedding because their parents keep pestering them about getting married?”
“Yes, exactly, I think,” Desmond said, brushing a hand up Javier’s side, glad he understood. “Or if they just wanted someone to, I don’t know, go hiking with because none of their friends are into that sort of thing.”
“Right.” Javier nodded, eyes losing focus as he thought. “Not exactly a matchmaking service, but something that would do what we did, only deliberately.”
“Bringing people together so they can help and support each other,” Desmond said, finding Javier’s hand and threading their fingers together. “And if it leads to something more, well?—”
“Results not guaranteed, but definitely possible,” Javier finished the thought with a smile. “I like it.”
“Now would be a good time to give something like this a try,” Desmond said. “Since we’re both at loose ends.”
Javier inched in and planted a soft kiss on Desmond’s mouth. “I’m not at loose ends,” he said, gazing deeply into Desmond’s eyes. “I’m right where I want to be, right where I belong.”
“So am I,” Desmond said, brimming with happiness. “And I love it. I love you.”
“I’m so glad we found each other,” Javier said, then gave Desmond a deeper, longer kiss. “Even if we had the world’s worst meet-ugly.”
Desmond laughed. “I don’t know,” he said, heat infusing him. “I adore you in glitter.”
Javier laughed, then said, “Good, because you’re probably going to be finding glitter in your bed for a long time now.”
“Perfect,” Desmond said, hugging Javier close. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
epilogue
. . .
It wasn’t any surprise to Desmond and Javier that building what amounted to a matchmaking agency was just as much of a challenge as building an ordinary talent agency or chasing down financial deals with long strings of zeroes attached. There was business modeling to do and plans to come up with, capital to secure, although the lion’s share of that came from Desmond, and office space to hire.
Between the two of them, Javier and Desmond managed to do the nearly impossible and pull all of that together within nine months. They worked meticulously on a blueprint for how the agency would operate, found themselves an office in a shockingly perfect location, near the food court of a huge office building in the City of London, and even managed to convince Maisy to work for them once again, along with her nephew, Michael.
The biggest challenge came in getting enough people to sign up for the new service before it officially launched.
