Page 20 of Brought By the Storm

I pondered all that Stefan had shared. “Or maybe it’s two people who found someone else to cling to in the storm.” I bit my lip and raised my eyes to gauge Stefan’s reaction.

He had a tired look. “It’s obvious you want it to be.”

“So, what do I do with the limited time I have left with him? Will telling him how I feel scare him away if he’s so skittish?”

He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Carrington, I don’t know. I’m not comfortable with any of this. He may not even be interested in you. Maybe we’re misreading him. You realize that, don’t you? Plus, he’s suffering from emotional trauma that you’re not going to be able to cure. Everything about your interest in him is risky—to your ego at a minimum if he rejects you, to your political career at worst if he doesn’t.”

“Yes. He hasn’t shared if he feels the same attraction. Maybe I’m not someone a man would fancy.”

Stefan laughed. “What am I? I hope you’re not suggesting I’m less than a man.”

“Of course not!” I defended. “I’m sorry. I meant a man who isn’t biased because he’s my friend.”

Stefan rolled his eyes. “Our country’s best-selling magazine named you its most eligible bachelor and one of the country’s ten best-looking people. I’m certain a survey of gay Yastarusian men would support that.”

I felt more heat and it had nothing to do with the blazing sun. I had never contemplated that I could be a pin-up to gay men. “Thank you, and I don’t take for granted what a compliment it is that you felt that way. You know how much you mean to me.” He nodded. “It’s just that man. He’s done something to me.”

My friend sighed. “Then I hope he isn’t Russia’s secret weapon.”

I knew Stefan was being flip, but it was the prodding I needed that I’d exceeded the thirty minutes I was waiting between check-ins regarding affairs back home. The vice president had been informing me that there was nothing of consequence happening, and that it might even be good that I was out of sight, as it had quieted intelligence reports about a possible attempt on my life. Still, the Russian threat wasn’t gone, and I knew Eric could become a high-risk complication for me. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave without unburdening myself. Like my mother said, I couldn’t depart the United States feeling so confused. Doing so would also put me at risk because I would be distracted, wondering ‘what if.’ With help and discretion from her and Stefan, I believed Eric and I could find a way to explore whatever we were feeling, providing he was feeling anything at all. I was relieved that we had changed the sleeping arrangements, and I would now have Eric’s undivided attention for the night.