Page 6 of Love On and Off Set

“I don’t…”

She arched an eyebrow. “That is what dating services are for. Several of them are for gay men. I’m certain you can find someone suitable.” She pivoted and headed out.

I’d made certain the women in the office were aware that pants were fine and high heels were not required.

Mona took the edict to heart and owned several smart pantsuits, but never wore skirts anymore.

Bethany staunchly refused to give up either the heels or the skirts.

I eyed my phone. Use a dating app? To find a gentleman suitable for a black-tie affair with the elite of Vancouver society? That didn’t feel realistic. I shoved the thought aside, but as I rode the elevator up to my floor to my condo after my quick car ride, Kristoff’s words haunted me. I didn’t spend much time with the masses. I worked hard, had achieved significant professional success, and did whatever it took to sustain that level of excellence. In truth, I dreaded the part of my job that involved schmoozing.

Oh, I enjoyed golf, just not all the unnecessary chitchat. Play, debrief, get out. That all felt very logical to me. Just like work, come home, work some more, go to bed. Simplicity. Charity events were a necessity, and I gave generously, but I could do without the wining and dining.

Loud music assaulted my hearing as I entered the condo. What the fuck?

I dropped my briefcase by the front door and followed the noise to the workout room.

To my relief, the noise was entirely the fault of Dade and not some intruder. Apparently, he had the speakers on full. Although why he wore earbuds as well was beyond me.

I strode to the treadmill and tapped him on the shoulder.

He lost his stride and nearly fell off, only managing to right himself at the last moment by grabbing the bars and moving his feet to the side.

“Dude!” He gasped the word. He hit the power button and, once the treadmill stopped, he unclipped the safety shut off from his shirt. He ripped out his earbuds, then winced. After a bit of fiddling with his phone, the music stopped.

My ears still rang.

He gave me a sheepish look. “Uh, sorry. I thought I had it so the music only came into my earbuds.”

I scowled. “Are you trying to go deaf?”

He winced. “No…?”

“Could’ve fooled me.” I spat out the words. “And you should always have situational awareness.”

Immediately, his hands went to his hips. “You snuck up behind me.”

“I did no such thing.” I gestured. “If you hadn’t had the volume on full, you absolutely would’ve heard me approaching.”

He held my gaze for a moment, then offered what I could only term a megawatt smile.

“Yeah, I suppose. Look, I’m going to have a shower, do you, uh…”

For one awful moment, I thought he was going to invite me to shower with him.

For the next awful moment, I considered saying yes.

What the actual fuck, Horatio?

“What I’m trying to say is I’m happy to heat dinner, if you’re hungry. We could eat together. I mean, that’d be nice, you know?”

“Did Kristoff tell you that I was lonely?”

Although he was already flushed from exertion, I couldn’t miss the pinkening of his ears. He straightened. “Maybe I’m lonely.”

I wanted to call bullshit—except he was accustomed to what I assumed was a very boisterous dinner table. At least, I would’ve guessed that, given two younger siblings. “That would be acceptable. I planned to do an hour’s work before dining. By then, you’ll have had your shower—” And I’m not going to think about you naked and soaping off. “—so we can eat at that time.”

“Sure.” Dade wiped the sweat from his brow. “But do you have to work? I mean, can’t you relax in front of the television?”