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Oliver nodded. “Proper job and everything. As an editor. And well, I think I’d like to take it.”
“But that’s brilliant,” Sam said, his grin widening. “I know it seems like nepotism, but you’d be really good at it.”
Oliver’s cheeks pinked a little. “Dunno about that but…I think I could be alright. That’s not…that’s not entirely it, though.”
“Okay,” Sam said very slowly. “What else?”
Taking a breath, Oliver closed his eyes, not willing to see Sam’s initial reaction. “It’s in California. San Francisco, actually.”
There was a pause long enough for Oliver to crack one eye open and peer at Sam. “So, it’s not…you can’t work from here? Or well, anywhere else?”
“No,” Oliver replied softly. “I’d have to work in an office and everything. I wanted…I was hoping,” he tried, taking a breath to relax himself and gather the courage he needed. “I wanted to ask you to come with me.”
Sam made a small noise in the back of his throat, then cleared it. “Come to California? To theStates?”
Feeling anger begin to prickle along the back of his neck, Oliver pushed himself to sitting. “Yes. You know, it’s not nearly as horrible as you might think. I mean, it’s not London, but it’s not total shit, either. I liked it there.”
“Yeah, but you were also completely fucked up at the time,” Sam blurted, then stopped himself. “I’m sorry, cariad. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Startled almost physically by the statement, Oliver reared back. “How did you mean it, then?”
“I meant,” Sam tried, keeping his tone steady and slow, “that I assumed you sort of got over that phase in your life.”
“Phase in my life,” Oliver repeated.
“Yes. The running from your past, rebelling against your family phase. What’s wrong with London?”
“It’s not home,” Oliver said sharply. “I don’t…I never intended on staying here.” He blinked rapidly for a moment, then curled his arms around his legs, pulling his knees to his chest defensively. “What did you want to talk to me about tonight, then?”
“Well,” Sam said, and pushed himself up to sit against the wall, “I got a job offer as well.”
Oliver blinked, saying nothing.
“It’s in Cardiff.”
“Wales,” Oliver echoed. “You got a job offer in Wales. You didn’t tell me you were applying for another job.”
“Neither did you,” Sam retorted, sounding angry for the first time since Oliver had known him.
“Ididn’tapply for another job,” Oliver defended. “My dad offered it to me at dinner tonight.”
“Yet you just said you weren’t planning on staying in London. When were you planning to leave?”
Oliver swallowed. “I hadn’t given it much thought. You only moved in a few weeks ago, and I wasn’t sure where we were headed.”
“Right,” Sam said, breathing out heavy and hard. “So, the answer to Wales is no, is it?”
“I’m not moving to soddingCardiff,” Oliver said only a little meanly.
Sam let out a bitter chuckle. “And yet you expect me to pack up and move to bloody California without a job prospect, without any idea of how to make a living, or anything? Do you realize how hard it is to get approved for a visa? And what if I don’t find something in enough time? Did any of that occur to you?”
“No,” Oliver blurted. “He made the offer tonight, not weeks ago. I wasn’t planning on moving you in here only to spring a bloody move to another country three shitting weeks later.”
Licking his lips, Sam took in a breath and closed his eyes. “Why do you want to move back to California, Oliver?”
Blinking in surprise, he laughed. “I told you, I got offered a job by…”
“No,” Sam interrupted. “It’s not the job, and we both know it. You’re hoping to findhim.”
