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“I thought so too. There’s aNational Geographicvideo about it—I can show it to you after dinner.”
Before Alex could reply, Jeff joined them with a, “Well, what’s this? Am I being replaced? I am scandalised, Alex.Scandalised.”
Lee didn’t know Jeff all that well, but the fact that Alex barely reacted seemed to suggest this wasn’t unusual behaviour. “You told me to play nice,” Alex told Jeff. “Happy?”
“Very,” Jeff said with a decisive nod, and right, Lee should have expected that Alex had received an earful about their interactions too—why else would he have made an effort to clear the air between them? They weren’t becomingfriendsafter two semi-pleasant conversations.
“We thought we’d arrive together,” Lee contributed. “Give everyone a minor heart attack at seeing us act like civilised people around each other.”
Jeff grinned. “I like it. Give me a minute so I can find a good seat for the show.” With that, he slipped out onto the patio, leaving behind a momentary gust of warm evening air and silence that felt tinged with just a hint of awkwardness.
“So, uh.” Alex shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Topic suggestions for what we can talk about when we walk in?”
“The state of the world?” Lee offered.
“Depressing.” Alex’s lips quirked. “Whether you snore?”
Right. Because they’d be sleeping next to each other.
“I don’t,” Lee said with dignity.
“How do you know, though?”
“My ex would have told me.” Giovanni truly would have—he hadn’t been the type to censor his words. “What about you?”
“Whether I snore?” Alex held the door for Lee and followed suit before he replied. “Nah, my exdefinitelywould have told me. She did complain about how I steal the covers, but that’s not exactly going to be an issue with us.”
She. Of course.
Lee snorted softly, aware that several heads turned at their appearance. “Only if you sleepwalk across the room and climb in with me.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.Whyhad he said that?
“No sleepwalking,” Alex promised lightly. “I don’t fancy a kick in the nuts.”
“And on that delightful note…” Lee tilted his head as he smiled at Alex, making sure to let his eyes crinkle at the corners for the sake of their audience in general and Kieran in particular. “Enjoy your dinner, and I’ll see you later?”
“Inevitably,” Alex returned with a smile of his own that didn’t look fake. They stood like that for a second, then Lee turned to claim the free seat next to Oliver at a table for four while Alex moved over to where Jeff was sitting.
After reaching for a bread roll, Lee took in his surroundings. The evening sun drowned the golf course in golden hues, all gently sloping hills and lush grass, and he knew it was only a matter of time until Oliver would comment on the insanity of maintaining a golf course in an area that was starved for precipitation. Oliver wasn’t wrong, of course.
He was also staring at Lee with a shrewd expression.
Lee kept his voice low. “Okay, so you were right.”
“Oh, excuse me.” Oliver leaned closer, grinning broadly. “Can you speak up, please?”
“You heard me.” Lee glanced at Finley and Declan who were sharing their table. Fortunately, they appeared engrossed in a conversation about Argentina post-Messi and Portugal post-Ronaldo.
Smug was not a good look on Oliver. “So,” he said in an undertone. “I was right, huh? I take it he’s not a homophobic prick, then?”
“No.” Lee shot a look at where Alex was laughing at something Jeff had said, head thrown back.Stop staring.Lee tore a piece off his bread roll and returned his focus to Oliver. “Still painfully posh, though.”
“Is he now?” Oliver’s lips twitched into a teasing curve. “And how’s that crush doing?”
“Oh, shut up.” It wasn’t exactly the mother of all comebacks, but it was the best Lee had.
Oliver elbowed him. “Never.”
