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“Thank you. I appreciate that.” A sudden smile crossed her features. “For the record, we financed the Night Shift in Zurich. I was the financial advisor on the case.”
Relaxing slightly, Adrian smiled back. “That’s good to know.”
“What’s the Night Shift?” Eric asked.
“A nightclub that used to be a brothel,” Adrian told him. “Super successful, opened a couple of years ago.” He’d been only once, for the monthly LGBT night, but it was a great space that blended cheeky nods to its history with modern glamour.
“Buildings with a storied past are quite chic these days.” Ms Tanner paused delicately, a glint of humour in her eyes. “I don’t see why the same can’t be true for the owner of an establishment.”
“A storied past?” Adrian found a grin curving the corners of his mouth. “I like that. Hope you don’t mind if I borrow it.”
“Feel free.”
They parted ways with her at the front door and zipped up their coats before stepping out into a grey, windy afternoon. The car was parked around the corner, and the minute it took them to walk over was enough for Adrian to feel the chill. He slid behind the wheel, Eric getting in on the passenger side, and then they just sat there staring at each other.
Eric broke the silence with a wide-eyed, “Holy fuck. Go big or go home, I guess?”
Amusement tickled the back of Adrian’s throat. He fought it for a moment because he wasn’t sure if it was hysteria or relief. Then he tilted sideways and into Eric, laughing against his shoulder. Eric’s arms came up around him with a small chuckle.
“Is this a happy laugh?” he asked.
Exhaling, Adrian wrapped his own arms around Eric’s middle. “Mostly. With a side of ‘someone pinch me’.”
Predictably, Eric did.
Adrian weakly slapped away his hand. “I didn’t mean literally.”
“Just following orders.” Eric’s tone was the epitome of innocence.
“Because you’re so good at that.”
“I’m a model employee,” Eric stated grandly. “My dedication to satisfying my boss’s every wish, even outside of working hours, is beyond reproach.”
There were a lot of things Adrian could have said in response, most of them dirty. Instead, he went with, “I love you, you know?”
Eric must have heard something in Adrian’s voice because everything about him softened. “I love you too,” he said quietly, gaze steady. “So we’re doing this—reinventing the Gletscherhaus?”
We.
What was that quote? Something about how making predictions was notoriously difficult, especially when it came to the future. True enough. Yet somehow, a sudden sense of calm washed over Adrian.
“Yes.” He met Eric’s eyes and flattened one hand against his chest. Adrian didn’t have all the answers—not even close. But he wasn’t about to let that stop him. “Yes, we are.”
With a smile, Eric covered Adrian’s hand with his own. And that, right there?
Was the only certainty that Adrian needed.
Epilogue
18 months later
Under the darkening nighttime sky, the festival tents lining the road looked like gleaming pearls. The bus took its final turn, and the Gletscherhaus appeared, its facade lit in a myriad of rainbow colours. Food stalls were scattered around, some five thousand people flocking between the various offerings and the stage, its spotlights cutting into the night.
Paul’s piano set must be in full swing. The next three days would see a star-studded lineup, camera teams and event security ready to descend upon the area in full force—but tonight’s opening was a nod to the local community.
God, it was good to be home. Eric had meant to be back hours ago, but EasyJet had proven … difficult.
Leaving a week before the first-ever charity festival staged at the Gletscherhaus hadn’t been Eric’s preferred timing. But between a cousin’s shotgun wedding, the sale of his London flat, and a pile of in-person meetings, well, a trip to the UK had been overdue. Also, he’d learned that when Adrian got into high-strung project manager mode, Eric’s ideal course of action was to get out of the way and occasionally check in to make sure that Adrian ate, slept, and stayed hydrated.
