AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Eric locked his phone and sat down on the bed, considering his options. He could either pull Adrian aside for a proper conversation, or he could slip a vague question about hotel publicity into a busy moment, when Adrian was unlikely to give it much thought.Here’s to the coward’s way.
After tugging on a jumper that belonged to Adrian—Eric’s choices were limited by the suitcase he’d brought over, okay?—he made his way downstairs. As luck would have it, he arrived right when the Sleazebag and his wife checked out, which gave him the perfect reason to sidle up to Adrian.
“Babe, one sec?” Eric placed a hand low on Adrian’s back, just above the swell of his arse.
Adrian sent him a smile before he addressed the couple. “Excuse me for one minute? Then I’ll help you with your luggage.”
The Sleazebag looked like he’d tasted something sour even as his wife nodded merrily. “Of course, take your time.”
Adrian turned fully into Eric, batting his lashes like it was a competition he intended to win. “Miss me already?”
“Something like that.” Eric grinned at him and lowered his voice. “Just wanted to quickly check something with you. So. I may know someone who knows someone, okay?” Reasonably true. “And there’s a chance they could do a bit of promo for the Gletscherhaus, create a bit of a social media buzz.” Trending hashtags and international headlines—same difference, right?
“You know someone who knows someone?” A frown crossedAdrian’s features. “Eric, just please don’t… I don’t know. I don’t want you, like, pulling strings on my behalf or calling in favours. That’s the sort of stuff that would make you uncomfortable.”
Ah, too late. Eric had been evicted from his comfort zone the moment he met Adrian, so he might as well enjoy the ride.
“It’s fine,” he told Adrian. “I promise—it’s no big deal. But I wanted to check with you first. If things go well and there’s some buzz, there’s also a risk someone recognises you from…”
“My award-winning acting days?” Adrian suggested with a grin.
Eric snorted. “Yeah. That.”
Adrian lifted a shoulder, all devil-may-care. “Never made a secret out of that, now did I? I’m not going to start now.” His eyes went soft. “And I appreciate you wanting to help, I really do.”
“Of course I want to help.” Eric pecked the corner of Adrian’s mouth, mindful of their overly invested audience. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it. See you later, all right?”
Adrian glanced at the couple, then focused back on Eric, a strange slant to his smile. “Love you, babe.”
Acting,Eric reminded himself. All just for Sleazebag’s sake. He hoped he didn’t look as flushed as he felt. Jesus, how was he supposed to respond in a way that struck the perfect balance between making it seem like no more than an act to Adrian, without giving the game away to their audience?
“Love you too,” he mumbled, his focus on Adrian’s mouth rather than his eyes.
Problem was, he meant it.
He staged a quick escape after wishing the couple a safe trip home, all too aware of Adrian’s attention that followed him up the stairs. Adrian was probably staring at Eric’s arse, the cheeky bastard.
‘If he’s got two brain cells and a heart, he’ll be in love with you.’
Bittersweet, wasn’t it, that Lucas himself hadn’t fallen for Eric—he was hardly a credible authority on the subject. And Adrian, well, he’d never even been in a relationship, so what were the chances of Eric, of all people, changing his mind? Not impossible, no. But also not terribly likely.
And still Eric couldn’t help but hope.
Adrian had never toldanyone that he loved them.
Actually, that wasn’t true. He’d told Martin once, for a scene, and then they’d both laughed about it afterwards. Although in hindsight, it was possible that Adrian had laughed while Martin just followed his lead. Had everyone else known? Was it part of why he and Martin had been asked to play up their romance—because they’d all been waiting for Adrian to catch a clue, Martin most of all? Fuck, Adrian must have been blind.
Anyway, moving on,God. He’d never told anyone he loved them and meant it. But this time, he… Fuck. He’d meant it? Maybe, kind of. Mr Foster had been the fig leaf, an excuse for Adrian to test out the words without having to own them. Turned out they’d felt good on his tongue. Turned out it had felt even better to hear Eric say them back, even if it was just for show. None of that was a surprise after Adrian had admitted to seeing Eric as someone he might want to wake up with for the rest of his life.
Which… Had he really admitted to that? Blame Martin for knocking Adrian off-balance only to blindside him with a fucking massive question.
But Eric had damn near walked away once. He might do it again at the faintest sign that Adrian was losing interest.
Ironically, he might also do it if Adrian seemed overinvested before Eric was ready to take their arrangement to the next level. Great—the one time Adrian had tried slacklining, the best he’d managed was two steps before losing his balance. That didn’t bode well.
Well, a day at a time. Flail on the inside but keep the easy smile. In the meantime, he had a hotel to run and a fungus infestation to handle.
The expert showed up the following week. Adrian’s mum, worried yet hopeful it would be a small matter, took over the reception deskso Adrian and his dad could follow the guy around the attic and the top floor, inspecting wood beams and panelling, taking samples. It wasn’t really a situation that Adrian could charm his way out of, so he quietly trailed along and listened to the guy’s explanations, all while trying not to choke on what little he’d managed to get down at breakfast today. It was well past lunchtime by the time they were done and Adrian walked the guy to his car. Afterwards, Adrian sat down on the basement stairs, buried his head in his hands, and forced some deep, gulping breaths into his lungs.
