“Jesus. What time is it?”
The question came from behind Griffin, and though he didn’t know her well, Duncan was sure Maggie hadn’t grown a set of baws overnight.
Griffin pulled the door wide, and Duncan’s eyes took in his surroundings—a blanket and pillow on the couch, the hotel bed unmade just enough to fit one body along the outer edge.
“Aw hell, lads. What did ya do?” Duncan asked. “I thought I was the only one who fucked up last evening.” He nodded to them both. “You, too?”
Griffin scrubbed a hand across his jaw and looked toward Noah.
Noah shook his head slowly.
“What?” Duncan asked. “Out with it. It’s my wedding day—if the bride will still have me, though now she thinks I won’t have her, which is ridiculous, though I did have a bit of a freak-out—shite! What the fuck was I saying? Right. Why are you two here…together?”
Noah was acting all cagey, scratching the back of his neck, and Duncan didn’t like it. Not one bit. He narrowed his eyes at the two of them.
“Awright, mates. Someone is going to come clean, right about…now. Let’s have it.”
“I got this,” Noah said to Griffin before turning back to Duncan. “See…Duncan…I wasn’t actually going to propose to Jordan last night. I had this whole idea of doing it on the train to Scotland—or maybe even on campus. But—this weekend was yours. I had no intention of overshadowing that.”
Duncan’s brows pulled together. “Overshadowing? I don’t— I mean I didn’t— Wait—” It was all clicking into place. His stomach did this twisting thing that made him feel like the morning after a bottle of Drambuie. But instead of getting sick, his stomach held on to its meager contents, and the man himself slumped against the back of the door.
“I announced the engagement before it happened.”
Noah nodded. “But it’s my fault Jordan’s not here, Duncan. Not yours. I messed up.”
Duncan’s eyes met Griffin’s, and he finally saw the sadness there.
“Aw, shite, Griffin. I told Maggie you were going away.” Duncan slid all the way down to the floor now, half laughing and half wincing. “Guys—I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t myself yesterday. It was all just too much. And now I’m afraid I may have ruined the day for all of us.”
Griffin turned and walked back toward the couch, grabbing his phone off the nearby dresser.
“Enough,” he said, eyes on the screen as he scrolled for something with his thumb.
“Enough what?” Duncan asked, arms draped over his knees and his chin sunk all the way to his chest.
And then he heard it, that unmistakable electric guitar rhythm. As much as he wanted to mope, Duncan lifted his head. Griffin was smiling, head nodding to the beat.
“Dude,” Noah said, laughing. “You are fucking out of your mind.”
“Get up, McAllister,” Griffin commanded.
Duncan stood. He couldn’t not. And once he was up, he couldn’t keep his head from bobbing in time with the music, either. Aw hell, he was almost dancing, and he hadn’t even had a pint yet.
“You just happen to have ‘Eye of the Tiger’ ready and waiting on your playlist?” Noah asked, and Griffin’s smile grew. He held out his phone for Noah to see.
“A man never knows when he may need the help of one of the greatest American bands from the eighties. It’s like a pep talk from Rocky Balboa each time!”
“Mickey gives the pep talks, asshole,” Noah said, but he was still laughing.
All of them were laughing.
Duncan had made a right mess of everything, starting with the Athens airport. He’d just thought he needed a few minutes to clear his head, to get used to his new life. And now he had to save that new life before it wasn’t his anymore. And he had to make sure Griffin and Noah did the same.
He opened the door.
“Where are you going?” Noah asked, but Duncan shook his head.
“We,” he said. “We are going down to the lobby for a pint, and then we’re going to fix everything.”
Noah shrugged. “I could use a pint.” He slipped on his shoes and joined Duncan at the door.
“Early-morning pints it is,” Griffin added and stepped toward the two other men.
Duncan held up his hand to halt any further movement.
“Put on a shirt, ya bastard. That may work on your Maggie, but I want none of it.”
Griffin brandished his phone.
“Sticks and stones, my friend. Got my soundtrack,” Griffin said, backtracking toward the couch and collecting his shirt from the floor. “Let’s do this. Pints, kilts, and romantic gestures sure to repair the damage we’ve done.”
“I’ll drink to that,” Noah said, following Duncan out into the hall.
“What romantic gestures?” Duncan asked.
“That’s what we need to figure out,” Griffin said.
And with that he was the last to exit the room, letting the door fall closed behind him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Miles
Okay, so maybe Miles felt slightly like Edward Cullen at the moment, watching Alex sleep, but he couldn’t help it. He’d woken only to take a piss, but as he padded back to the bed, he noticed how, in sleep, Alex’s full lips parted just enough to let air pass between them. It was also hard to miss the lulling cadence of his chest rising and falling with each rhythmic breath. And really, what man could ignore how the rumpled bedsheet had slid down just past that delicious hip bone? Miles knew—he’d licked that hip bone.
It wasn’t a matter of opinion. No. This was undeniable fact. Alex was the most beautiful human he had ever encountered, and he’d be damned if he was going to take his eyes off him so long as he was awake.
“I can feel you staring.”
The deep morning rasp of Alex’s voice did nothing to calm what stirred inside Miles’s belly—and a little farther south. His eyes dipped to where his boxer briefs hid nothing¸ and Miles laughed quietly to himself. Who was this man, and what had he done with Miles’s boundaries, with the safety net that surrounded his heart?
“I can feel you feeling me staring,” Miles said. “And I’m not gonna lie—it’s, uh, doing things to me.”
At this Alex cocked an eye open, just one. But it was enough to see Miles ready and willing inside his briefs.
“Get back in this bed immediately,” Alex demanded. “I want my fill of you before I have to work the rest of the day and night.”
Miles didn’t waste a second. He nearly dove into the bed. Because he wanted his fill, too. The only problem was, he didn’t think there was enough time to satiate his need.
Alex’s eyes were closed again, but he was smiling. Then Miles realized the man was waiting. It was his move; Miles was to take the lead. But a feeling, long foreign to him, took over what had initially brought him back to this bed. It wasn’t the lust he thought he’d felt just by looking at Alex’s barely covered body. It was…loss.
Miles was on some sort of precipice. He could take his fill, just as Alex would. He could keep up the fantasy and never let Alex know more than he did right now.
That would be safe—typical Miles. But safe hadn’t introduced him to happiness yet. Sharing only pieces of his true self hadn’t made him whole. So it was time for another approach.
“I want to tell you something—something more than my name,” Miles said, and Alex opened both eyes, then rose up on his elbow to face his bed partner.
“I like women,” Miles started, and Alex didn’t flinch. “I like women, and I like men, too.”
Alex dragged his teeth across his bottom lip, the action simple enough—one Miles had seen at least a hundred people perform before, and he would see hundreds do it again. But all he wanted was to see Alex do it. Alex’s teeth on Alex’s sexy, pouty bottom lip.