Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63481 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Mitch told me where to find you,” Scott said.
Some of the tension eased from Will’s face. He sat down in the armchair and accepted a beer from Gadiel with a murmur of thanks.
Gadiel perched himself on the arm of Will’s chair and looked at Scott curiously. Fuck, he was ridiculously gorgeous even in that ratty shirt, his stunning blue eyes and pretty lips drawing Scott’s gaze.
Will cleared his throat. “Well, you found me.” His voice was very dry. “How are your parents?”
Scott answered absently, before asking the questions he really wanted to ask. “Why is Gadiel here? Why are you still his bodyguard? You were supposed to quit by now.”
Gadiel visibly tensed up.
“It’s complicated,” Will said.
“Well, uncomplicate it for me. I’ve got time.”
Will didn’t look particularly eager, but after a moment, he started talking.
Scott listened to him with growing amazement. His amazement had little to do with what Will was saying. It was the fact that over the course of Will’s explanation, Gadiel kept squirming closer to Will until he was half in his lap instead of being perched on the armrest. And Will didn’t even blink, his arm absently wrapping around Gadiel to steady him.
Scott could only stare at them. In all the years of knowing Will, he couldn’t remember ever seeing his cousin this at ease with someone all over his personal space. He was usually much more guarded than that. Correction: Will still seemed moderately guarded as he talked to Scott, but it was as though... as though Gadiel was inside the impenetrable shield Will surrounded himself with.
Despite being engaged in a conversation with Scott, Will seemed to react to every minuscule movement Gadiel made, glancing at him every few seconds despite Gadiel not really contributing to the conversation besides a hum or two. As for Gadiel, in spite of his awkward perch half on Will’s lap, half on the armrest, he looked very comfortable and relaxed.
It was fucking bizarre. If Scott didn’t know better, he’d think...
But no. Will was straight. This didn’t mean anything. Will had been pretty protective of Gadiel back in Dubai too; it was natural that they’d only grown closer after living in such close quarters for weeks.
“Hey, can I talk to you alone?” Scott said, unable to quash his curiosity. “No offense, Gadiel. It’s a—family thing. Private.”
Gadiel looked less than thrilled about getting off Will’s lap but, nodding, got to his feet. “I’ll go to the store,” he told Will. “We’re out of groceries.”
Will frowned. “It’s not safe.”
Rolling his eyes, Gadiel laughed. “Don’t be silly, it’s just around the corner. I’ll be back in ten minutes. No one will give me a second look.”
It didn’t seem as though Will agreed, but he didn’t object when Gadiel walked over to Will’s jacket thrown over the couch, retrieved his wallet, and headed to the door.
“Put on a jacket, it’s pretty cold outside,” Will said.
“All right, dad,” Gadiel said with an eye-roll, slipping on Will’s jacket.
“Ten minutes, Gadiel.”
Gadiel blew him a kiss and left. He didn’t even glance at Scott.
As the door closed after him, Scott said, “What the fuck, man?”
Will dragged his gaze away from the door and looked at him. “What?” he said, sounding distracted.
“He was sitting in your lap!” Scott said.
“No, he wasn’t,” Will said, frowning. “He was sitting on the armrest.”
Scott gave him an incredulous stare. Had Will genuinely not noticed that Gadiel had been all over him or was he playing dumb now?
“Whatever,” he said. “The point is, why are you playing house with him?”
Will shot him a tight look. “Did you miss the part about his life being in danger? I’m his bodyguard.”
“He’s wearing your clothes,” Scott said.
Was that a hint of red on Will’s cheekbones?
“We had to leave Dubai in a hurry,” he said. “Gadiel didn’t pack a lot of clothes, so I’ve been letting him borrow mine.”
Scott frowned. All right, that made sense.
Pulling out his phone, Will glanced at the screen. “I shouldn’t have let him go alone,” he said under his breath, getting to his feet.
Scott scoffed. “He left five minutes ago, come on. Nothing is going to happen to him in five minutes!”
“You’re right,” Will said, but he walked to the window and looked at the street below. “He will be fine.”
Scott lifted his eyebrows. Will sounded as though he was trying to convince himself. It was so strange.
“So,” Scott said after a few minutes of silence. “When is this gig going to end?”
Will said nothing, still looking out the window.
“Will?”
Will said nothing.
“Will!”
“What?” Will said, sounding very distracted.
Scott stared at his back in confusion. Will had always been very responsible when it came to his job, but such obsessive behavior seemed a bit too much.
“It’s been fourteen minutes,” Will suddenly said, breaking the silence. “Something is wrong.”
Scott huffed, rolling his eyes. “Jeez, I don’t remember you being this controlling and paranoid with your other clients.”