“So—” Jevon said at the same time.
They both stopped, then Rhys threw caution to the wind and pulled Jevon in for a tight hug.God, I’ve missed him. “Let’s go inside. I know I’ve got some explaining to do.”
Jevon didn’t argue. He led Rhys inside and to a booth at the back of the restaurant. Rhys sensed eyes on them as they manoeuvred around the tables, and his stomach flipped a little when Jevon waved at a member of staff working in the open kitchen. The woman was tall, statuesque, and utterly gorgeous. If she wasn’t related to Jevon, Rhys would eat his damn shoe.
“My cousin,” Jevon offered when he caught Rhys’s questioning frown. “She’s the master baker next door. That’s why I’m in the city. I’ve been staying with her for a few days.”
“Right.” Rhys processed the information. Discovering that Jevon was in London and free to meet had made his day when they’d finally made contact, but the notion that he’d been there all along hurt. So much wasted time. “I think I’ve been here before.”
“This place? Or—” Jevon cut himself off with a wave of his hand. “Sorry. Carry on.”
Okaaay. Rhys took a deep breath. “Yeah. This place. I think I came here when it opened, and I’ve been back for work since. Someone passed out in the kitchen.”
There’d been a little more to it if Rhys remembered correctly, but the details escaped him. All he could truly recall was feeling incredibly lonely as he’d watched the dude’s mates take care of him like brothers.I miss Harry too.
“Rhys?”
Rhys blinked. “Sorry, what?”
Jevon smiled a little wider. “You look knackered.”
“I am. It’s been a long week.”
“Is that why you didn’t call?”
“Nah. I didn’t call because I left your card on the broken chopper. It only came back into service yesterday.”
“Oh.”
A rush of something Rhys couldn’t quite decipher seemed to leave Jevon all at once. He held his tongue while a server brought water and menus, then reached across the table to take Jevon’s hand. “I was losing my fucking mind these last few weeks. I even googled that bloody circus place you work for, but the email address on their website is wrong too. It bounced back.”
Jevon’s eyes widened. “Seriously? They were supposed to have fixed that before I left on my last trip.”
“Well, they haven’t,” Rhys said. “Trust me, mate. Short of sending up smoke signals, I did everything I could to find you, but even the landline number didn’t do me any good. I kept sleeping through its opening hours, or it was engaged, and I—”
He stopped. Did Jevon really need to know he’d launched his phone across the room so many times it was a wonder it still functioned? That only the nuclear-proof case he used for work had saved it?Probably not.
Or maybe he did.
Rhys tapped Jevon’s chin with his knuckles, forcing his gaze up from the table. “I’m sorry... I really am. I’ve been wanting to see you again so much.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ve been slammed at work, but you’ve been on my mind every spare moment I’ve had.”
More tension seeped from Jevon’s shoulders, and he leaned forward like he was going to kiss Rhys.
He didn’t, but the hand that wasn’t entwined with Rhys’s found his face, fingers grazing Rhys’s rough cheek, thumb tracing his scratchy eyes. “I’d nearly given up on you.”
“Only nearly?”
Jevon nodded. “I couldn’t bring myself to let go entirely. It’s too—too real, you know? If that doesn’t make me sound like a thirsty bitch.”
The cruel words were all wrong falling from Jevon’s sweet tongue, from his kind lips, but Rhys got it. Jevon’s easy poise, his sunshine smile, hid insecurities that only a man naked in bed with him would ever see. “I wanted to call, Jevon. I swear. I wasn’t joking when I said I’ve been losing my mind. Shit, I don’t think I’ve slept more than a few hours a night since I last saw you.”
“It shows,” Jevon said gently. “And ignore me. I just—um—I’m not a particularly insecure guy, but when it comes to sex these days... and you, I kinda lose my head a bit too.”
Rhys nodded slowly. They’d talked about this before, and he was getting the feeling nothing he could say would do much good at this point. Jevon was fucking incredible, ineveryway. He just had to learn to believe it. “I hear you.”