“What for?” Alex asked as he pulled his arm away.

  Louis stared at him for a few seconds. “I don’t know, but I’d like to find out. He’s been in there with Marcus Stone for almost an hour, and I was told to wait for you.”

  Alex’s stomach lurched, and he sank down to sit on the stairs. He clutched his messenger bag to his chest as he asked, “Did you know he was coming here today? Was it already arranged?”

  “Marcus called first thing this morning. Before Dad and I even got to work. Said it was urgent. That’s all I know.” He took Alex’s arm again and tugged. “Come on. I’m tired of waiting around. Our deal was almost finalized, and this crap is making me nervous.”

  Alex didn’t move.

  Louis looked down at him, a frown on his face. “Has something happened? What do you know that I don’t? You look like you’re going to throw up.”

  Alex looked up at his older brother, remembering the times when he’d followed him around like a puppy, so desperate to be just like him in every way. “Does Dad seem upset?”

  “Does he have something to be upset about?”

  Alex stood up and moved past his brother. “Let’s get this over with.” He put his bag down on the foyer table and headed for the back of the house.

  “What happened? What have you done?” Louis asked as he moved to catch up with him.

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Alex said.

  “So, you do know what’s going on?”

  “Yes.”

  Louis grabbed his arm again. “Then tell me.”

  Alex jerked away. “Would you stop grabbing me? Fuck.”

  “Better watch that in front of Dad.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “Me cussing isn’t going to be a big deal. Not anymore.”

  “Why not?” Louis stared at Alex as his frown deepened, and then his eyes suddenly widened. In a low voice, he asked, “Have you knocked Stone’s little sister up?”

  Alex had to laugh at that. If that idea shocks you, just wait. “No. I have definitely not knocked anyone up.” Curious, he asked, “He has a sister?”

  “Yeah. She’s at Southern with you, but she’s only a freshman.”

  “Never met her. Or if I did, I had no idea who she was.”

  They rounded the corner, and Louis tried to halt him again, but Alex quickened his pace and pushed the double doors open. He blinked as he took in the scene. Thomas sat behind his desk, and Marcus sat on the couch in front of it. Both men had drinks in hand and were smiling.

  Marcus beamed at him and set his drink aside. “Glad you’re finally here. Everything’s going to be fine, baby,” Marcus said, rising to embrace him.

  Alex froze as Marcus drew him close and kissed his cheek. A shiver went down his spine when he felt Marcus’s lips on his ear. “Play along, or I tell them how we really met,” Marcus said.

  As soon as Marcus released him, Alex looked back to see how close Louis was. His older brother stood a few feet away, a stunned look on his face. He didn’t seem to have heard what Marcus had said.

  “Both of you, come sit down,” Thomas said, rising and pouring two more drinks.

  Alex let Marcus lead him to the couch. Louis accepted his drink and perched on the end of Thomas’s desk, still looking shocked. Alex met his dad’s gaze as he took his own drink. Though he was almost twenty-three, his dad had never offered him a drink before.

  Thomas took a few steps back and leaned on his desk. He stared at Alex for a moment before he said, “I do understand why you were afraid to tell us you’re gay. But if you two are serious enough to be engaged, I’d have thought you would at least tell us you were seeing someone.”

  Engaged? Alex felt Marcus’s arm slide around him. “We’re not engaged,” Alex said.

  Thomas glanced over at Marcus. “You’re saying there’s a big party planned for this Saturday just for the heck of it?”

  “Big party?” Alex said.

  Marcus touched his arm. “Stop pretending. They know, and it’s going to be fine.”

  Alex looked up at him. Would he really tell them how they’d met? What would his dad and Louis say to that? He couldn’t risk it, even though he was furious with Marcus. “I wish you hadn’t gone behind my back like this.”

  Marcus sat back. “I kept telling you it wasn’t right for us to announce our engagement without your family there. I don’t regret coming here.”

  “How long have you been sleeping with my little brother?” Louis said, rising to refill his drink. He didn’t exactly look angry, but he didn’t look happy either.

  Alex’s stomach churned as his cheeks flushed. He looked down at the carpet.

  “Louis! Apologize right now,” Thomas said.

  “No, please,” Marcus said. “I have a younger sibling myself, and I am almost twenty years older than Alex.” He glanced over at Alex. “As you can see, he’s embarrassed. I’ve been a perfect gentleman, I swear.”

  Alex looked at Marcus, resenting the mischief he saw in those dark eyes. “I’m not embarrassed about anything. I’m angry about you being here.”

  Louis cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to be rude, but yes, I feel protective when I find out my kid brother is dating a man who’s ten years older than I am.” He looked back and forth between them. “How long has it been going on?”

  Marcus looked at Alex and raised one eyebrow. “We met in a club. You remember how long ago it was?”

  Alex clenched his jaw. “You probably remember better than I do.”

  Alex wanted to roll his eyes as Marcus made a big show of trying to remember, looking up at the ceiling and even rubbing his chin. “Almost a year, I think. Hard to say.” To Louis, he said, “The only thing that matters is that I love him. We haven’t set a date yet, but maybe he’ll be ready to do so soon.” He glanced at his watch. “Now, I really must be going. Would you see me out, baby?”

  “Sure,” Alex said, finally taking a sip of his drink. Even though the bitterness made him wince, he took another sip and downed it all. He felt Louis watching him as Marcus shook hands with Thomas.

  Louis straightened and set his glass down when Marcus extended a hand to him. They shook, and then Louis said, “Did you come to our aid because you think our company can make it in the end? Or are you doing it because of how you feel about him?”

  “I saw an opportunity,” Marcus said. “It has nothing to do with Alex, though I am happy I can help his family.” He smiled. “I’ll see you two in a couple of days.”

  Alex rose and went out into the hall as the three men continued exchanging pleasantries. When Marcus joined him, he took his time closing the double doors. Then he spun around and drew Alex to him for a searching kiss.

  Alex struggled but then realized they’d be heard easily. When Marcus finally released him, Alex took his hand and dragged him to the front door. He didn’t stop or look back until they were outside.

  “Why did you come here? And why did you tell my dad all those lies?” Alex asked.

  Marcus didn’t look at all apologetic. In fact, he looked pretty damned smug. “I spent all day yesterday trying to figure out how to get what you denied me.”

  “What I denied you?” Alex scowled at him. “I seem to recall us fucking again even after I told you I didn’t want to see you again.”

  “I’m not talking about your body. I’m talking about you. I want a chance, and I always get what I want.”

  “You think I won’t expose you?”

  Marcus smiled. “You’ve already passed up one chance to do so. The way I see it, you’ve lied to them as well.” He stepped closer. “You really want them to know you went home with me and spent all night fucking me after only knowing me a few hours? You feel like hearing them ask more questions?”

  “We aren’t engaged. I am not going to marry you.”

  “I am having a party Saturday, and I am going to surprise my friends and quite a few business associates with my news. Your father and brother will be there. You want to embarrass them by not showing up? Gossip could hurt them right now. But an adorable May-December romance between a wealthy bachelor and a future teacher? Could be solid gold if I get the right reporters there.”

  “You said you loved me. You don’t love me. You don’t know me. I won’t marry you.”

  “No, I don’t love you. But I want to know you. I want to spend time with you. If you’d stayed for breakfast, we wouldn’t be in this position.”

  “You’re fucking crazy.”

  Marcus drew him close again. “Maybe I am. Sure felt like I was losing my mind the moment I slid into you.” He kissed Alex’s neck. “That sigh you let out on that first stroke inside you wrapped right around my heart.”

  Alex pulled away. “Stop this. It won’t last. Soon enough you’ll find another boy toy.”

  Marcus crossed his arms, frowning. “I’m not the type. Get to know me, and you’ll see that.”

  “No.”

  Marcus stepped forward again but didn’t touch Alex this time. “Play along. Spend time with me. If you still feel the same in three months, we’ll call it off. I’ll be gracious and say something about not wanting to tie you down and hinder your career or whatever you want me to say.” He licked his lips and lowered his voice. “But if you don’t give me those three months, I walk away. From everything, including the deal with your family.”

  “You can’t do that. You wouldn’t,” Alex said, even as fear clenched around his heart.

  “I can and will. Nothing has been signed yet. I’d be out a few thousand dollars for the company audit I paid for, but your family? They’ll be finished.”

  “You think threatening me is going to help you?”

  Marcus relaxed and backed up. “I think it’s going to make you do what you’re too stubborn to admit you want to do.” He turned on his heels. “I’ll see you Saturday, though I hope to see you much sooner.”

  “You can’t do this!” Alex said.

  Marcus turned and put a finger to his lips. “Careful. Can’t have them hearing us fight.” He grinned and then got into his car, throwing Alex a wink before he drove off.

  Alex sank down onto the front steps. He wouldn’t really do that … would he?

  Chapter Two

  Marcus smiled when he arrived home to find Alex sitting on his doorstep. He pulled into the detached garage and took his time getting out, even standing by the door and watching it until it finished closing. He hadn’t heard anything from Alex all week, though he’d had several conversations with Thomas and Louis. “Hope you’re ready for the party tomorrow night,” Marcus said as he came to stand in front of Alex. He extended his hand to help the younger man stand up.

  Alex remained seated. “Will you really call off the deal if I don’t go through with this?”

  “Come inside and talk to me. Please.”

  “Answer my question.”

  “The way you answered mine last Sunday?”

  Alex stood. “What do you want from me?”

  Marcus shook his head and moved past him. “Not a great listener, are you?” He opened the door and gestured for Alex to come inside. “I want the handsome, intelligent young man I met last Sunday to go out with me again. I want it so bad I’m willing to do anything to make it happen.”

  Alex thrust his hands into his pockets and went inside.

  Marcus shut the door and went into the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”

  Alex came to stand in the kitchen doorway. “Water.”

  “Sparkling okay? I think it’s green tea with citrus.”

  “Sure.”

  Marcus pulled out two chilled cans and then got a couple of glasses down. He felt Alex watching him as he added ice, poured each water, and then tossed the cans in the recycling bin. Alex stared at the blue bin as if he’d never seen one before. Marcus had noticed Alex had a tendency to fix his gaze on a single object when he was trying to work something out in his head. He slid one glass across the counter. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks,” Alex said, coming up to the counter but not picking the glass up.

  “Something wrong?”

  “You live in a normal house. No servants. Your car is nice but just … normal.”

  “What were you expecting?”

  “Stuff like we used to have. Maids and cooks and multiple cars. Dozens of bedrooms. Rooms you don’t even use.”

  “I have three bedrooms, and I use one of them as a home office. One car plus a truck for hauling things. I didn’t grow up with money. But that’s good because it’s easier to hold on to it that way. I buy expensive suits and throw lavish parties for business, not to show off.”

  Alex picked up his glass and took a long sip. “How did we talk for so long and not say anything about our families?”

  “I don’t know. The thing I remember most is wanting to keep you talking.”

  Alex took another long sip and then stared down into the glass.

  “You want dinner? We could order in or go somewhere. I have frozen pizzas for days I feel lazy.”

  “You seem to be on top of everything. When do you ever feel lazy?”

  Marcus smiled. “All the time.”

  “I could eat a slice,” Alex said after a long pause.

  “Coming right up.” Marcus set the oven to preheat and opened the freezer. “You don’t like onions, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.”

  Marcus grabbed a pizza and double-checked the toppings before ripping the box open. “I do remember that.”

  “Louis said you have a sister close to my age.”

  “Yeah. She’s a bit younger. Just turned nineteen. Victoria.”

  “You close?”

  “I was out of the house before she was born, but I adore her. Feel more like an uncle, though. She was a big surprise to my parents. Dad was fifty, and Mom was forty-four.”

  “Your parents still alive?”

  “Yes, both of them. They live in Maine now but had a house here until Vic started college.”

  “She come over much?”

  “Maybe once a month. We watch movies and play video games. I take her to buy groceries. She calls me up every now and then. I go to campus and take her and some of her friends out for dinner.”

  A slight smile teased at Alex’s lips. “Those girls probably all have crushes on you.”

  “Maybe, but they’d be bored with me soon enough.” Marcus held Alex’s gaze. “Can we start over?”

  “I don’t know. Can we? Lies and threats are a shitty way to start out.”

  “Which is why I want to start over. Go back to before you found out my last name. We spent hours touching each other, and you fell asleep in my arms. Would you have stayed and spent Sunday with me if you hadn’t gotten spooked?”

  “I didn’t get spooked,” Alex said. “I realized that if I kept seeing you, my dad and brother would find out.”

  “Your brother seemed shocked, but your dad only expressed mild surprise. Did they ever say or do anything to make you think they were homophobic?”

  Alex shrugged. “They’re so conservative.”

  “Being conservative or liberal is only one single thing about a person, and if the person has a brain, then there’s plenty of room for them to think for themselves within that label.”

  “I know, but he doesn’t get me wanting to teach. I don’t think he’s ever really gotten anything about me.”

  “That may change as you get older. As he slows down and starts thinking of family more.”

  “My mom died the day Louis got his MBA. He was twenty-five. I was sixteen. The funeral was the last time my dad hugged me. Or asked if I was okay.”

  The oven beeped, and Marcus slid the pizza in. Then he walked around the large island and came to stand beside Alex. “You miss your mom?”

  “Yes, but we weren’t close. Not really. She had her charities and her friends. She was a good mom, but she wasn’t that involved. I had a part-time nanny when I was a kid, and Louis drove me around when I was a teenager. Checked up on me and all. Even went to a parent-teacher night once.”

  “You and Louis are close?”

  “We were. He’s busy these days, and we have nothing in common.”

  “You’re brothers. You shared a house for years.”

  “My family life is fine. Not warm and fuzzy, but it’s fine. There’s nothing sad to save me from.”

  Marcus sighed. “Just trying to learn about you. Not trying to do anything else.”

  “We’re really going to do this? Go through with it?”

  “Tomorrow night? Yes.”

  Alex shook his head and actually laughed. “Still say you’re crazy.”

  “Maybe.”

  Alex eyed him up and down. “You mean what you said?”

  “Gonna have to be more specific. I said an awful lot of things the last time we saw each other.”

  “You got that fucking right.” He pressed his lips together as he looked up at the light fixture. When he lowered his gaze again, he said, “I give you three months, and then that’s it? Did you mean that?”

  Marcus made himself reply. He didn’t want to give Alex a way out. He wanted to pull him close and never let him go. He might be right about me being crazy, but hell if I care right now. “Yes. Three months of genuinely trying. If you want to call it quits, I’ll say anything you want. You can write the narrative of our breakup.”

  “Does genuinely trying include sex?”

  Marcus closed the distance between them but didn’t touch Alex. “You think we can resist each other?”

  “Not completely sure what I think, but I know your cock got hard as soon as I mentioned sex.” Alex reached down and ran his hand over the bulge in Marcus’s trousers.

  “You’re going to end up bent over this island if you aren’t careful,” Marcus said.

  Alex continued to rub him through his trousers. “Maybe I should make some threats of my own.”

  Marcus grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away. “Try it, and I’ll make sure everyone in the state sees our engagement picture.”

  Alex’s eyes widened. “What?”

  Marcus smiled. “I didn’t end up in the position of acquiring other PR firms by being bad at PR.”

  ****