Page 47 of Protecting his Heart

Evan shook his head. “No chance. That stays with me forever. A reminder that although the most amazing, gorgeous, clever, wonderful man is all those things, he also can’t sing for shit. You have to have some flaws, Owen. It’s only fair.”

“Well, I don’t see you having any,” he replied.

“Oh, I have flaws. Without a doubt.” Evan gestured to the phone. “It’s also got Matteo on it, too. He can’t carry a tune, either. You’re a perfect match in the karaoke world.” He switched to a different video. “You might like to see this, though.”

Owen, again, was on the screen, but there was a drag queen beside him, crooning to him in their gravelly voice. He smiled. He’d always loved the idea of drag shows, but he’d never actually met one. Frowning, he muttered, “Typical. The one time I get to meet someone and I’m too drunk to remember it.”

Evan’s arms came around him. “Well, it just goes to show how nice these people are. You have a free ticket to attend a drag show of your choosing. They,” he gestured to the screen, “said you probably wouldn’t remember it, and they wanted to give you a second opportunity.”

Owen glanced at him, eyes wide. “Really?” Evan nodded. “I can’t wait.”

Evan chuckled and palmed his cheek, bringing their mouths together. “You are so easy to please and such an enigma at the same time.”

“I’m one of a kind.”

“You truly are. And you’re mine.”

Owen wrapped his arms around Evan’s neck, straddling his lap, and kissed him again. By the time the doorbell rang, his lips felt bruised, and he fell back onto the sofa while Evan grabbed the food. He touched his lips, smiling.

Best birthday present ever.

****

Chapter 15

Evan

Evan hit the ground running when he entered the hospital almost two weeks later. A car accident victim had just been brought in, and they needed help. He shoved his things behind the nurses’ station and washed up quickly before helping the doctor. There were so many cuts and bruises already forming, and they had to work fast. Evan set up an IV for fluids and medicine to help with any pain the person might feel—though, hopefully, because they were unconscious, they felt little.

They worked tirelessly until the person was as patched up as they could be, and then the doctor exhaled. “Now we’ve stopped them from bleeding out, let’s look at what needs doing first.”

By the time they sent them for the tests the doctor needed, it had been over an hour. Evan cleaned up and grabbed his things, telling Marie he would be back in five minutes. He strode for the staff area and locked his belongings away. He grabbed coffees on the way back, handing one to Marie.

He had little time to drink it. A&E was rammed—it always was, but there must’ve been something in the air that day because it seemed overly busy compared to usual.

Evan groaned, dropping into a chair behind the nurses’ station. “I need lunch. I’m already starving!”

“It’s not even eleven o’clock yet,” Marie said, shaking her head.

“That means it’s lunchtimesomewhere, doesn’t it?”

She threw something at him, which he caught instinctively. “Eat that. It’ll tide you over if nothing else.”

He stared at the muesli bar, wrinkling his face. He hated muesli, but needs must and all that. Ripping open the wrapper, he swung his chair around to watch the news on the screen as he chewed.

“—been confirmed that there has been a shooting in Windsor. There are no confirmed fatalities, but several people are injured.”

Evan gestured to the screen. “Have you seen this?”

Marie glanced at it and then at him and nodded slowly. “Yeah, it started ten minutes ago.”

“Wonder who it is?” He stared at the screen, trying to read the scrolling words along the bottom.

Marie put a hand on his shoulder. “Evan—”

The words on-screen registered, and he dropped the bar as he stood, moving closer to the TV.

“Evan…” Marie said again.

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