Page 21 of Perfect Night

They chatted about anything and everything. It was a two-hour booking, so there was no rush to take things upstairs, butonce they’d been talking for an hour, Charlie knew he’d have to take the lead.

“Shall we go upstairs?” he suggested when there was a lull in their conversation.

“I wasn’t . . . erm . . . yes, I’d like that.”

Charlie stood up, smiled, and held out his hand for Richard to take. He had Richard lead the way upstairs. Charlie was determined to give this sweet guy a good time.

It was late when he got back home, but the flat was empty. Langdon was at work, Paolo with his family. Gregory had probably gone in to the office, and Jason no doubt had his legs over his head somewhere.

Charlie relished the peace. He was back at work tomorrow and dreading it. He didn’t hate his job. It was his boss and everyone around who sucked up to him, but Charlie wasn’t confident enough to get something else. He needed that regular salary coming in so his mum wouldn’t get suspicious about where the money was really coming from.

Lying on the sofa, he took his phone out and scrolled to Sebastian’s number. How could they ever work? No guy would accept what Charlie did on the side for extra money, let alone someone with Sebastian’s status. And Charlie couldn’t give it up. His mum was relying on that money.

He needed to forget Sebastian ever existed. Looking at the number again, he deleted it before he did something stupid.

CHAPTER 8

SEBASTIAN

It was Friday night, and Sebastian had heard nothing from Charlie. Had Jason even passed on his number? The guy was flighty. He could have just forgotten. But the reality was, Charlie had his number and was choosing not to call. Sebastian had to accept it, but he couldn’t let it go. Not yet. He needed Charlie to tell him to his face that he didn’t want to see him again, and then he’d walk away. He got his stubbornness from their mother. His sister had it as well, and he knew he was in for a lecture when he pulled his car up on her drive. Hopefully, his nieces would cause a pleasant distraction.

His hopes were dashed when he walked into his sister’s home and wasn’t attacked by small people. Bex was holding out a glass of red wine with a smirk on her face.

“They’re out with friends. It’s just the two of us.”

“Ugh, do we have to do this?”

“Yes, you’ve been a grumpy bastard all week. I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

“Everyone’s allowed to have a bad week.”

“Just get on a bloody plane and go and see the guy.”

“How am I supposed to do that? I don’t have his number or anything other than his first name.”

“How much money are you worth?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Look, little brother. You’re the sensible one who invested his money. You are literally a billionaire.”

“You’re not exactly poor.”

“That’s not my point. Not only do you have money at your disposal, you have the contacts. If you really wanted to, you could find this guy in a day.”

“Isn’t that creepy?”

“I’d call it resourceful. You need to see him again. Even if he tells you to piss off. At least you’ll know. Although he’d be an idiot to turn you down.”

“How would it even work, anyway? We live three thousand miles apart.”

“Those are just details to be worked out later. You’re rationalising.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Sebastian, I’ve never seen you this distracted and hung up on a guy. Get your ass back to London.”

There was no point in arguing with his sister when she was this determined. Now, all he had to do was find Charlie.

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