Page 49 of Watch Over Me

"They wanted to give me a week off, but I bargained it down to tomorrow only," he added, turning back to his brother.

Robert clasped his hands together. "Some time off wouldn't be a bad idea."

"Yes, it would. I have no interest in staying home. I like my job and I like the people I work with."

"I can see that." Robert glanced towards James and back. "I'm not stupid, you know."

"No, but you are presumptuous." Eddie stood up. "As I said, I appreciate you coming to check up on me, but I need to go back to my debriefing so I can go home."

Robert stood up as well and, after a moment of hesitation, brought him in for a hug again.

"I'm glad you're okay," he offered quietly. "I'll still check on you tonight, though. By phone," he added when Eddie opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not going to cramp your style, don't worry."

Eddie grimaced.

"Please never say that again," he told Robert as he gestured for him to leave the lounge first.

"I'm going, I'm going."

Thankfully, Robert didn't say anything to James, other than a quick goodbye on his way out.

And then Eddie and James were alone again, for a brief moment before they needed to head back downstairs.

Leaning his forehead against James's shoulder, Eddie sighed.

This whole day was… a lot.

A warm weight of James's hand on the back of his neck made Eddie swallow hard against the tightness of his throat.

He refused to fall apart now. Herefusedto.

"Soon," James whispered, echoing Eddie's earlier thoughts. "I'll get you home soon, I promise."

"Good," he whispered and brushed the backs of his fingers against James's other hand.

He couldn't wait.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

It took much longer than James would have liked to get Eddie out of the headquarters and into the car, but finally,finally, they were on their way to Eddie's place.

As soon as they left the company's underground parking, Eddie put his hand, palm up, between their seats, and James took the invitation, tangling their fingers together.

It seemed like the easiest thing in the world, and he couldn't believe they had never done it before today.

James had never held anyone's hand like this, but with Eddie, it felt natural. Touching him in general was already addictive, actually. He'd had to catch himself not to reach out for him back at the office, and when Eddie had leaned on him and brushed his fingers against James's after seeing Robert out, James wanted to gather him in his arms and never let go.

Now, they drove in silence, and their tangled hands were like an anchor point, keeping them in the moment, together. James only now realized how much he'd needed that—especially after a day like this, but also beyond today. There were no words, just a simple, physical contact.

The time for words would come, of course, sooner rather than later, but this, right here, was a nice stepping stone—something that brought them closer without feeling scary and overwhelming, which the words could be, sometimes.

The drain of the day and everything that had happened was slowly dragging his body down, but he couldn't let it overwhelm him. He needed to take care of Eddie, whose day had been infinitely worse than his.

James needed—and wanted—to be there for him.

Also, he'd made a promise they'd address the thingbetween them, whatever it was and whatever it might become. On one hand, it seemed like the cat was out of the bag, with the handholding and the looks they'd shared, but on the other, they hadn't named the cat yet, or established what kind it was.

Hopefully, he would do better at that conversation than with the metaphors inside his head.

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