Page 56 of Embracing James

“He’s a he, yes.” It didn’t matter what James was.

“Is he okay with the way you live your life?”

“He is.”

“Does he know you’re moonlighting at that awful salon? I mean, what is that place? Do they show movies while you’re getting a haircut?” Noel rolled his eyes. “So dumb.”

Showing a movie wasn’t a bad idea, but unless there was a way to keep the tablet or screen clean, all while turning the chair for the client, it wasn’t practical. “It’s a salon that’s using the former theater. It’s repurposing the building.”

“I guess that’s not so bad,” Noel said. “But does your boyfriend know you’re working there? With that flake who runs it?”

A flake? Nice.He didn’t like Noel any longer, but he really didn’t like bullies. Noel didn’t know James and couldn’t make a judgment on him. “He does.” His patience thinned. “What’s your point?”

“He might be an understanding guy, this boyfriend of yours, but he might be threatened by you going to the salon to push a broom. He might not want to share you with anyone,” Noel said. “I wouldn’t. Or is this boyfriend of yours ignorant?”

“Stop.” He’d had enough. “What do you want? To argue? To talk about my love life? Something else?”

“I wanted to try to win you over again. We were good once and we could be again. We had a good time.” Noel inched up to Paul. “You and I had a strong relationship. Our business was fun and I liked being with you. Besides, we’re a good match. I’m in your age group, we have the same experiences, we’re both versed with money…and the sex was hot.”

His patience crumbled. “You wanted my business so you could claim it as your own and the one time we tried to work together, I had to bail you out. You screwed me over.” The sex hadn’t been that hot and he’d seen a side of his ex that made him sick. Noel wanted to use people, not love them.

“It was a misunderstanding.” Noel shrugged. “You don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You messed up.”

“I might have, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give me another chance.”

Paul sighed and shook his head. “I don’t have time for this.” He spotted James’ car coming up the street. He checked his watch. James must be done early. It wasn’t even five.

James parked in the driveway beside Noel’s car. He left his vehicle and strode up to the patio. “Hi.” He threaded his arm around Paul. “Who is this?”

“This is my ex-boyfriend,” Paul said. “Noel. Noel, this is my boyfriend, the very understanding James.”

James offered his free hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Noel paled and inched backward. “You.”

James met Paul’s gaze. “Me?”

“Noel saw you and didn’t think you and I were good matches for each other,” Paul said. “He’s opinionated.” He was talking about Noel like he wasn’t there and he didn’t give a shit. Maybe Noel would get the hint and leave.

“I see.” James tucked his hand into his pocket. “Well, it’s nice to have met you.”

“Right.” Noel backed up on the patio. “I need to go.”

“Have a good afternoon.” Paul waved and stayed on the patio until Noel was in his car and leaving. “Fuck me.”

“I’d like that,” James said. “What was with him?”

Paul opened the door for them and stepped into the condo. He waited for James to join him, then closed the screen door. He sighed. “Noel, for some reason, decided he’d like to try again. He texted me a while back and I ignored the messages. I deleted them, but he didn’t get the hint when I didn’t reply, so he happened to find me over in Shaker. I thought I’d managed to get away from him there, but he found me again. He can be persistent.”

“What did he want? Just to get together?”

“I’m guessing he wanted me to go into some business venture with him, but you showed up in time to save me from him asking.” Paul sank onto the sofa. Doob jumped up there with him and he scratched the dog behind the ears. Paul tugged James onto his lap, straddling him. “What brings you home so fast?”

“A cancellation. My last client needed to come in on Monday, not today, so I moved her appointment and printed out my information before I left. The guys were done already and Casey wanted to see her boyfriend’s baseball game, so we all left.” James held Paul’s hands. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“About moving in?”

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