Page 62 of Meet You Half Way
“I’m changing my passcode,” I told him.
“Probably for the best,” he agreed.
“Don’t want to be tempted to look? Is that it?” I chided.
“Don’t get me wrong. I love my wife and I will worship that woman until the day I die,” he told me. “But maybe I’m not as straight as I thought I was.”
“You really wanted to look at the pictures that bad, hey buddy?” I teased, safe now that I had my phone back in my possession.
“At least explain them to me?” he begged. “What is it you saved me from seeing?”
“Can’t tell you, sorry. Gay club rules.”
“There’s a gay club?”
“Yep. And you don’t know the secret handshake so I can’t tell you.”
“Now you’re just pulling my leg,” he groaned. “Didn’t I just admit I might be just a tiny bit not straight?”
“I’m glad for you, man, really I am. Just stop ogling my guy, yeah?”
“Ha. So you admit he is your man?” Bill grinned, delight on his face as I walked right into his trap.
I sighed heavily. “I have no idea. I wish I could say he was.”
“Yeah, me too. Wouldn’t mind having that eye candy around the place,” Bill grinned.
“Seriously. Stop drooling over him,” I groaned. “Do you know how much time and effort I have to expend trying to convince Mateo he’s not just his body?”
“Okay, okay,” Bill laughed, hands up in surrender. “I promise to be respectful and speak only of his incredible personality and kindness of heart going forward.”
“Thank you,” I returned magnanimously.
“You want my advice though? Lock that man down as soon as you can, Jamie. I’m on Kel’s side now. Put a ring on that finger as soon as humanly possible.”
“Oh, Bill,” I sighed. “If only it was that simple.”
Work had gotten in the way of seeing Mateo this week. But my shifts transferred to afternoons on Thursday so I sent Mateo a text to see if he could meet up for a coffee that morning. I hadn’t seen him since the weekend but our text banter hadn’t let up in the days since and I now had a growing pile of photos that I’d saved over to my secret folder to get me through the nights. I’d learnt my lesson after Bill had caught me out.
I drove to Cat’s Cradle and arrived just before ten, ordering both our coffees while I waited for Mateo to arrive. He stepped through the door just a few minutes later, looking like a breath of fresh air. I’d never given much thought to fashion before I’dmet Mateo but he always managed to look so put together, like he was preparing for a walk on a runway. This morning he was in a light grey henley, the colour setting off his olive skin and highlighting the blonde tips in his hair. My eyes slid down the rest of him, snagging on those tan pants he wore to perfection, snug in all the right places.
“Hi,” I said, never quite sure whether to stand and embrace him or not. He seemed to hesitate over it too before deciding to slide into the booth across from me. He might have been out to his parents now but that didn’t mean he was ready for public displays of affection and I had to respect that.
“You look beautiful,” I added, knowing how much he liked those compliments. He didn’t disappoint, a smile lighting up his already glowing face.
“You too,” he replied. I leant back in my seat as I studied him, noting the lightness about him that had never been there before. He looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off those shoulders of his. And that lightness sure suited him.
“How has your week been?” I asked.
“Good,” he grinned. The waiter arrived with our coffees and Mateo shot me another smile before he continued. “Dante has been in the office a few hours this week which has been nice. He actually has someone coming to look at the business tomorrow.”
“Really?” I asked. “And how do you feel about that?”
“Honestly, Jamie, I feel amazing about it,” he told me. “Dante has been so good about everything. He’s all but desperate to give me whatever I want, whether that’s a guarantee of a job as a condition of sale to the new owner or staying on as a consultant type role like he’ll be doing.”
“Is that something you’d be interested in doing?”
He huffed a laugh. “No, not really. Dante always likes to conveniently forget I have no actual qualifications. Even if he’d given me the firm I would have still had to employ a qualifiedarchitect. I’ve learnt a lot on the job but it doesn’t make up for lack of formal training.”
