At least Geoffrey and Sven managed to take his mind off Liam for a short period of time. The two men looked completely mismatched. Sven stood nearly seven feet tall with massive shoulders and a perfectly trimmed blond beard. His long hair had been neatly braided down his back.
Geoffrey, on the other hand, was halfway over five feet and was thin enough to look as if a strong wind would knock him over. He was an adorable twink with laughing blue eyes and the sassiest mouth Seth had ever met. The man seriously had zero filter between his brain and his tongue, but at least he was a truly sweet person.
But despite their obvious differences, Geoffrey and Sven were made for each other. There were few people in the world as happy together as they were. Of course, the other people that happy were probably his coworkers.
Fucking water.
The vows were exchanged, and they were pronounced married amid cheers from their family and friends.
Seth briefly considered sneaking out after saying a very quick congratulations to the happy couple, but Gidget latched on to him and practically dragged him to their table for dinner. To his great relief, most of the Ward Security people were seated together, which also happened to be on the opposite side of the room of Sven’s family.
As the delicious meal was served, Seth caught little glimpses of Liam. Dear God, he was a good-looking man. Sure, he resembled his brother, but Sven was a handsome man as well. He just never thought of Sven that way. He was a coworker and friend. There was nothing else.
But Liam…sexy as hell. Unlike Sven, Liam’s blond hair was cut short. He also had a beard like his brothers, but he wore his trimmed close to his jaw and chin. And while he couldn’t be sure from this distance, Liam’s eyes were possibly a darker shade of green than Sven’s.
This was ridiculous.
Seth jerked his gaze to his own table to find Dom smirking at him as if he knew exactly who Seth had been staring at. Seth shook his head and grabbed his old-fashioned, taking a healthy swallow. Thank God Geoffrey had sprung for the full bar. He needed this drink.
When dinner was completed, the plates cleared, and the toasts given, Seth promptly switched to water. He was far from drunk, but he wasn’t clearheaded enough to drive home just yet.
With a bottle of water in hand, Seth slipped away from the table filled with his friends and stepped outside into the cooling night air. The sun had finished setting while they ate, and a few stars were shining in the velvet sky. There were people on the terrace, some of them swaying to the music pouring out of the open doors. But all the little groups were spaced far apart, offering the illusion of privacy.
He stepped up to the railing and looked out at the lights of the city that had become his second home. He’d grown up and gone to school in Bridgeport. He’d been sure it was the only place that would feel like home, but Cincinnati had surprised him. There was just something about this quirky city that grabbed ahold of him and wouldn’t let go. When he moved back to Connecticut, he was going to miss this place.
But he’d miss the people even more.
A soft scrape of a hard-soled shoe on the pavement had Seth turning a little to his left to see who had moved so close to him. A part of him wasn’t shocked to find Liam standing a few feet away.
God, he looked even sexier up close in his dark suit.
His hands were shoved into his pockets, but his shoulders looked almost painfully straight, as if his entire body was tensed.
“Hi, Seth,” Liam said, and his voice was the same low rumble that had washed over him in that hotel room.
Seth fought back a shiver at the memories flashing through his brain and pasted a smile on his lips. “Hey, Liam. This is a surprise.”
A choked laugh left Liam and he took a step forward, closing a little of the distance between them. “Definitely.”
“Beautiful wedding,” Seth said. Okay, this was really fucking awkward. He’d not had any problems talking to Liam last night. Not that they did a whole lot of talking.
“Yes. Geoffrey did an amazing job of pulling it together.”
A painful silence fell over them and Seth swallowed hard, his brain scrambling to find something to say. Anything to smooth over this awkwardness and just make everything okay again.
“I had no idea you worked with my brother,” Liam said in a low, rushed voice.
Seth couldn’t stop the wide grin. “I had no idea you were related to Sven.” Seth rolled his eyes at himself. “Though after seeing you standing next to each other, I can’t believe I fucking missed it. Especially with the accent.”
Liam chuckled softly, and it helped to break the uncomfortable tension still twisting between them. “It’s okay. I…I was just wondering…if you told anyone…about last night.”
There was no stopping the wince. “Told? No.” Seth sighed. “But a coworker might have guessed. I was pretty shocked to see you and…he kind of guessed from my reaction. I’m sorry. I told him he can’t tell anyone.”
“Thanks,” Liam said, instantly relaxing. But then his eyes widened, and his mouth fell open as he quickly added, “I-I mean, I’m not ashamed of what we did last night, and it’s not like I’m in the closet. I just don’t want to make things awkward for my brother at work. And it’s not like I keep him apprised of my sex life anyway.”
“I get it,” Seth replied with a smile. “Not a problem. I’d prefer it if all my coworkers don’t know all my business either.”
“Okay. Good. Yeah, I…good,” Liam said, stammering a bit. A crooked smile flashed across his lips, and he extended his hand to Seth. “It was good to see you again, Seth.”
“You too, Liam.” Seth took Liam’s hand, watching his own get nearly swallowed up in his fist. His skin was slightly rough from manual labor, but it was just the right amount of pressure as they shook. That touch alone sent his brain soaring back to the night before and having those wonderful hands all over his body, holding him down. Blood rushed to Seth’s cock, and he found himself licking his lips at the unexpected hunger.
Liam sucked in a ragged breath, and his hand tightened around Seth’s for a heartbeat before he dropped it completely. He flashed Seth one last smile and retreated to the rest of the wedding party.
Boyfriend? No, Seth wasn’t interested in a boyfriend.
But he was very tempted to suggest another hot night of sex with Liam.
Chapter Three
Liam looked around his shop, warmth swelling in his chest. Everything was finally coming together just as he’d dreamed it would.
Sturdy, gorgeous wooden tables with drawers gleamed in the overhead light. He’d bought them from his brother’s friend, Abe. Each was one of a kind and had turned out better than he hoped when he’d put in the order. Big and blocky, they were beautiful with black hardware on the drawers. He’d placed them strategically around the wide space, all covered in flower arrangements and vases.
More delicate vases were on glass shelves along the walls.
The entire area was a delight of color to the eyes, and the flowers’ scents comingled in the best possible way. He took a deep breath, enjoying the bouquet of fragrances.
Every day, he loved walking in here and being hit with the bounty of beauty.
Working with nature and flowers had always been his passion. In fact, his parents had nicknamed him Ferdinand after a book he’d read about a bull who preferred smelling flowers to fighting in the ring. It had taken him years to ditch that moniker, but his mother occasionally still slipped up.