“Thanks for driving me,” Frank murmured, rubbing his eyes again. “I really would have been okay.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
Frank couldn’t argue with that. It wasn’t until he startled awake that he even realized he’d fallen asleep. How long had Joshua been parked outside his house? “Shit. Sorry.”
“For what? Falling asleep after being up a ridiculous number of hours? It’s okay. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, and, um, thanks for the help. Hopefully you won’t regret it.”
Joshua frowned. “Why would I regret it?”
“I’ve been known to be a bit of an asshole.”
“Hm. We’ll see.”
Frank got out and closed the door behind him. He had no reason to stop and look back, but he did. Joshua waved cheerfully at him, his boyish smile wide. They could do this. Joshua was a friend helping him out, that’s all. Frank waved at him, then went inside. Tomorrow would be a day like any other. He could handle this. Everything would be just fine.
Everything was not fine.
Lifting his gaze over the monitor, Frank studied Joshua, dressed smartly in navy pants and a gray knit sweater over a white shirt and black tie. He stood in front of the costume rack, absently running a hand over one of the feather boas while he spoke to the event company over the phone. For once, Frank didn’t care about the growing pile of blue feathers on his carpet.
Frank had arrived at the club just before five and found Joshua already there, leaning against the wall next to the back door, phone in hand as the wind rustled his hair. He’d lifted his head, met Frank’s gaze, and the dazzling smile that spread across his beautiful face stole Frank’s breath away. What had Frank done? He’d managed a grunt in greeting, slid open the panel to the high-tech lock, and failed to enter the correct alarm code. Twice. Thankfully, he hadn’t been able to screw up the retina and thumb scan.
Hoping to get his shit together, he gave Joshua a tour of the club and back of house area, pointed out where everything was in his office since that’s where Joshua would be working, and got him connected to the office’s secure Wi-Fi. That had been an hour ago.
Joshua had come a long way from the scared, uncertain young man he’d been when they’d first met. Then again, a lot had been going wrong for Joshua that day. From the moment Frank laid eyes on him, he’d felt a fierce sense of protectiveness, and he hadn’t hesitated in coming to Joshua’s aid. More importantly, Joshua had felt safe with Frank, walking straight into his embrace when he’d offered comfort.
Working for Colton appeared to have helped Joshua restore his confidence. He was sweet and polite as he addressed the owner of the event company, detailing exactly what he expected from them and when. His voice never rose, and he remained calm the entire time, chatting as if they were old friends. Frank stared in awe.
“I’m so excited to be helping Frank. When my boss heard what was going on, he loaned me out to help. The two are such good friends. Who’s my boss? Colton Connolly, of Connolly Maritime. Yes, the billionaire.” Joshua chuckled. “Oh my gosh, the wedding was stunning. Obscenely expensive, but beautiful. Did you know both Colton and his husband had their bachelor parties at Sapphire Sands?”
As if feeling Frank’s gaze on him, Joshua glanced over, and the little shit winked at him. He actually winked. At Frank. Not entirely sure what to do with that, Frank turned his attention back to his monitor and the employee schedule he’d done nothing with for the last half hour.
“Thank you so much, Alma. I appreciate it. Yes, of course. We look forward to working with you. Talk to you soon.” Joshua hung up and tapped away at his phone, then slipped it into his pocket. “Neema, your new event manager, will be here tonight at eight. Before she arrives, you’ll receive an email containing a link and log-in details to a client portal where you’ll find the customized theme package she’s putting together for you. It’ll contain 3D renderings for the winter theme you picked, the decorations needed for each setup, and budget estimates. Once the theme and decor are confirmed, Neema will go through catering options with you, menu options, update the renderings with the planned layout of tables, chairs, stages, centerpieces, and so on. The dancers will be here tomorrow at two. I’ve already texted Kit to let him know.”
Frank stared at Joshua. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. With a smile, Joshua removed his phone from his pocket.
“Also, I’ve pulled up several restaurants in the area with excellent reviews that offer both dine-in and delivery options for dinner. What are you in the mood for?”
That was a loaded question if he ever heard one. What he was in the mood for was Joshua, naked, with Frank balls-deep in his ass. Fuck dinner. He wanted dessert. Ooh, this was such a bad idea.
“You choose. But we’re dining out,” Frank grumbled, standing. A busy restaurant would ensure he kept his hands to himself.
Joshua stopped in front of him. “You have something, um…” He reached out and swiped his thumb over the corner of Frank’s bottom lip. His lips twitched like he wanted to smile. “Glitter?”
“Unfortunate snowman incident.”
Joshua eyed him, like he wasn’t sure if Frank was messing with him or not. “I would really like to hear about this incident.”
“Never gonna happen.”
“Now I want to hear about it even more.”
“No.”
Joshua nodded, his smile wide. “It needs to happen.”
“I admire your determination, but it’s not happening.”
“Hm.” Joshua dropped his gaze to Frank’s mouth. “We’ll see.” His low, sultry voice promised things Frank had no business even thinking about. He barely stifled a groan before Joshua informed him, “You’re driving.”
“So bossy.” Frank leaned in ever so slightly when he caught a whiff of the familiar scent. “Ambre Nuit by Christian Dior.”
“My favorite.” Joshua’s sexy purr sent a shiver through Frank. “You gave it to me for Christmas, remember?”
Frank tilted his head. “I didn’t know it was your favorite.”
“You’re adorable.” Joshua ran a finger down Frank’s tie. “It’s my favorite because you gave it to me.”
Well, shit. “We should go.” Frank turned, glowering at Seth, who stood in the doorway looking amused. “Why don’t you go ahead. I’ll catch up. I need to talk to Seth a minute.”
“Sure.” Joshua grabbed his jacket, and as soon as he was gone, Frank snatched up his own jacket and stopped in front of Seth.
“How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to know you need to marry that man,” Seth said cheerfully.
Frank sighed. “There’s nothing going on between us, and there won’t be.”
“Why? He’s a great guy, and there’s obviously a strong connection between the two of you.”
“He’s young.”
Seth gave him a pointed look. “So are you.” He sighed at Frank’s glower and stepped to one side. “The only one who has an issue with his age is you. Joshua doesn’t care. I don’t care. None of your friends care. Hell, look at King and Leo. You don’t see King hung up on Leo’s age.”