his shoulders, except for the collar and row of buttons. He stood in front of Jack, full lips slightly parted, as if he were surprised to see Jack. Surely he had known Jack would be at a Four Kings Security event. Seeming to get himself together, Fitz smiled softly at him.
“Hi, Jack.”
“You look beautiful.”
Fitz’s smile widened, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. “Thank you. Look at you, all suave in that tux. The gray brings out your eyes.”
“Thanks. It was Ace’s idea. Figured we’d stand out, and as long as we had black bow ties we’d still fit in with the black-tie thing.” Jack fiddled with his bow tie.
“Now it’s crooked,” Fitz said, reaching out to fix it, his fingers brushing Jack’s. Their eyes met, and Jack’s pulse sped up. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Jack asked, confused. It didn’t help that he was having trouble focusing, something that never happened to him. Yet all he could think about was Fitz and how good he looked. Christ, and he smelled good too.
“For never calling you back.”
“It’s okay,” Jack murmured, averting his gaze. It stung when Fitz hadn’t returned any of his calls or messages. Jack had been worried about Fitz and wanted to make sure he was all right after the incident on the beach. They’d had a connection. Or so Jack had believed.
“No, it’s not okay. I liked you, really, I did. I just… wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do anything about it.”
Liked. As in past tense. He’d liked Jack, but now? He’d obviously moved on. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me.”
“But I want to. You were so sweet, checking up on me, but I’d just found out my boyfriend of ten years was happily married to someone else. He’d been married for three years to a man he’d been with for twenty. I’d thought he was the one, and if I hadn’t walked in on him having sex with someone I worked with, I would have continued to think that.”
“Jesus.” No wonder Fitz hadn’t called him. To find out someone you’d given your heart and ten years of your life to had not only betrayed you, but been doing so for years?
“Yeah. To say I needed some time to come to terms with everything would be an understatement. There was a lot of therapy and Ben & Jerry’s involved.”
“I’m so sorry, Fitz.”
Fitz shrugged, drawing Jack’s gaze to his smooth shoulders beneath the sheer material of his shirt. “I threw myself into my work and focused on myself.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I don’t know your ex, but clearly he’s a moron who didn’t deserve you.”
Fitz’s smile reached his sparkling green eyes. “I know that now.”
“Thank you for confiding in me. I thought I’d done something wrong.”
“Oh no, sweetie. Nothing wrong about you,” Fitz purred, taking a step closer to Jack. “Your vest is a little wrinkled. Let me smooth that out for you.” He slid his hands up Jack’s chest, and Jack’s breath hitched. “There. Better.”
“Thank you.”
Fitz smiled sweetly, his eyes dropping to Jack’s mouth before he cleared his throat and took a step back.
“Jack, where are you? It’s time,” Ace said through Jack’s earpiece.
“I gotta go. Can I come find you after?” Something inside compelled him to stay, to want to explore whatever the hell this was between them, even when his brain argued against it. Their lives were so different, they were so different, and Fitz was distracting in a way that could prove dangerous, yet the longer Jack stood near Fitz, the more drawn to him he was.
“I don’t know. I…”
Jack took Fitz’s hand in both of his. “Please.”
“Okay.” Fitz’s smile warmed Jack all over. He leaned in and kissed Jack’s cheek. “Go get ’em, tiger.”
Right now, he felt more like a kitten, ready to curl up on Fitz’s lap. What the hell? What was wrong with him?
“Thanks. I’ll see you soon.” With a smile, Jack turned and headed quickly for the side of the stage.
“Tiger, huh?”
“Shut up, Ace,” Jack hissed, his face growing hot. Shit, he’d forgotten Ace could hear everything. Fuck my life. Because that was just what he needed right now.
“Looks like things are back on with Fitz.”
“It doesn’t look like anything, because things would have had to have been on to begin with before they could be off so they could be on again.” Jack reached the side door of the stage where Ace stood, eyes wide.
“Um… wait, what?”
“And there had been a chance for it