Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,73

granted a wish by the Employment Genie, this wouldn’t be my first choice.”

He’d thought she might be offended by his statement, but instead her expression softened a bit. She turned her gaze to Romeo. “Is that true?”

Looking miserable, Romeo gave a slight nod. “Yeah.” Then his lips tightened. “But that doesn’t mean you should choose me. I can find somewhere else to work. Maybe it won’t be as great, but it’ll be fine. And since I live with my mother and sister, it’s not like I’m gonna end up on the street. But Teddy has to make rent, Lauren. And it’ll be real hard for him to land a job anywhere near this good. He’s got more to lose than me, so keep him.”

Teddy didn’t know whether he wanted to kiss Romeo or strangle him. Teddy was trying to be noble here, and Romeo was messing that up. But he was also willing to sacrifice something really important just so Teddy didn’t end up folding T-shirts at Old Navy. That was pretty amazing.

“Well,” Lauren said, leaning back in her chair, “I didn’t expect this. I didn’t even think you guys liked each other very much. I was worried about sending you to Seattle together.”

“We were stupid,” Teddy said firmly.

Romeo reached over to grab Teddy’s hand. “We like each other. Actually...” He paused and, chewing his lip, turned his head to look at Teddy. Then Romeo grinned and faced Lauren again. “I like like him.”

The sound that escaped Teddy was unclassifiable—some mutant combination of a squawk and a gasp. The L-word. What Romeo had just casually dropped wasn’t the same L-word that Teddy had avoided even thinking. But it was an L-word word that floated around the room like a helium balloon, dropping glitter and rainbows and teeny tiny unicorns everywhere.

So what did Teddy do? He grabbed that balloon.

“And I like like him too,” he said.

Romeo didn’t make weird noises. He whooped with joy and leapt to his feet, dragging Teddy with him, and then wrapped him in the most crushing, wonderful embrace of all time. It felt amazing, even if Teddy couldn’t breathe. Hell, who needed oxygen when he had Romeo?

How could Teddy ever have forsworn this? How could he have believed he didn’t want this? Didn’t need this? Because now his very cells sang with it, his entire being suffused with joy.

Lauren cleared her throat. When Teddy and Romeo reluctantly peeled apart, she was smiling. “Okay. You don’t hate each other. I believe that.” Her expression turned serious. “But unless you want me to turn Joyce down...”

“One of us gets the ax,” Teddy said. It was harder to care about it now that he knew Romeo reciprocated his feelings.

“Yeah.”

Romeo looked as giddy as Teddy felt, his eyes sparkling like disco balls. “You’re gonna have to make that decision without us, Lauren. We have some business to attend to.” He pulled Teddy toward the door by one hand; Teddy didn’t put up a fight.

“I’ll call you this afternoon!” Lauren yelled after them.

They got only as far as the hallway before they started making out. Romeo pushed Teddy up against the wall, caging him with his long arms and locking their lips together. Teddy countered with a double handful of Romeo’s ass.

“This. Is not. Proper workplace behavior,” Teddy panted after a while. By then he’d laced his fingers behind Romeo’s nape and was snuffling at the juncture of neck and shoulder, wondering if it might be interesting to suck right there. Yes, it almost certainly would. A hickey would look nice under Romeo’s dark skin.

“Whichever of us keeps his job should watch one of those anti-harassment videos.”

Teddy gave Romeo an investigatory lick. Mmm. Salty. “Not feeling harassed here.”

“Me either.”

“But I also wouldn’t mind going somewhere more private. A bed would be handy too.”

“Handy,” Romeo agreed. But handsy was more like it, because now he was palming Teddy’s ass.

“Come over to my place?”

“God yes.”

After a few more gropes, they moved apart. They were still straightening their outerwear when Imani stepped out of the elevator. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw them. “Um...”

“Don’t worry,” Teddy told her brightly. “We’re going to get a room.”

“You two?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Must’ve been some weird shit going down in Seattle.” She was still shaking her head as she entered the suite.

That brief interval had been just long enough for a thought to push aside some of the schmoop in his head. “Romeo? If Lauren chooses me, I’m going to turn her down. I don’t want to work