was falling in love with. Julian had never been very big on PDA—and no one would expect that from him, but if he kept three feet of distance, they’d figure it out.
He let out a soft breath, then wrapped the towel around his waist and picked up his phone again to check his dad’s message.
Dad: your mother said she saw your car drive up. Glad you got in safe. Love you.
He didn’t bother replying. He’d see the man soon enough at the brunch which he couldn’t avoid. His stress made him hungry, and his hunger made him irritable, and he didn’t want to face the judgement and scrutiny of his family while in a mood.
Pulling the door open, Julian glanced around and found the bed empty. In fact, the entire cottage was empty, so he hurried out and rummaged in his case for his outfit. For a short moment, he regretted having let Ilan pick out his clothes. Everything fit perfectly, but felt wrong on his body. The sweater hugged him too tight, the jeans too trendy. He felt ridiculous in his polished loafers, and his wild hair that never behaved when they were this close to the ocean only served to make his entire look that much worse.
He fumbled with changing his hearing aid batteries, and gave himself less than thirty seconds of his reflection before he grabbed his phone and headed out the door. He wasn’t entirely sure what he expected to see, but Will at the end of the driveway talking to Ashton wasn’t it. He felt a momentary rush of panic which was exacerbated by the slight vertigo he got as he adjusted to sound, and he almost stumbled as he reached Will’s side.
“I wasn’t sure you were going to introduce us to your boyfriend, so I took matters into my own hands,” Ashton said, too loud like he always did when he spoke to Julian. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Julian let out an exhausted sigh. He and Ashton had never been close, and Julian supposed even if he’d been more like his family, they wouldn’t have gotten along. There was a faint resemblance in the cut of their jaw and curve of their lips, but Ashton was fit, he was younger, he had youth in his eyes Julian wasn’t sure he ever possessed. It was no surprise that Bryce had tripped over himself to get his attention, really. And maybe it should have stung more, but he was just too tired to really let himself care.
“I was just introducing myself to your charming cousin,” Will said, his voice pitched lower. It was like a balm to his now-abused inner ear, and Julian let out a sigh as he stepped a little closer.
“We just woke up,” he told his cousin. “I’m assuming my mother sent you?”
Ashton’s pinched expression told him that yes, she had been obnoxious enough to send someone running for him. “No one’s going to wait for you, if that’s what you were thinking.”
“Trust me,” Julian said with a snort, “it wasn’t.”
He almost made a noise and flinched back when Will’s hand closed over his, and he barely held back again when Will’s soft lips brushed over his knuckles. “It’s my fault,” he said, not looking back at Ashton. “I kept him a little busy this morning.”
Julian watched Ashton’s eyes narrow and his face pale a little. Then he took a step back and shrugged. “I’ll let everyone know you’re on your way.”
Julian turned his gaze back to Will and they stood there like that, unmoving under the foggy morning sun. Will hadn’t let him go, and Julian told himself he should pull away, but it had been a long time since he felt a touch like that—gentle, easy, wanting. And it wasn’t real, he reminded himself harshly, but he let himself indulge anyway.
“He’s a dick,” Will finally said when Ashton was well out of earshot. “Was he always a dick?”
Julian rolled his eyes and stepped back to give Will a once-over. He was dressed—wearing the clothes better than Julian could ever hope to, in linen pants and a light grey sweater that hung low in the sleeves. He looked stylish—he looked expensive, and it was that thought alone that kept him from paying him the compliment aloud.
“He’s just the tip of the iceberg. I did warn you, though.”
Will’s eyes softened and his lips turned up in a faint smile which showed off a shallow dimple in his left cheek. “You