Love Him Free (On the Market #1) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,15

dusk was settled across the sky, glowing its last breath behind the tall Rockies, and he didn’t bother with the lights just yet.

It had been a week since Simon had seen Sylent’s life crumble on Twitter. His production company announced a delay on the release of his upcoming film, and said he was taking a personal hiatus. All of that seemed in contradiction to Sylent’s vague posts about second guessing life and people and his career path, and for the first time, Simon felt compelled to reach out.

Before he could pull his computer close, his cat jumped up on his lap and kneaded at his thighs. The cat, Rocco—as was named by his brother—had been a gift from Levi and probably a subtle mockery. It was Levi’s subtle way of saying, I know your secret, and I think you’re pathetic. It might have been a bit harsh, but Simon expected no less from his brother. With a sigh, he gave the cat a little scratch under his chin before shoving him away, then he tucked his knees closer to the desk.

Simon reached to the back of his head and poked at the clips holding his kippah, then he tugged and eased it from his hair. Setting it to the side, he hovered his fingers over the laptop for long moments, but he wanted to give the man something more than what everyone else had offered. It was easy enough to fire up his webcam, to face it down at his hands rather than his face since he was terrified of being seen by anyone who might know him. He took a breath and hoped his skills hadn’t faded much after not using the language for so long.

‘Hi, Sylent. I just wanted to say that I might not understand what you’re going through with relationships, but I know all about questioning everything you’ve ever known in life. I’m a huge fan of your work and I hope we don’t lose you, but you have to do what’s best for you. You didn’t deserve this. I hope you’re okay.’

He checked it, and re-checked it. His ASL was rusty and probably not entirely correct in grammar, but he remembered enough. As his fingers twisted through signs, it became like flowing water again, and he hoped reaching out to Sylent in his own language would offer him at least some small measure of comfort—assuming the man actually saw it.

His heart beat heavy with fear as he clicked open the direct messages, attached the video, and then hit send.

Before he could panic-delete, the buzzer rang, and Simon shot to his feet, slamming his computer shut. He rushed toward the door before he realized it was James, and that he shouldn’t be in a huge hurry to engage with his brother’s boyfriend alone. Especially when James disliked him as much as he did.

There was no delaying it now, though. He took a breath, then met James with a tentative smile who thrust a pink box at him that bore the new label of The Rebel Rugelach across the top. He let out a small oomph as the package hit him in the chest, and he took a few steps back as James shoved past him to get inside.

“Make yourself at home,” Simon told him softly. He moved to the table and peeled away the edges of the tape. As the lid popped open, a familiar scent wafted out and his heart clenched a bit in his chest. Nestled at the bottom of the parchment paper were several rolls of jachnun, looking perfectly crisped and glazed and exactly like he’d remembered.

Bubbe had rarely made them, apart from special occasions. They were a pain in the ass to get right, and temperamental, and took forever. So, they were apology treats. They were comfort treats. They were something Simon had gotten a handful of times in his life when the grief of missing his father and losing his mother overwhelmed him. He hadn’t had them since long before Bubbe died—he didn’t even know Levi had the recipe.

His chest was tight when he looked up, and he saw James staring at him with a closed-off expression. “Levi said you’d know what those were for.”

Simon had to clear his throat before he could speak. “Ah. Yes. Thank you for bringing them.”

James nodded, the side of his jaw tense, his temple throbbing which was easy to see now that his hair was shorn down. He took a fortifying breath, then spread his