Love In Slow Motion (Love Beyond Measure #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,33

with beer and tacos no matter what. But I’m glad that this fork in the road has you sitting in front of me right now.”

Ilan let out a sigh, then squeezed Fredric’s hand before pulling away. “Can we get lunch soon? With neither of us trying to escape bad dates?”

Fredric’s mouth stretched into a smile. “Yes. And tonight, you can even drive me home and see my new place. Me moving away wasn’t so everyone else could become strangers, you know.”

“I know,” Ilan said.

“I’ll call Julian soon,” he added, his last concession of the night. “And you can visit me whenever you want. Is that good enough for now?”

Ilan was quiet a long while, then he let out a slow breath and sounded like he just might be smiling. “Yeah. It’s good enough. For now.”

Chapter 7

Ilan was unsettled. And for a while, he assumed it was the move. In spite of it being firmly at the start of winter, the temperature went up, and a bout of humidity hit the coast so the morning he started to unpack, he was dripping sweat and breathing a little heavier than usual. It didn’t help that he’d been plagued with insomnia since his taco night with Fredric, and he assumed that was because he was reeling over seeing him on a date with a man and then finding out that Julian knew the entire time.

But reality hit him as he started putting books away on his shelf and thinking about Fredric’s little seaside bungalow that was less than a ten-minute drive from his own place. He hadn’t told Fredric he’d moved into town. It was the lie that was choking him, that was robbing his sleep and spinning in his gut.

He’d been overwhelmed with shock at the situation that night, and when he dropped Fredric off and taken a quick tour of his place, it hadn’t occurred to him to tell the guy he was only a hop, skip, and a jump away if he was ever needed. Moving to the kitchen, Ilan poured himself water from the fridge spout, then stared at the way the sunlight lit up the sharp corners of the square glass as it filtered in through the kitchen window.

He leaned on the counter, his eyes drifting to the water just beyond the dock, and he wondered if telling Fredric he was close would only make the man feel worse. He’d said he wasn’t trying to be a stranger, but he also made it clear he wanted to get on with his life without help. And Ilan understood that, respected that. And he knew it would sound like a goddamn lie when he told Fredric that moving ten minutes away was nothing more than a coincidence.

But, he realized with a heavy sigh, he’d made a promise.

It was late in the morning, so he took his time showering, then jumped in his car and headed down the road. He kept the top up, but he rolled his window down and hung his arm out and appreciated this small burst of peace he wanted to hoard before real life forced him back into a routine.

He wanted to get back to work—eventually. He just wanted to take his time on the way.

Feeling better about his decision, Ilan pulled his car into Fredric’s driveway, and as he turned the car off and stepped out, he heard the sound of Sebastian barking. The front door was closed, and the blinds were down, so Ilan made his way around the side of the house and found Fredric sitting in a chair with a mug of coffee and his feet stretched out in front of him.

He had big designer shades on and a linen top, and Ilan had never seen him look so good. He looked great, actually. He looked…

He stopped himself before he went too far. Julian always mocked Ilan’s crush on the man, and Ilan had leaned into it because he liked the way it riled up his best friend. But it wasn’t meant to be real. His heart wasn’t supposed to race at the sight of him like that—casual and beautiful and happy.

Shaking his head, he walked to the fence where Bas was wagging his tail, and he cleared his throat. “Got room out here for one more?”

Fredric sat up straighter, and his mouth curved into a wide grin. “Back so soon?”

“Hey, I was a model of self-restraint and waited four whole days,” Ilan fired back. He let himself in, then gave the