mind.
He held Gabriel’s face, tilted it upward, and pressed a kiss to his lips. He inched back, his pulse quickening at the sight of Gabriel, eyes closed, his lips parted as if still lingering on the tender kiss. Ben ran his fingertip along Gabriel’s jaw and down his throat, telling him he loved him in their private sign.
Gabriel’s eyes shot open as he grabbed Ben’s face and slammed their mouths together. The kiss was desperate, messy, and exactly what they needed in that very moment.
They tore away from the kiss, each gasping for air. Gabriel’s gaze swept his features, scanning for the tiniest hint of…something.
Ben smiled at the hope wanting to peek through Gabriel’s expression. He placed his hand against Gabriel’s cheek and leaned in for a gentle kiss before signing, “I’m as stubborn as you are. I’m not going anywhere.”
Like a spotlight in the middle of a pitch-black night, a smile finally appeared on Gabriel’s face. Ben wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s shoulders, vowing to do everything he could to spare the man he loved from ever feeling this pain again.
“I need an answer,” Rachel said, giving him one of her pointed glares that usually made her staff cringe.
Bull glanced down at the plans. After the Father’s Day dinner disaster, he had spent all week on anything but thinking about what had happened at the dinner. With laser focus, tackling the Davenport Holdings building-assessment project had been effortless, eliminating one location after another for various reasons. The plans currently laid out on his desk were different. The location was the one Rachel favored most, but he was missing something, and until he was sure everything was acceptable, he wouldn’t certify the deal enough for his client to move forward and finalize the negotiation.
“They have another offer. They want a decision before the end of the month.”
He blew out a deep breath. That gave him two weeks. Rachel wanted to launch a new vintage brand for the hotel chain. On the outside, everything with this building seemed to fit the bill for the perfect place to launch the debut collection, but the blueprints had gone through enough revisions over the years to force him to pause. It might be structurally sound, but a big neon security sign kept flickering in his mind. It was likely a simple detail he was overlooking, but he couldn’t take the risk. “I’m hoping to have an answer for you before then.”
“I can arrange to have you fly out and inspect the building if you prefer.”
He shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was travel out of the country for a site visit. “Anthony already scouted the building and took plenty of pictures I can review. I think it’s fine.”
“Bull…”
He glanced up at his laptop’s screen.
“Are you okay?”
“Sure.” He frowned at Rachel’s chuckle.
“Typical.”
“What?”
“Bull dumping a load of bullshit.”
“You know…that gets old.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
He scowled at the screen as Rachel crossed her arms and leaned closer to the camera.
“Things good with you and Ben?”
He couldn’t hold back the smile that surfaced.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Did you get everything squared away with his friend’s approval?”
“Still working on it. Thanks for the letter.”
“I hope it helps. If you need me to speak to someone about it, just let me know.” She looked over her shoulder to address someone who had entered her office. “Duty calls. I’ll check in with you over the weekend. If you need a site visit, tell me. If it doesn’t feel right, I’ll kill the deal.”
Her faith and trust in him never ceased to amaze him. He was an idiot for letting his father’s words cloud his thinking.
They disconnected the call just as his cell phone rang. He quickly answered when he read Halfway House on the caller ID.
“Hey, Bull, it’s Matt. Are you available for an inspection today?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“The letter your employer provided seemed to be exactly what Sam needed to push Calvin’s furlough request along. It was especially helpful since your employer is the hotel owner and confirmed it was also your place of residence.”
“Great to hear. I was concerned the request would be denied since we’re not family.”
“It was. But Sam loves a challenge and will always push to do what he thinks is best. I don’t know how he made it happen, but he did. It’s contingent on a site inspection of your place and a few staff interviews at the hotel.”
Sam was born to be a reintegration officer and took on a paternal