Page 76 of A Cold Hard Truth

“So.” Callahan took his seat beside Jace and slipped his hand under the table. “Sebastian tells me the cat is out of the bag.”

“Pardon?” Remington asked.

Sebastian poured the whole flute of champagne down his throat and refilled, going for two.

“He said you found out about the donation.”

“You did?” Jace balked.

Remington narrowed his eyes on his best friend. “You knew?”

“Shit.” Jace ran a hand through his hair and looked away. “I mean…”

“Of course he knew,” Sebastian interrupted. “Callahan knew because he’s my best friend, and he tells Jace everything because no one is allowed to have secrets anymore.”

Another hint of bitterness leaked out with Sebastian’s words, but Remington was fairly certain he was the only one who picked up on it. He wanted to know what Rhys had wanted with his morning message, but he didn’t want to press the issue if Sebastian didn’t want to talk about it.

“So then you know the lovebirds fucked,” Jace said with a smirk.

“They what?” Callahan’s eyes widened and he looked between Remington and Sebastian and back again.

“No secrets,” Sebastian grumbled, taking another drink of his champagne.

“That’s not a conversation for here,” Remington said, soft and stern, hoping Callahan heard and understood the intent of the message.

Callahan licked his lips, stare lingering on Remington a little longer than the last pass, like he was appraising Remington’s stock.

“Alright,” he said, stare still focused. “Not for here.”

Beside Remington, Sebastian’s shoulders relaxed in the slightest, and Remington reached under the table, curling his fingers around Sebastian’s knee. Sebastian sought him out, a clammy palm landing against the top of Remington’s hand before their fingers tangled together beneath the white tablecloth.

Sebastian held him like he was terrified, but his face telegraphed the easy composure that came so naturally to men of his upbringing. Remington gave his hand a squeeze and hoped he wasn’t in over his head.

“Not for you at all,” Remington said to Callahan, “unless Sebastian brings it up.”

Callahan smirked and tipped his head to the side. “Alright then, boss.”

Jace leaned over and tweaked Callahan’s nipple. “You never call me that.”

“Did you want me to?”

“Not for here,” Remington said.

Jace laughed and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Remington.”

Beneath the table, Sebastian’s grip on his hand tightened, and Remington matched the intensity of it.

“How’s the move going?” Sebastian asked.

“Getting the last of it today,” Jace answered.

When Remington left on Friday, Jace had been dealing with packing the last of his things. Another reason he’d enjoyed the weekend with Sebastian. He wasn’t stuck alone in the apartment. He was happy for his best friend, well and truly, but he wasn’t looking forward to the eventual loneliness that would settle around him. And he definitely didn’t want to cling to Sebastian to compensate for it.

That would be weird.

That would end in disaster.

But he held Sebastian’s hand tighter, just the same.