Page 26 of A Quiet Man

At least Riley seemed composed and charismatic today. It was really difficult to dislike Riley if you got to know him even a little.

"The burgers really do smell good," Riley informed Tomas almost apologetically. "He seemed to think all the food here is suspect."

"Oh, it's not great," agreed Tomas. "But I'm sure we'll be fine. I haven't gotten sick here yet. Of course, I usually just order soup."

"I've never gotten food poisoning in my life. I'm not worried. But it's a little scary when the waiter warns you against the food."

"Yeah," agreed Tomas. He wondered if there was a better job out there for Auden, something — anything — where he could earn a little more and not have to work at a dodgy restaurant. And again, he had to remind himself that it wasn't his life or his business, and if he got too nosy and interfering, it would be one quick and easy way to scare off Auden for good.

A text alert burbled at him, and he checked it quickly, hoping it wasn't the captain demanding their presence. It would be a shame to order food and not get to eat. It would probably ruin Riley's day. He got intense about food. Because he was a wolf, food was obviously important to him — a faster metabolism ensured that. But he'd also suffered privation as a child, which had affected his feelings about being denied food as well.

He'd said more than once that he'd have starved to death if the gangsters hadn't taken him in and cared for him. Whether that was actually true or not — it was hard to believe a child would starve to death in this country, in this day and age; surely, someone would have noticed and gotten him into foster care eventually — he certainly felt like he would have died without them. And it had taken a long time to break that loyalty. He still sometimes felt guilty about switching sides, as he called it, working for the police instead of lawbreakers. Even though he was a hundred percent happier, and felt he was doing good instead of harm in the world, he still sometimes suffered pangs of guilt from that warped loyalty. They'd certainly gotten their early investment out of him many times over. At least until he switched sides.

Ah, it was only Cody texting him.I'm sorry for speaking out of turn.I didn't realize the subject was touchy. He'd included a monkey-covering-its-mouth emoji at the end, and a shrug emoji. The phone pinged again, with the follow-up text.Let me make it up to you? This text ended with a smiley face emoji and a tea or coffee cup emoji; Tomas wasn't sure which.

"It's Cody, saying sorry," he informed his partner, and quickly tapped out a reply.No worries.I shouldn't have overreacted.Not your fault it's a touchy subject.No hard feelings, OK?

Cody's reply came quickly:Okay. Several smiley faces followed, then:Shall I bring you tacos for lunch?Both of you, obvs?

Tomas tapped back,Damn, hate to miss that, but we're already eating lunch.Rain check?

Cody agreed to it quickly, and Tomas was just putting his phone away again when the food arrived. He felt lucky Cody wasn't holding a grudge. Tomas knew he hadn't reacted very well, and the mild remark shouldn't have set him off that way.

"Ah!" Riley made a sound of pure delight, his gaze riveted on the three big burgers. They were lined up on a plate, which Auden put down in front of him carefully. Auden was smiling as if it really pleased him that Riley was excited about his meal.

He and Tomas traded an affectionate smile as he hurried around, delivering the rest of the food before retreating so they could eat. It was so much less awkward than Tomas had been afraid it might be. Auden was good at his job, and apparently didn't feel odd about this at all — or else he was stellar at hiding it. As Tomas had suspected, he showed no more fear of Riley now that he'd spoken a few words to him.

Tomas felt warm and happy after that little smile. They still had a connection; he hadn't imagined it, and he hadn't ruined it. Whatever this connection turned out to be, it was very real — and very nice.

"I like your boyfriend," Riley said indistinctly. He was eating avidly. "He's cute, and nice."

Hewascute and nice, but Tomas frowned anyway. "One and a half dates," he reminded Riley. "He might not be my boyfriend yet. I mean, officially. We haven't talked about it."

His gaze followed Auden as he worked the room, though. He looked so trim and pulled together and competent. He was being friendly, taking orders and delivering food, able to look after the whole room by himself, even though he should've had some help. The lunch crowd was arriving, and he was a one-man show.

"Well, have the conversation as soon as you can." Riley gave him a significant look. "Maybe both conversations. I've never seen you like this about anyone."

Yeah, me either. Tomas sighed.

Riley nudged him under the table with one huge foot. "Listen. You've been my go-between often enough. If you need my help, if it would make a difference, any of it, coming from me—"

Tomas shook his head, biting back laughter. Riley was the sweetest guy in the world to offer. It would clearly be very difficult for him; he shrank from difficult conversations even with people he already knew and trusted. But this? No way.

"I'll handle it," said Tomas. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "Thanks." It meant a lot that someone understood what he was feeling and supported him. Auden mattered; he was worth the uncertainty. And having Riley confirm that, and feel the same way, helped a lot.

#

The scraping soundof ice and the smooth lines his skates made as he glided over it were viscerally pleasing. Auden had picked the perfect spot for their second date, and the weather was perfect for skating. They had something active and fun to do, but it wasn't so athletic that it was intimidating. They had something to laugh over and enjoy together — skating a long line together, hand in hand, was oddly fulfilling — and it certainly showed off their physical fitness.

It was also hard to overthink while skating, and Tomas had been feeling particularly inclined to brooding worries.Do I just like him because I'm lonely? Thoughts like these weren't fun, but they kept occurring to him. But he'd been lonely plenty of times in the past without falling head over heels for someone. If that was what this was. It felt like it.

How could he know, with nothing really to compare it to? What if his feelings weren't as real because they weren't quite normal? And what if that was the deal breaker, the not-being-quite-normal part?

At any rate, skating got him out of his head, for a few minutes at a time, at least, and it was difficult to feel moody or worried when he was hanging out with Auden. Auden was so full of life.

Tomas had apologized via text to Auden for not warning him about Riley, and again when they met up tonight. Both times, Auden had said it was fine and then changed the subject. He certainly didn't seem to be holding a grudge. He'd been as excited about the date as Tomas.

His cheeks glowed pink with exertion, and his smile seemed brighter than ever before. He'd gotten the giggles twice, and it was extremely cute. He was wearing black leggings and a couple of layers of tight shirts under his baggy, horrible old coat, with a flowing white scarf topping off the ensemble. He made the odd outfit look adorable.