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“Right.” Jay returned the mug to the cabinet and closed the door.

He returned to his seat, his heart filled with happiness over such a trivial thing.

They’d just finished breakfast when Ryden’s phone buzzed, and a heartbeat later, so did Jay’s.

He removed it from his pocket and frowned at the text from King. “King’s back at the office?”

“He texted you that he wanted you to come in?” Ryden asked.

“Yes. That means he came home early.” It was only a day or two, but Jay hoped King hadn’t cut his honeymoon short because of him. He would hate to have done that to Leo.

“We’d better get goin’,” Ryden said, grabbing their plates and sticking them in the dishwasher.

They were both lost in thought on the way back to work, and Jay couldn’t help but wonder if Ryden was thinking about them.

What came next? Were they supposed to return to work and act like nothing had happened between them?

Was Ryden waiting for Jay to say something, or had last night been about comfort and nothing more?

Did Jay want something more? He’d just told himself he wasn’t ready for something more.

Damn it. He was going in circles. Jay was no closer to an answer when Ryden pulled into his spot in the Four Kings Security parking lot.

Upstairs, King sat behind Jay’s desk and did a double-take when he saw Jay and Ryden together. His questioning gaze wasn’t as concerning as his sitting behind Jay’s desk.

Several years ago, Jay had picked up a nasty bug and was forced to call in sick.

King decided to access his calendar and ended up deleting the company’s entire schedule instead.

Thankfully, Jack was able to recover everything.

He promptly forbade King from touching Jay’s computer.

The man might be an unstoppable force of nature, but he had a talent for breaking technology just by looking at it.

“Hi, King,” Jay cheerfully greeted. “I’m so happy to see you! I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon. What are you doing at my desk?”

King frowned at Jay’s monitor. “I’m trying to access my calendar.”

“Why?” Jay came around to stand next to King. Oh, thank goodness. He hadn’t yet managed to access the scheduling system.

“So I can clear it for the next two weeks.”

“Might I remind you of what happened the last time you tried to access your calendar from my computer?”

King glared at Jay’s monitor as if it had been responsible for what happened. “I do, and it was one time. You keep things in weird places.”

As in, not on his desktop. King’s desktop gave Jay heart palpitations every time he saw it.

“I already cleared your schedule,” Jay said.

“Saint will be filling in for you for the three events you had scheduled. Your client meetings have been added to Mason’s schedule, and he and your clients have been notified of the changes.

The three in-person meetings that require your attention are now being held virtually.

The video conference links have been sent to the clients, who’ve all confirmed their attendance.

I also placed an order to restock your fish snack supply.

You were running low on Goldfish Crackers.

I also ordered the new Crisps for him to try. ”

King sighed in relief. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He sat up and frowned. “Wait, there was something else.”

“Yes. Nash’s birthday is next Thursday, and you sent him two prime-seat tickets to the Rolling Stones concert.”

“I did?”

Jay smiled. “By you, I mean me, but from you and the guys, so yes.”

“Outstanding.” King stood and held his arms out, and Jay hugged him tightly.

“Welcome back, King.”

“It’s good to be back.” He squeezed Jay and then released him. When Jay turned, he snickered at Ryden’s floored expression.

“Why don’t you meet the boys in the conference room?” King told Ryden. “I need a word with Jay. We’ll meet you all there in a minute.”

Ryden nodded and hurried off while King motioned to his office. Jay walked in and sat on the couch, waiting for King to close the door and take his seat behind the desk.

“I’m sorry you had to come back early,” Jay said. “I hope Leo wasn’t upset.”

“Coming back early was Leo’s idea. One, he was worried about you; two, he’d had his fill of travel. He was ready to come home. He probably won’t leave the house for weeks. You know how much he needs to decompress and recover from traveling.”

Jay nodded. He understood. As excited and happy as Leo was to honeymoon in Japan with his new husband, the overstimulation and anxiety would eventually cause him to seek the comfort of his own home. He’d probably crashed hard when they got home.

“That’s why I sent him a super comfy human dog bed for your living room and a Swedish Fish-themed gift basket. I also asked Colton to set up puppy visits with Leo so he can spend some time with Cocoa.”

King’s warm smile reached his eyes. “Thanks, Jay.”

“You’re welcome. We take care of one another. That’s what families do.”

“Speaking of taking care of family,” King said, eyes narrowed. “We’re going to find these assholes. I promise you. I will make them regret ever having laid a hand on you. But first, how are you holding up?”

How was he holding up? Jay let out a shaky breath. “This kind of thing comes across my desk more often than it should, and now that it’s happened to me… It’s so surreal.”

“Maybe you should take some time off.”

Jay shook his head. “I want to help you all catch whoever’s behind this because whatever’s going on, it’s bad.”

“Before we get into that, tell me about you and Ryden.”

Jay blinked at him. “What do you mean?”

King arched an eyebrow at him.

“Don’t give me your judgy eyebrow.”

“What? I don’t have a judgy eyebrow.”

“You totally have a judgy eyebrow. It’s the left one.”

King touched his left eyebrow. “I don’t think an eyebrow can be judgy.”

Jay snorted. “Yours can.”

“I’m not judging. I’m…concerned. When Ryden told me what happened at the wedding, he didn’t leave anything out.” He gave Jay a pointed look. Which meant King knew about them kissing and making out.

“I had to make it look real.”

King hummed. “Of course. Go on.”

Was he seriously going to keep this from King? Jay knew better. “Last night, we slept together.”

King’s eyes went huge, and Jay held a hand up.

“Not like that. I was sleeping in the guest room, and I had a horrible nightmare. The kind that was so vivid that I didn’t want to be alone.

So I went to his room, and he invited me to join him in bed.

There was no funny business, just comfort.

” Jay couldn’t help his dopey smile or how he melted at the memory.

“He was so sweet.” He felt his cheeks go warm.

“Okay, I kissed him. For real, this time. Not that the first time wasn’t real. ”

“First time?” King was so confused. “There was a first time? When was this?”

“Um, a little while back in Red’s office. It’s not important. We kissed, for real, twice. But that’s all.”

“I thought you hated him.”

Jay met King’s gaze, his lips quirked in the corner. “I think we both know I never really hated him.”

“You used to throw books at him.”

“I know, and yes, he can be very frustrating, but last night, I discovered he could also be funny, silly, and adorable.” Jay dropped his gaze to his fingers.

“I might have…been a little judgy myself. Last night, I felt safe.” He lifted his eyes and met King’s gaze again. “I can be myself around him.”

“Have you told him about Finch?”

Jay scowled. “No, I have not.”

“Don’t you think you should tell him?”

“I will,” Jay promised. “When all this is over. Besides, what if Ryden doesn’t feel the same? I’d be bringing all that up for no reason.” He snickered. “You’re doing it again.”

“He deserves to know whether something happens between you two or not. And yes, I am judging you this time because we both know that Marine is goofy over you. He fell head over heels the moment he saw you.”

“ What ?” Jay’s heart pounded in his ears. What was King talking about?

“Do you remember what he said when I first introduced you two?” King asked, sitting back in his chair and lacing his fingers over his stomach. He looked a little too smug for his own good. Ugh, why did King always have to be right?

“Um, he didn’t say anything.” It had been a somewhat awkward meeting. Jay had been his usual perky self, smiling big and holding out his hand. Ryden had taken it and just…stared at him.

“Because he’d been struck by lightning. When we left you, I’m pretty sure he was kicking himself.

Kept muttering under his breath. Then he asked how long you’d worked here and tried to be all subtle about whether you were dating someone.

He failed miserably. You have no idea how much that man swoons over you when you’re not looking.

He’s just awful at the whole communicating his feelings part.

” King shook his head. “At least when it comes to you.”

Jay’s heart did a little happy dance. All this time…. “If something did happen, would you be okay with it?”

“It’s not my place to get involved,” King sighed. “You work in different departments, so it’s not against the rules. Now, if he broke your heart, I can’t say I wouldn’t make his life miserable.”

“You would not,” Jay grinned wickedly. “That would be my job.”

“You’re right,” King chuckled. “That would be much scarier.” He stood. “I hope you two know what you’re doing.”

“I hope so, too,” Jay replied quietly, following King out of the room.

In most areas of his life, Jay was confident, and if he wasn’t, he worked on it until he was.

When it came to men, he’d made some regrettable life choices, but in the end, he believed someone would come along who’d love him for him and wouldn’t try to change him.

Was it possible the man of his dreams had been in front of him for years, and he hadn’t known it?

Or maybe deep down he’d known but refused to accept it.

For the first time in his adult life, Jay wasn’t so confident because, if last night was anything to go by, he could fall hard for Ryden, and Jay wasn’t sure he could risk that kind of heartbreak.