Vulnerable [Suncoast Society] (Siren Publishing Sensations) Read online

  He bit back his first scathing response in lieu of, “Can we talk for a minute?”

  “Sure.” In the background on her end, he heard the TV mute. “What’s up?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “I want this discussion to be private between us.”

  She started to say something, sighed, then said, “I’m alone.” A resigned, sad tone.

  The kind of tone that made him hate himself for what he’d had to do to their family.

  Especially to Eva.

  He forced himself to remain quiet and gentle. “Laurel and I were talking while we cooked dinner.” He related the whole conversation, including Laurel overhearing Mark.

  When Eva finally responded, the rest of his ire faded. He also knew that tone quite well.

  “Leo, I’m really sorry. I didn’t think she heard him, and what she didn’t hear or see was me stomping on his foot and leaning in to whisper that it was not a topic of conversation I wanted to discuss, especially not with Laurel there. I’m so sorry.”

  Eva had never lied to him, that he was aware of. Not anything more serious than hiding birthday presents or spending a few dollars more on shopping than she’d meant to. Especially when he thought about the things she’d told him that she’d told no one else.

  He didn’t think she was lying to him now, either.

  “I’m not mad,” he assured her. “I just wanted to find out what happened.”

  “He was here for dinner the night that news story came on and Laurel started talking about it. She’s actually the one who brought it up to him, not me. I only told Mark you and I had amicably parted ways, and that I really didn’t want to discuss the whys in front of Laurel. He must have connected the dots.”

  That sounded exactly like something Eva would tell a guy. Her judgmental parents had metaphorically pounded it into her and her two sisters from an early age that you didn’t discuss family business with anyone. Not even family.

  Even secrets that shouldn’t be kept.

  “Okay.”

  “I’m really sorry,” she said. “I’ll have a talk with him and remind him about little pitchers and big ears and all that.”

  “Thank you.” It wouldn’t do any good to get angry with her. She wasn’t acting defensive about it, either, like she had about some things early on.

  “Did you guys have fun at Mote today?” she asked. Laurel had called her at lunchtime and briefly spoke to her.

  “Yeah. She took a lot more pictures of Hugh and Buffett.” Trying to have a normal conversation with Eva now felt weird and awkward. It hadn’t used to. Not until he’d moved out.

  “That’s good.” There was a brief moment he thought he might be able to parlay into an exit, but she spoke again. “Actually, I should tell you I probably won’t be seeing much of Mark in the future.”

  He hesitated, recognizing the blatant setup. She wanted him to ask, and he quickly weighed whether or not asking would get him off the phone faster.

  He finally settled on, “I’m sorry.” Noncommittal.

  “He’s okay, but a couple of times he’s made some snide comments and I really don’t want someone like that around Laurel. And now this.”

  He didn’t have to ask for clarification about what kind of snide comments, based on her tone.

  That was followed by another sad sigh. “You’re her father and she loves you. Hell, I still love you, dammit, and I’m not going to waste time on someone I have to play referee with all the time around you.”

  Now he felt guilty again. “Sorry.”

  “No, he told me about his divorce and how nasty it was. I should have seen that as a sign and steered clear of him. Fortunately, he works in a different department than I do, so I don’t have to see him every day.”

  “I just want you to be happy.”

  “I know. And I appreciate it. But I don’t think he’s the right guy for me.”

  He had no reply for that. Not a good one, anyway. “You’ll find the right guy for you.”

  He could barely hear her soft response. “I already did once. Goodnight, Leo.”

  He started to say goodnight when he realized she’d ended the call.

  He sat there with his phone in his lap and stared at it.

  Was this really worth it? Was it worth tearing Laurel and Eva apart just to make himself happy?

  Maybe I should think about going back to her.

  Closing his eyes, he threw his head back and took deep breaths. Yes, the counselor had warned him about regret. About making a bad decision because he felt guilty.

  No, short-term it might make Eva and Laurel happy, but at the expense of his own happiness. Which wouldn’t be good for any of them long-term.

  Resigned, he dragged himself off the couch and headed for bed.

  Chapter Four

  Saturday night, Jesse sat on his couch and watched a movie with the volume turned up a little louder than normal to drown out the faint sounds of music filtering through the wall from the club. That was the only drawback to this apartment. That, and no pool.

  But the club was only open Fridays and Saturdays, and occasionally for a non-play class or meeting during the week. And those didn’t disturb him at all.

  For the cheap rent and short drive to work, it was worth it. He was building his savings to hopefully afford a better apartment than he’d been living in before moving in with Mario, or maybe even a down payment on a short-sale house that needed rehabbing.

  Fortunately, he hadn’t handed over control of his bank accounts to Mario when they got together.

  Yet.

  Although Mario had made it clear that, as his slave, Jesse would have to hand over everything to him sooner or later. Preferably sooner.

  Jesse figured that he dodged a massive bullet with Mario. He was still mystified how he’d let himself be so quickly bamboozled by the guy.

  Never again.

  Rushing into a relationship was now verboten in his brain. Not to mention Tilly would set him straight if he forgot the harsh lesson he’d learned. He would take things slow and easy with the next guy.

  That was the thought that spun him back to Keith’s call earlier. Dinner at seven on Thursday. He wondered what kind of guy Keith was setting him up with. He thought about calling the man back and outright asking but then decided that might make him look needy and desperate.

  Not that it mattered. He had no plans to get involved with anyone. A new friend? Sure. That would always be welcomed.

  But he needed a longer reset period before he let himself fall in love again, and he definitely wasn’t interested in anonymous sex or a quick one-time fling.

  He’d waited this long. He could wait a little longer.

  * * * *

  Early Monday morning, Jesse was handing out work assignments to the grounds crew when his boss, Tom, walked in and stood at the back of the gathering. Jesse finished up, asked if there were any questions or clarifications, and then dismissed the crews to get started.

  Tom tipped his head toward his small, air-conditioned office in the back of the large equipment barn. Jesse followed, curious. It was only six in the morning, and Tom usually didn’t come in until seven, with Jesse handling the morning procedures.

  Tom flipped on the lights and took his seat behind the desk. “Close the door, would you?”

  Jesse felt his stomach tighten as he did. When he turned, Tom was smiling. “Sorry, this isn’t a bad conversation.”

  The breath whooshed out of Jesse as he laid the clipboard on Tom’s desk and scrubbed his face with his hands. “You spooked me, boss.”

  “Sorry. I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Yeah?”

  “What are your long-term plans?”

  “Huh?”

  “You planning on sticking around here a while?”

  “That was my thought, yeah. Why?”

  Tom leaned forward and templed his fingers. “This is to be kept strictly confidential f
or now.”

  “Oookay.”

  “The owners of the golf course are investing in two more. One here in Sarasota and one up in Bradenton. Their goal is to get them up to snuff to draw in some big tournaments.” He rubbed the thumb and fingers of his right hand together. “Big money, big sponsors. You’re looking at the new supervisor for all three facilities.”

  The implications started Jesse’s pulse racing. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. That means a promotion for me, and a promotion for you. But there’s a catch.”

  His heart sank. Wasn’t there always a catch? “What?”

  “They prefer someone with a degree take over my job.”

  “You don’t have one.”

  “They didn’t have degrees for this when I started. But there’s good news.”

  “Okay?”

  “They’re willing to pay for you to get your degree. FGCU has a course. But you need to sign a contract with the company to work for them for a minimum of five years after completing your degree. Once you get your degree, you’d be helping me with all three facilities until I retire. Then you’d be taking over my job. As supervisor for all three facilities.”

  “I’ll do it.”

  Tom smiled. “Don’t want to take time to think about it?”

  “What’s there to think about? I’m guaranteed a job for the next several years and I’ll be paid to go to school? That’s a no-brainer.”

  “Good. Then I’ll let them know. I’ll work with them on figuring out the school situation. We might have to juggle your schedule around some depending on classes. Might mean I need you to work some weekends.”

  “I don’t care.” Excitement filled him. “This is my career we’re talking about. It’s worth it.”

  Not like he had much of a personal life anyway at the moment. With Tilly’s crazy schedule, he was sure he could meet up with her at her house to play on a weeknight or something when she was in town. They’d done that before, too.

  Tom extended a hand to him. “Excellent. Glad to know when I finally do retire that I’ll be leaving the operation in capable hands.”

  Jesse shook with him. “I won’t let you down.” Even better, he wasn’t involved with anyone who would complain about his new, hectic schedule.

  “I don’t expect you will.”

  * * * *

  Leo knew he wouldn’t be able to get out of the Thursday night dinner when he had to stop by the marina Wednesday to do a job. Keith soon showed up to talk to him.

  “Still on for tomorrow night, right?”

  Leo tipped back the visor of his welding helmet. “You realize I’m only looking for dinner, don’t you? I’m not exactly in a position to get hooked up right now.”

  “Just dinner,” Keith said with a knowing smile. “You need some new friends, and Jesse needs some new friends.”

  Leo’s gaze narrowed. “It can’t be that easy.”

  “I’m not going to deny it’ll give me a giggle if the two of you hit it off. But he’s not expecting anything except dinner, so don’t worry.”

  Leo dropped his visor and continued his weld. “Good,” he said. “Because my free time right now is spent with Laurel.”

  “You need adult interaction, too.”

  “I didn’t say that I didn’t.” He knew Keith still stood there. “What should I bring, anyway?”

  “Just yourself. We’ve got it under control.” Keith finally walked away.

  Yes, he could use some new friends.

  The unspoken subtext being gay male friends.

  Of which, counting Keith, he currently had one, to the best of his knowledge.

  Although he still wasn’t sure how that worked, since one of Keith’s partners was actually Noel, who was married to Scott, who was Keith’s other partner.

  Not that it was any of his business.

  Leo then wondered how many other people knew about him being gay. It wasn’t exactly knowledge he spread around. Not that he was in the closet, but he didn’t flaunt it, either. He wanted to keep the peace as much as possible around Laurel and Eva. They’d told their mutual friends—and Eva’s judgmental family—that the divorce was due to them growing apart.

  He confided in very few people the facts about their situation. Considering many of their mutual friends had remained friends with both him and Eva, he hoped that meant she hadn’t been telling many people, either.

  With her upbringing, he suspected she hadn’t, the issue with Mark notwithstanding.

  I need to suck it up and move on. Maybe if I move on, Eva will move on.

  He suspected she still held out hopes for an eventual reconciliation. He didn’t want to be a total stone-cold dick to her, but he also needed to walk a careful line not to give her false hopes, either.

  Maybe making friends and showing her he was trying to move on would help her do the same. He hadn’t said anything to her about his two encounters. It had been after they’d separated and he’d filed for divorce.

  He also didn’t want to rub salt in her wounds, or make her angry.

  Besides, those two men never even heard about Laurel, much less came anywhere close to being in contact with her. They hadn’t even known Leo’s last name, or him theirs. He’d gone up there on two different Saturday nights, during particularly stressful times when Eva was fighting him on custody issues. He’d wanted to blow off some steam.

  The results of those encounters still unsettled him to the point he knew he’d never repeat them. He didn’t like the secrecy it implied, the lack of connection. The anonymity.

  Hell, he and Eva had been dating for well over a month before he even made out with her. She hadn’t been the first woman he’d dated or slept with.

  Although she would be the last.

  * * * *

  Even though Keith had insisted Leo didn’t need to bring anything, on his way home to shower and change, Leo stopped by the store Thursday night and picked up a couple of bottles of ginger ale for Noel. The good stuff, not the discount store brand, either.

  When Eva was pregnant with Laurel, it had been one of the few things to offer her any relief from her morning sickness. Fortunately for Eva, that had only lasted a few weeks, and mostly in the mornings.

  When he arrived five minutes early, there were four cars parked in the driveway, meaning he had to park along the street. He’d hoped to get there before the other guy and settle in, but apparently he was as much a stickler for being on time as Leo was.

  What’d he say the guy’s name was? Jesse. That was it.

  Leo didn’t have any kind of preconceived notions when he approached their front door and knocked. He didn’t want to get his hopes up in any way, shape, or form.

  This was just dinner. Nothing but dinner.

  Just meeting a new friend.

  Hopefully.

  That was his goal, anyway.

  Keith answered the door with a smile. “Great! You’re right on time. Come on in.”

  “I brought this for Noel.”

  She appeared in the dining room doorway. “Oh, awesome! Thank you!” She started to take them from him, but Keith swooped in and took them.

  “No, you don’t. I’ll take them. You go sit down.”

  “But, Sir—”

  He arched an eyebrow at her and that was all it took for her to back down.

  Leo wouldn’t deny the authoritative tone in Keith’s voice thickened his cock.

  And that she’d called him Sir.

  She stuck her tongue out at Keith, but gave Leo a smile. “Come on in and meet Jesse.” She led the way into the living room where another man stood at their entrance.

  If Leo’s cock had been mildly interested before, now it was in full-on wide-awake mode. The man looked to be about four inches shorter than his own six one, and while in shape, he was slender, lithe. His dark brown hair was trimmed short and neatly styled, and his tan bespoke of hours working outside, most likely.

  And his eyes…

  Eva had sweet brown eyes.

&nbs
p; This man had gorgeous mocha eyes he couldn’t help but imagine what they’d look like as he fed his cock down the man’s throat…

  He hoped where he stood behind the couch hid his erection. “Hi,” Leo said, extending his hand over the back of the couch. “Leo Cooke.”

  The man smiled as he shook with him. “Jesse Morrow. Nice to meet you.”

  “Yeah. Same here.”

  Boy, howdy.

  “Come on in and have a seat,” Noel said, waving her hands at the couch and chairs.

  Leo walked around the far end of the couch, hopefully allowing him to conceal the fact that he had to adjust his shorts in the process. Dammit, now he wished he hadn’t gone commando, but he was down to his last clean pair of underwear and hadn’t felt like doing laundry that night. He’d planned on doing it late tomorrow night, and wanted the briefs for work.

  Maybe this won’t be as uncomplicated a meal as I thought it’d be.

  * * * *

  Keith had described Leo to Jesse, but Jesse hadn’t been expecting the guy to look so hot. Yes, his brown hair was liberally peppered with grey, but his face didn’t look that old. Even hotter, that the guy hadn’t tried dying his hair.

  And his eyes. Holy cow, gorgeous blue eyes that hardened his cock like iron. Leo was taller than him by a few inches. Built beefier, too. Not fat, but fit. Broad shoulders tapering to narrow hips.

  Jesse had always been a sucker for a guy who could make him feel like he could swallow him up in his arms. That had been one of the things about Mario that had hooked him so fast.

  The guy picked the armchair at the far end of the couch, but at least it allowed them to see each other while they talked.

  Jesse liked what he saw so far.

  With more than a little deft conversational tangoing by Noel, he quickly learned Leo was forty-two, a Sarasota native, a self-employed welder, in the process of divorcing his wife, and had a six-year-old daughter. Likewise, Leo was given Jesse’s 411.

  Although Jesse’s life, in comparison, was sad and boring.

  “Your whole family disowned you?” Leo asked.

  “Pretty much. My parents insisted it was a phase. When I insisted it wasn’t, they told me I could either get over this ‘gay nonsense,’ as they called it, or move out.” He shrugged. “So I moved out. My oldest brother, Jason, he’ll at least talk to me. He doesn’t agree with me, but he wasn’t a total dick about things. He doesn’t tell my parents or my other brother that we still have contact with each other. He doesn’t want them getting pissed off at him.”