transparent, he wasn’t so sure if he succeeded.
Matt surprised him, though, by reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Later…,” the man said slowly, hidden meanings in his words Jayden couldn’t translate because he lacked the necessary information. “Not now, it isn’t time yet.”
Jayden nodded again, not sure what it meant, but did it really matter? Matt had rejected him, and when he quickly left the room to head back to his own, Jayden thought it was probably for his own good that they hadn’t gotten any further. For some strange reason he had a hard time keeping his distance from Matt. The man pulled at him, made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, which was dangerous because when it came down to it, Matt didn’t actually care about him. He doubted Matt wanted to see him come to any harm, but this was a far cry from actual friendship or plain old love.
And Matt, despite his flaws and unpredictable nature, was someone Jayden could fall in love with. He might even be halfway there already, which would only spell disaster for him! There was no point in denying there was something about Matt Archer that kept calling to him, tugging at his very soul, and it was going to be really hard to resist the haze that always seemed to take over his mind whenever the man was near.
He needed to focus on a few things if he wanted to survive this job with his sanity intact: he was here to do a job, and any signs of affection he received from Matt were because both of them were playing their parts.
There had been no witnesses tonight, no need for Matt to keep pretending he cared, so why had he acted like he had before putting the brakes on? Matt didn’t have to invite him to watch the game; they didn’t have to laugh together, and there had been no reason for Matt to push him aside since he was paying for Jayden’s time and body.
Jayden had been willing, eager even, and for some reason Matt had pushed him aside. Why? The one thought kept looping around in his head, driving him to distraction. The only good thing about this loop was it was better than counting sheep, because in no time at all, Jayden was fast asleep.
His steely reserve not to let Matt get to him was slowly crumbling, and even though he knew nothing good could come of it, he probably was already too far gone to do anything about it. Was he really so love-starved as to fall for the first guy showing him signs of affection?
The next few days were spent in a similar fashion. Jayden woke up early every day and there would be breakfast laid out for him in the parlor. The next few hours he usually either walked the extensive gardens or spent sitting in a comfortable chair on the veranda, staring at nothing in particular. It was relaxing, and the scary thing was he could totally get used to this kind of lifestyle. Really, who wouldn’t?
He had no idea what Matt did with his mornings, but when he came to pick Jayden up for lunch, the guy always looked exhausted.
Days passed in a by now familiar routine until Matt announced that there was to be a garden party later that night. In order to let the caterers set up in peace, Matt offered to take Jayden for stroll downtown, touring a few shops and generally just passing the time.
They were walking along yet another busy road when Jayden suddenly stopped, his eyes glued to a small teddy bear sitting on a shelf in one of the many children’s stores situated on this particular street. Yearning so intense it nearly had his knees buckling overtook him, and he managed to rescue himself from falling over by putting his hands on the window.
He flashed back to his favorite teddy bear, the one his mother had given him. He clearly remembered always carrying it around with him, hugging it, and when she had passed away, he had even taken it to the funeral with him. Thinking back, he knew he had been holding onto it because it was the only reminder he had left of his mother, but back then, he hadn’t
Matt surprised him, though, by reaching out and grabbing his hand. “Later…,” the man said slowly, hidden meanings in his words Jayden couldn’t translate because he lacked the necessary information. “Not now, it isn’t time yet.”
Jayden nodded again, not sure what it meant, but did it really matter? Matt had rejected him, and when he quickly left the room to head back to his own, Jayden thought it was probably for his own good that they hadn’t gotten any further. For some strange reason he had a hard time keeping his distance from Matt. The man pulled at him, made him feel things he hadn’t felt in years, which was dangerous because when it came down to it, Matt didn’t actually care about him. He doubted Matt wanted to see him come to any harm, but this was a far cry from actual friendship or plain old love.
And Matt, despite his flaws and unpredictable nature, was someone Jayden could fall in love with. He might even be halfway there already, which would only spell disaster for him! There was no point in denying there was something about Matt Archer that kept calling to him, tugging at his very soul, and it was going to be really hard to resist the haze that always seemed to take over his mind whenever the man was near.
He needed to focus on a few things if he wanted to survive this job with his sanity intact: he was here to do a job, and any signs of affection he received from Matt were because both of them were playing their parts.
There had been no witnesses tonight, no need for Matt to keep pretending he cared, so why had he acted like he had before putting the brakes on? Matt didn’t have to invite him to watch the game; they didn’t have to laugh together, and there had been no reason for Matt to push him aside since he was paying for Jayden’s time and body.
Jayden had been willing, eager even, and for some reason Matt had pushed him aside. Why? The one thought kept looping around in his head, driving him to distraction. The only good thing about this loop was it was better than counting sheep, because in no time at all, Jayden was fast asleep.
His steely reserve not to let Matt get to him was slowly crumbling, and even though he knew nothing good could come of it, he probably was already too far gone to do anything about it. Was he really so love-starved as to fall for the first guy showing him signs of affection?
The next few days were spent in a similar fashion. Jayden woke up early every day and there would be breakfast laid out for him in the parlor. The next few hours he usually either walked the extensive gardens or spent sitting in a comfortable chair on the veranda, staring at nothing in particular. It was relaxing, and the scary thing was he could totally get used to this kind of lifestyle. Really, who wouldn’t?
He had no idea what Matt did with his mornings, but when he came to pick Jayden up for lunch, the guy always looked exhausted.
Days passed in a by now familiar routine until Matt announced that there was to be a garden party later that night. In order to let the caterers set up in peace, Matt offered to take Jayden for stroll downtown, touring a few shops and generally just passing the time.
They were walking along yet another busy road when Jayden suddenly stopped, his eyes glued to a small teddy bear sitting on a shelf in one of the many children’s stores situated on this particular street. Yearning so intense it nearly had his knees buckling overtook him, and he managed to rescue himself from falling over by putting his hands on the window.
He flashed back to his favorite teddy bear, the one his mother had given him. He clearly remembered always carrying it around with him, hugging it, and when she had passed away, he had even taken it to the funeral with him. Thinking back, he knew he had been holding onto it because it was the only reminder he had left of his mother, but back then, he hadn’t
Similar Books
