right here. He didn’t have to dig into his savings to haul them from a wreck site to the U.S. He didn’t have to search for a museum that would display them while letting the Charisteas family retain control.
By the time he turned back toward the first statue, Ella had left and Galen stood transfixed, staring at the two men embracing. Nick’s chest tightened. Near the end of their relationship before Galen had left, he had looked at Nick with that same soft, glowing expression. The expression had given him hope and had him saying words that he’d known were better left unsaid.
“You see it too, don’t you?” Galen asked and touched the shoulder of the new man. “The statue has changed. Everybody else seems to think this is the way it’s always been, except for me.” He met Nick’s gaze, his eyes troubled. “And now you. I was afraid you’d think I was trying to trick you.”
“I still might.” Nick couldn’t believe it. He’d heard tales of the statues changing, and he’d always chalked them up as fairy tales.
Nick walked around the statue and examined it closer, but he had to admit it didn’t look like an addition had been tacked on after the fact. The embracing men seemed to be one solid piece, though a test for age would reveal that for sure. “So, are you going to explain what happened?”
Galen spread his hands and opened his mouth with a shake of his head. “I don’t know if I can. I doubt you’d believe me. I’m not sure I believe it myself.”
“Try me, you’ll find I’m amazingly open-minded about some things.” A niggling suspicion had Nick taking another look at the statue. Most of his family had been skeptical about the legend surrounding it, but his uncle had been convinced the tale had merit. Nick had spent hours poring over his journals when he’d been a teenager, and the dreamer inside him had been captivated by Dexios’s story.
Both men looked familiar… however, with the lip-lock they had going, he couldn’t be sure. Nick cast a sharper look at Galen, who shrugged as faint spots of color appeared on his cheeks.
“This was still a single man when I went to check on them last night before leaving.” Galen hesitated and shook his head. “Oh, never mind. I’m sorry, it sounds too crazy even to my own ears.”
Last night Nick had dreamt of Galen kissing a strange man in his museum. He’d woken up to one hell of a boner and stirrings of an old jealousy. Until now, he’d passed the dream off as a natural reaction after hearing from Galen, given their unique history. His suspicions returned even stronger, and Nick shoved them away. Galen was right. It was too crazy to contemplate. This was real life, not a fairy tale.
“Let’s go back to your office and finish our breakfast. I’ll tell you what I can about the statues.” Then he had to decide whether or not he would let Galen keep them at his museum. He wanted them to be seen. They deserved to be on display, especially after so many years of being lost. To give Galen the opportunity meant he’d have to work with him, see him day after day and know that Galen was unreachable. He could touch, Galen wouldn’t mind that, but he wouldn’t be allowed to keep, and that’s what Nick really wanted.
“Okay.” Galen brushed his fingers across the statue’s jaw. “It’s beautiful as one piece, isn’t it?”
Nick had to admit it was. As stunning as he’d always found the pictures of the original, this one called to him on a much deeper level. What would they be like if somehow all of them came to be completed? His gaze drifted to Galen, and he snorted to himself. Not if fulfilling the legend relied on Mr. Noncommittal over there. Galen wouldn’t understand commitment if it slapped him in the face. Besides, it was just a story, a wildly romantic, heartbreaking story.
“Yeah, they’re amazing.” Nick resisted the urge to touch Galen’s shoulder, to cup his face. He couldn’t be so close to him like this and
By the time he turned back toward the first statue, Ella had left and Galen stood transfixed, staring at the two men embracing. Nick’s chest tightened. Near the end of their relationship before Galen had left, he had looked at Nick with that same soft, glowing expression. The expression had given him hope and had him saying words that he’d known were better left unsaid.
“You see it too, don’t you?” Galen asked and touched the shoulder of the new man. “The statue has changed. Everybody else seems to think this is the way it’s always been, except for me.” He met Nick’s gaze, his eyes troubled. “And now you. I was afraid you’d think I was trying to trick you.”
“I still might.” Nick couldn’t believe it. He’d heard tales of the statues changing, and he’d always chalked them up as fairy tales.
Nick walked around the statue and examined it closer, but he had to admit it didn’t look like an addition had been tacked on after the fact. The embracing men seemed to be one solid piece, though a test for age would reveal that for sure. “So, are you going to explain what happened?”
Galen spread his hands and opened his mouth with a shake of his head. “I don’t know if I can. I doubt you’d believe me. I’m not sure I believe it myself.”
“Try me, you’ll find I’m amazingly open-minded about some things.” A niggling suspicion had Nick taking another look at the statue. Most of his family had been skeptical about the legend surrounding it, but his uncle had been convinced the tale had merit. Nick had spent hours poring over his journals when he’d been a teenager, and the dreamer inside him had been captivated by Dexios’s story.
Both men looked familiar… however, with the lip-lock they had going, he couldn’t be sure. Nick cast a sharper look at Galen, who shrugged as faint spots of color appeared on his cheeks.
“This was still a single man when I went to check on them last night before leaving.” Galen hesitated and shook his head. “Oh, never mind. I’m sorry, it sounds too crazy even to my own ears.”
Last night Nick had dreamt of Galen kissing a strange man in his museum. He’d woken up to one hell of a boner and stirrings of an old jealousy. Until now, he’d passed the dream off as a natural reaction after hearing from Galen, given their unique history. His suspicions returned even stronger, and Nick shoved them away. Galen was right. It was too crazy to contemplate. This was real life, not a fairy tale.
“Let’s go back to your office and finish our breakfast. I’ll tell you what I can about the statues.” Then he had to decide whether or not he would let Galen keep them at his museum. He wanted them to be seen. They deserved to be on display, especially after so many years of being lost. To give Galen the opportunity meant he’d have to work with him, see him day after day and know that Galen was unreachable. He could touch, Galen wouldn’t mind that, but he wouldn’t be allowed to keep, and that’s what Nick really wanted.
“Okay.” Galen brushed his fingers across the statue’s jaw. “It’s beautiful as one piece, isn’t it?”
Nick had to admit it was. As stunning as he’d always found the pictures of the original, this one called to him on a much deeper level. What would they be like if somehow all of them came to be completed? His gaze drifted to Galen, and he snorted to himself. Not if fulfilling the legend relied on Mr. Noncommittal over there. Galen wouldn’t understand commitment if it slapped him in the face. Besides, it was just a story, a wildly romantic, heartbreaking story.
“Yeah, they’re amazing.” Nick resisted the urge to touch Galen’s shoulder, to cup his face. He couldn’t be so close to him like this and
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