Forgive and Forget(35)

Tom thought about his reply. “It’ll cost him… a kiss.”

“Extortion!” Joe declared. “What kind of kiss?”

“I’ll decide once you accept,” Tom replied cheerfully.

Joe pretended to think about it. “Well, I suppose I can afford one kiss, and of course, I’m hardly in the position to refuse. You drive a hard bargain.”

Tom chuckled and put Joe on his feet, a wicked gleam coming into his eyes. “I get to claim the kiss.” He took hold of Joe and bent him backward, kissing him within an inch of his life, while their friends cheered and made catcalls behind them. Joe wrapped his arms around Tom’s neck and returned his kiss. He never wanted this moment to end. Being in Tom’s arms—feeling his lips against Tom’s, the taste of him, experiencing the need coming from Tom—was heavenly. Unfortunately it did end, interrupted by a knock on the glass door out front. Tom pulled Joe up and let out a breathy laugh. “It’s probably a good thing they interrupted us, or we might have ended up giving everyone quite the show.” Tom wriggled his eyebrows, and Joe put a hand to Tom’s chest.

“Restrain yourself, sir. We are in the presence of gentlefolk. And Bea.”

Bea huffed and took a step toward Joe. “Why you—”

With a laugh, Joe darted from the kitchen. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had so much fun. Joe wiped his hands on his apron and headed out into the café. With the blinds closed on all the windows and the front door shade pulled down, he couldn’t get a good look at who was on the other side. Joe opened the door and his smile fell from his face. His heart dropped to his stomach.

“Hey, Joe. Long time no see.”

Joe swallowed hard, unable to believe it. “Blake? What are you doing here?”

“Is that any way to greet a customer? Where’s the warm and friendly service I hear so much about?” Blake gave him a wide toothy grin. At one point that smile and those chocolate brown eyes had sent tingles up Joe’s spine. Now they made him feel sick. To think he’d fallen for that soulless gaze. How could he have been so na?ve, to ever believe the man loved him? The only man Blake ever loved was himself.

“What do you want, Blake?”

Blake straightened to his full height as he had a habit of doing around those he believed himself better than. His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he turned his nose up slightly. “I’ll cut to the chase. You’re catering Alecia Rotherford’s party, and I can’t be outdone by that new money trash. I’m having a party next weekend, and I want you to cater it.”

Joe stared at him. Well, didn’t that just beat all? The man was out of his mind. He leaned out the door and looked up at the sky.

“What are you looking at?” Blake asked with a frown.

“Flying pigs. Nope. Don’t see any.” Joe turned his attention back to Blake. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Oh come on, Joe. That was years ago. Surely you can’t still be upset.” Blake leaned in and brushed some flour out of Joe’s hair. He took the opportunity to whisper in Joe’s ear. “You still look good, Joe.”

Joe’s blood boiled. The absolute nerve of the guy! “Are you serious?” The painful memories flooded back, washing over Joe and leaving him nearly shaking with anger. “I was in a coma for days! I was almost killed. Then to add insult to injury, you told your father I tried to sexually assault you! How could you do that to me? You took everything from me! My shop, my savings, my apartment, my reputation….”

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault. My father was the one who did all that.”

“And what did you do?” Joe demanded. “You did nothing! You said you loved me but you let him destroy me, destroy everything I’d worked so hard for.”

Blake shrugged. “In my defense, it wasn’t really all that much, Joe. Besides, if I’d told him the truth, he would have cut me off, and then we would have both been on the street. I had far more to lose than you.” His expression softened, and he put his hand to Joe’s cheek. “We had some good times, didn’t we? Remember our first Valentine’s Day at the Hilton?”

Joe remembered. It was the day Joe had fallen for Blake, believing everything Blake did for him that day had been because he cared. The limo that picked Joe up, the fancy hotel room filled with red roses and champagne. Blake turned down several invitations to extravagant parties to spend the night with Joe. They watched movies, laughed, and made love. Joe had never been happier, or more delusional.

“I remember,” Joe said quietly. “But that doesn’t make up for what happened after.”

Blake sighed. “You had to know it wouldn’t work out between us. I have a legacy to uphold. As the only heir, I was always going to have a wife, and have her children. You know my family, Joe. No one breaks with tradition. Does that mean I shouldn’t get what I need? You should be thanking me, really. If I had asked you to stay, you would have. And instead of this,” Blake motioned around him, “you would have had a penthouse and spending account. You wouldn’t have been happy.”

Joe couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Tears sprang in his eyes, and he quickly blinked them away. He wouldn’t give the bastard the satisfaction.

“So how much will it take?” Blake removed his wallet and took out a wad of cash, then put it in Joe’s hand. “Come on, Joe. You can use the money. Get some furniture for this place from this century.”