LOL: Laugh Out Loud (After Oscar, #2)(47)

I tried to ignore the fact that I’d just told him how much I liked him and he hadn’t said anything about his own feelings in return. As much as I wanted to press the issue, however, I let it go. If Scotty wasn’t ready to talk about the issue, me pushing him wasn’t going to help.

“Oh my god. Because that’s something we need to add to this situation,” I said with a bark of laughter. “The carriage ride, the cop impersonation, the horse in the house, the stolen vehicle, and now magic ’shrooms. Christ. Oscar’s going to fire me as a crisis management client.”

Scotty let out a little giggle that was cute as hell. “He can’t blame you if they came from his sister. Oh my god! Did you know he has another sister named Hyacinth? She has horses.”

“Yep, and Lily, Jasmine, and Rose—that’s Rosette’s mom I think. And another brother named Heath and one named Sage. It’s a veritable garden.”

Scotty scrunched up his forehead. “Then where the hell did the name Oscar come from? It’s not a flower, is it?”

“Believe it or not, it is,” I told him.

“You’re right. I do not, in fact, believe you,” he said.

“It totally is,” I said. “Look it up. The Oscar plant has a giant papery seed ball, and it’s also called butterfly weed. And don’t ever ask him or his mother about it in person, or be prepared for a diatribe, complete with graphic sketches of the wrinkly seed balls.”

Scotty’s smile was so fucking cute, it set my heart racing. I was quickly realizing I’d do almost anything to get that smile on his face as often as possible.

Including, it seemed, buying a goddamned horse. I was going to have to call my money manager in the morning to see about buying a barn or some place to actually store the thing.

“Say, uh…” I began, running my hands into his hair again like it was iron and my hands were magnets. “I might need to hire someone to take care of my horse… Do you know of anyone?”

His smile disappeared. “Roman,” he said, hitting the en sound hard.

“Scottsman,” I replied, doing the same.

He lifted his chin, staring me down. “I’m a hard worker. I’m willing to find work in town or back in the city. I don’t want charity.” His jaw was set, and his slender nostrils widened.

I took his chin between my fingertips, my thumb fitting neatly over the edge of it. “I understand. But lest you’ve forgotten, my SUV was stolen which means we’re stuck out here.” I didn’t mention the handful of other cars Oscar had in his garage, and besides, I didn’t know where the keys were to any of them. “And since you’re stuck here with me for the foreseeable future, it makes sense that instead of paying Kip to take care of Nugget, I can pay you. See? It’s not charity.”

Scotty narrowed his eyes for a moment, considering the proposition.

“I’m going to be paying someone to take care of my new horse,” I pointed out. “It might as well be you since you know her best.”

Scotty scraped his teeth along his top lip again. Then he nodded. “Okay. Thank you.” He placed his hand over mine on his knee. “You’re a good man, Roman.”

The words caused my chest to tighten. I wasn’t sure anyone had ever said that about me before. They’d called me a good actor, or a good friend, or a good brother. But never a good man. And coming from Scotty made it even more meaningful.

“Of course. Does your mom need a place to stay? Or… do you need to go to her? Do you want me to book a car to take you back to the city?” As much as I didn’t like the idea of Scotty leaving, I couldn’t expect him to stay just for me. Not if his mom needed him.

He shook his head frantically. “No. I mean no. No. I don’t need to go to her. She… she’s not… she’ll be fine staying in Queens. But… really, thank you for asking. I’ll just send her some money and she can find a cheap place to stay while she gets on her feet again.”

I ran my hand alongside his face to make sure he was still looking at me. “You know I’ll sell Nugget back to you the minute you’re ready for her, right?”

Scotty’s eyes filled quickly, and I could tell he was fighting the emotion. He nodded and clenched his jaw together for a second before speaking. His voice was rough. “Yeah. I do know that, but I don’t know why. I don’t deserve your generosity. But I’m grateful for it. You need to know just how grateful I am, Roman.”

“I’m the one who got you fired. And even if I hadn’t been, my parents taught me that when people need help, you help.”

Scotty’s eyes opened wide as if he was remembering what I’d said about my father changing our neighbor’s flat tire. Or maybe it was just me remembering. Either way, I didn’t want to think about it. I needed to change the subject.

“Can we stop talking about money and horses and maybe you can let me suck your dick instead?”

If it was possible, Scotty’s eyes widened even more and the corner of his mouth turned up in a sexy curl. “Um… yeah? Like… is that a trick question, or…”

I tackled him onto his back and proceeded to strip him naked without either one of us saying another word. It quickly became clear the love seat wasn’t going to work, so I slithered us onto the plush burgundy carpet in front of the fire. The warm light from the flames made his fair skin look more golden. I feasted on all that bare skin as I pressed myself against him until finally making my way down to his leaking cock.