Every Shade by Nora Phoenix
4
Bringing dinner had been a challenge. Langley’s first thought had been that it couldn’t be anything ostentatious, but then he’d laughed at himself. This was Northern fucking Lake. These folks wouldn’t know ostentatious if it hit them over the head. But once he’d gotten past that, he’d frowned, trying to come up with a solid option. The local pizza joint was meh, Mary's Convenience and Café closed at five, the burgers Todd’s Burgers served were so greasy you could squeeze them, and the two bars in town only served appetizers and snacks. What else was there?
To his shame, it took him an hour to come up with the solution, and by then, he wanted to slap himself that he hadn’t thought of it. And so he drove to Xander’s with steaming hot lasagna on the passenger seat, the smell of which filled his whole car and made his stomach rumble. Luckily, Xander opened the door as soon as Langley walked up. He wouldn’t have been able to ring the bell with his hands full.
“Thanks,” he said, walking right past Xander. No need to give him an opportunity to protest, right? “Kitchen?”
Xander frowned, then closed the door. “Second door on the left.”
“Perfect.”
Ah, great. The man had an oven. A remarkably clean one too. Langley turned it on, setting it to 425, and put the lasagna inside. He’d add the garlic bread once the oven was fully preheated. “Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
When he closed the oven door and looked up, Xander was standing in the doorway, looking at him funny. “We’re eating lasagna,” Langley said.
“I like lasagna.”
They were making progress. Good. “I know.”
Xander frowned. “How would you know?”
“Remember that Italian restaurant we went to after we beat Woodrow Wilson High?” Woodrow Wilson High had been their arch enemy, or so Langley had been told. He didn’t care one way or the other, since he hated losing on principle, but after beating them 38 to 6, they’d been treated to an Italian dinner, sponsored by the PTA.
“Yeah, what about it?”
Langley grinned. “You ate your weight in lasagna.”
“You remember that?”
He hadn’t intended to go there, not this quickly, but he wouldn’t lie either. He took a few steps toward him, Xander watching him with hooded eyes. “You’ll find that I remember a lot about you. Everything, in fact. Including the fact that you love Italian food.”
The air between them sizzled, and Xander licked his lips. Fuck, Langley wanted to kiss him. He wanted to do a hell of a lot more than that to him, but kissing would be a great start.
Xander took a step back, averting his eyes. “Where’d you even get lasagna? The nearest Italian restaurant is an hour’s drive one way.”
Langley smiled. “Rosaria made it. She’s our cook, and she makes the most incredible lasagna.”
“Your cook.” Xander’s face tightened. “Must be nice to have someone who cooks for you.”
“It is, and I appreciate her just as much as I appreciate all the other staff my father has. I don’t take it for granted, Xander. I’m rich, yes, but I’m not spoiled. I’m well aware of how lucky I am.”
He kept his tone light. No sense in showing Xander how much he hated remarks like that. Of course things were easy for him when it came to anything material. His father had the money to pay for anything Langley had needed or wanted. He hadn’t even needed scholarships or loans. Didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of his privilege and appreciated it.
Xander cleared his throat. “I don’t understand why you invited yourself to dinner. This is not exactly a business setting.”
“Because you’ve been on your feet from before six this morning until a few minutes ago, so the last thing I wanted was for you to have to leave the house. Just sit down, eat, and we can talk at the same time.”
Something passed over Xander’s face. “That’s… I appreciate that. I am tired.”
“I can imagine. Fourteen-hour workdays without breaks aren’t healthy, and even less when you do this six times a week and then pull another eight-hour shift on Sunday.”
“Do you think I don’t know that? I have no choice. I can’t afford to hire someone else.”
Xander’s voice broke a little near the end, and Langley’s whole heart went out to him. “I know. That’s why I’m here. To help.”
“I need your father’s money. That’s all I need.”
Langley took a deep breath. He shouldn’t take this personally. Xander was exhausted, and he was taking it out on Langley. Understandable, even more considering how much Langley had riled him up. “Unfortunately, my father’s money comes with strings attached. In this case, me and my help.”
“Are you saying that if I refuse to work with you, I won’t get the money?”
“What do you have against my help?”
Xander scoffed. “You don’t know the first thing about running a gas station.”
“And my father does?”
“No, but he’s an experienced businessman.”
Another deep breath. “I have an MBA. I literally studied this.”
Xander blinked. “Right. Of course. I forgot for a second.”
Forgot for a second? He said that as if he’d known what Langley had done the last five years. “Did you keep track of me?”
Much to his surprise, Xander looked away, shuffling his right foot over the scratched hardwood floor. “I was curious. You’re a former student and one of the few who I thought would go far.”
Langley’s heart skipped a beat, and butterflies gathered in his stomach. “And? Did I make you proud?”
Xander looked up, and for the first time, he let his guard down, his blue eyes open and honest. “Yeah. Very proud. You have the whole world to explore, Langley, so why the fuck did you come back?”
Langley didn’t think. “I came back for you.” Xander’s eyes widened as the rest of his body froze, but Langley wasn’t deterred. “We had unfinished business, Xander.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oh, but he did. His reddening cheeks told Langley a whole different story than Xander’s words did. Langley smiled. “You can deny it all you want, but we both know better. And I’m not going anywhere until we’ve worked this out…or fucked it out. Now, dinner’s ready, so let’s eat.”
