Authors: Marguerite Labbe
“Yeah, I’ll want to reschedule. Do me a favor and hold my calls for the next fifteen minutes. I need to take care of something.”
“Will do.”
The door shut, leaving Nick alone with the phone and an all-too-familiar squirming inside of him. He should call his dad at night; the butcher shop would be busy at this time of day, but he didn’t know how long his meeting would go with Galen tonight, and he couldn’t hold off telling his dad about the statues any longer. Before he decided to once again not call, he grabbed the phone and dialed.
“Charisteas Quality Meats. How can I help you?”
Some of his tension unknotted at the sound of the woman’s voice. At least it was Sophia, his brother’s wife, and not Jason himself, though Nick had to admit that his relationship with his oldest brother had improved since Nick had gone to their wedding. “Hey, Sophia, it’s Nick. Is Dad around?”
“Nick! I’m glad you called. We were meaning to call you to tell you the news.” The sound of her voice faded, and Nick heard her shouting for his brother. He groaned and dropped his head into his palm, then dragged his hand through his hair. This would not be the quick check-in that he’d been going for. “Hold on, Jason’s picking up in the office.”
Before Nick could get a word in, the phone clicked over, and Jason came on the line. “You must’ve been reading my mind. How’ve you been?”
The casual tone seemed… forced, and Nick bit back a sigh. Yep, Nick thought, it was going to be one of those conversations. He should’ve asked Sean to interrupt him after ten minutes. “Been getting by. How about you? Sophia said you had some news.”
“Lots of stuff happening, man, you’re missing out.” Nick bristled at the implication that he should call more. It was one of Jason’s favorite points to harp on. It went both ways. His dad knew how to dial a phone, so did Jason and his other brothers, Stefan and Damian. He held his tongue as Jason continued. He didn’t want to argue today. “Stefan got accepted into a graduate program, so he’s heading back to school in the fall; and Damian finally popped the question, so you can plan on traveling sometime next May.”
Damian had been dating someone seriously? Mr. Casanova? Nick’s stomach sank as the distance between himself and his family seemed to grow by another couple hundred miles. He’d thought they’d made some progress with everyone when he’d returned to San Francisco for Jason’s wedding; now it seemed like he’d been cut out all over again.
“Sounds like you all have been busy. Tell them congrats for me.” Jason remained quiet, and Nick sensed the weight of his disapproval through the phone. He shifted in his chair, searching for something to say so the silence wouldn’t become strained or before Jason could start in on a lecture. “What else is going on? Sophia implied you two had something to share too.”
“You’re going to be an uncle.” Nick grinned at the pride in Jason’s voice, and all the little nagging frustrations and resentments eased. Oh wow, another generation of little Charisteas kids. His dad must be strutting around excited as he could be, telling all the regular customers when they came in. Nick could picture it as clear as if he stood in the shop himself. “The baby will be here sometime around New Year’s.”
“That’s awesome. Wow, I’m really happy for you two.” Nick wanted what Jason had: to be in a relationship stable enough that they could consider adopting. Not that he was looking for that right now. Hell no, he wasn’t ready to be a dad, but he wanted the promise of that someday. He wanted his dad to acknowledge his partner when he found one. He wanted too much. Or as his dad would say, he was a dreamer with his head off somewhere when he needed to be grounded.
“Sophia and I talked about it, and we want you to be the baby’s godfather,” Jason said.
Nick sat back in his chair as his breath came out in a rush. He dragged a hand through his hair and looked at the poster of Santorini on his wall. Godfather? “I… I don’t know what to say. Won’t that piss off Damian? You two are really close.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wished he’d kept it shut. This was a chance at a new connection with his family, and he needed that.
“Sophia and I agree that we want you. Damian was my best man. He’ll get over it. So what do you say?”
It occurred to Nick that Jason picked him for the same reasons he wanted to say yes. He didn’t want to lose all of his ties with his family, and it seemed that at least one of them didn’t want Nick to disappear altogether either. If Jason was willing to live with the fallout since he lived in San Francisco with everybody else, Nick couldn’t do anything less.
“I’d love to, I….” Nick paused, his chest tight as he searched for the words. “It means a lot. Tell me when, and I’ll be there. I swear.”
“Sweet. I knew I could count on you.”
Nick shifted in his chair again as the never-ending guilt panged. He had to stop letting everything they said get under his skin. “I hate to rush, but work calls, and I know it’s busy at the shop. Is Dad there? I wanted to talk with him too.”
“Sorry man, Dad’s dealing with a truck,” Jason said with a note of apology in his voice. “I’ll tell him you called, though. He’ll be happy to hear it.”
Nick swallowed back his disappointment and the resentful thoughts that sprang into his mind. His dad had no way of knowing he was going to call. Get over it. “Okay, tell him I’ll call him back when I get a chance. Take care.”
“Hey, wait.” Nick tensed and steeled himself for familiar words. “About Damian and Stefan, call them and tell them you’re happy for them yourself. Trust me on this. It’s got to start somewhere.”
Whatever, they could’ve called him and given him the news themselves instead of using Jason as their spokesperson. “I’ll think about it. I promise. Gotta go, bro. I’ll talk to you later.”
Nick stared at the phone for a long time afterward, debating whether or not to call Stefan and Damian before dropping the idea. One call a day was stressful enough. He’d think about calling them tomorrow.
G
ALEN
looked at himself in the mirror one last time and smoothed a hand over his hair as he tried to quell the nerves that plagued him. This was not a date. Nick was coming over to discuss the Dexios Collection, and he’d already made it clear that he was less than enthusiastic about the thought of dating. Galen tried telling himself that the nerves were just because he wasn’t sure what Nick had decided to do about the statues, but he knew it wasn’t the truth, at least not entirely.
He looked forward to seeing more of Nick, to having the chance to talk about things other than business. Galen turned away from the mirror with a sigh. He didn’t even know what Nick was looking for or what he wanted. And he didn’t want to ask and bring up old wounds in the process. They’d already hashed it out enough.
A day at a time.
Wasn’t that what his mom always said?
Just take things a day at a time, and they will work themselves out.
He wished he had her patience and serenity.
At least they’d started out on a different footing this time. They hadn’t jumped into bed at first sight, so that had to be progress there.
Suzane’s head popped up through the stairwell, and she knocked on the landing. “Looking good there.” Her eyes held questions that she didn’t ask, for which Galen was grateful. He didn’t want to discuss Nick, at least not until there was something to discuss.
“What are you still doing here? You should be home resting and gathering your strength for tomorrow.” He frowned at her as she climbed the rest of the way into his office. “I thought you went home a couple hours ago.”
“I wanted my desk clear before I left.” She shot a pointed glance at the clutter on his desk. “I did a final sweep of the place. Everything is locked down tight.”
“Thanks, I have a business meeting with Nick Charisteas here tonight. He’s agreed to help us authenticate the statues.” Suzane’s eyes lit up with what seemed like curiosity, and Galen decided to give her something else to occupy her attention. “Actually, I have a confession. There’s a bit more to the story than that. The Collection belongs to his family, and he’s trying to decide on whether or not he’s going to let us keep them.”
Her gaze sharpened, and her voluminous pants swished like a long skirt as she began pacing up and down. Galen wasn’t sure how to describe her new look, maybe Victorian Goth. Her long, black hair was done in tight ringlets with a vivid purple streak over one ear. It was an improvement over the power suits. It fit her whimsical nature far more than the serious look had.
“You don’t think he’ll try to remove them, do you? It would be a disaster.”
Galen thought back to their conversation last night and shook his head. “No, I think he’s happy to know that they’ll be shown. We just have some details to work out.”
“Do you think he knows anything about why there are so many mysteries about the statues? Like where they came from or why the one changed?” Suzane paused with her hand on her hip before she resumed her pacing.
“He said they had a tendency of disappearing and reappearing. Apparently, there are family journals that might shed some light on it all. I’m hoping he brings them tonight.” Galen got in her path, forcing her to a stop. “It’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”
Suzane gave him a worried look. “Are you really sure? Maybe I can come in after my appointment tomorrow. We can work on a strategy to change his mind if he decides to move the statues. Or I could stay late, and we can wear him down together and get as much information out of him as we can.”
Galen caught her by her shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile. “The last thing I want you worrying about tomorrow is me or this place, okay? You’re going to have enough on your mind. And I want you taking all the time you need to keep your strength up. You don’t have to be fussing over me so much every day. Give yourself a couple days before jumping back in here.”
Apprehension chased across her face, followed by a wry expression. “Fussing over you occupies my thoughts. It gives me something to think about after the chemo, other than puking my guts out.”
Galen gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze and searched her face. The chemo took more of a toll as the months wore on. “Is there anything else I can do to help? Your son is taking you tomorrow, right? You don’t need a car? I can arrange for one.” It wasn’t enough; he should offer to take her himself, only the thought of going to a hospital and sitting in a waiting room was something he could not stomach, even if it made him feel like a coward to admit it.
“I am fine, I promise.” Suzane cupped his face in her hands and smiled at him. “Clint will be there, same as every other time. I know you don’t like to talk about me being sick. I know it scares you, and I appreciate the offer. A few more rounds of chemo, and then hopefully, none of us will have to think about it at all. It’ll be done and over with.”
Galen admired Suzane’s guts. She almost never complained, and even on the days when she was worn out, with dark rings under her eyes, her complexion pale, she still faced the day with a kind of verve that amazed Galen. “I love your optimism.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “We’ll have to do something to mark the occasion.”
She patted his cheek and pulled away. “Enough sentimentality. You’re as bad as my son.” Suzane stepped back and looked him over once more. “Now go charm the pants off Nick Charisteas, and make sure those statues stay with us.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Galen tried not to think of her suggestion literally. Getting Nick’s pants off had been a main theme in his dreams all last night. He did not want to complicate this meeting with unrequited lust. The issues between them were tricky enough, and Nick could be prickly when he wanted. “I promise to be on my best behavior and to not antagonize him.”
Suzane paused and looked over her shoulder. “I know that innocent tone. You already antagonized him, didn’t you? Oh God, do I want to know what happened? Am I going to have to spin this?”
“No, you don’t want to hear the tale. It’ll just make you think violent thoughts toward me.” If Suzane had known that Nick had issued an ultimatum to him yesterday and he hadn’t tried to ease the situation right away, she would’ve dragged him to Nick’s apartment by his ear. “All you need to know is that I apologized and gave him what he wanted, so everything is good now. I have faith that Nick and I can work out the complications.”
Suzane laughed and shook her head. “I sense there’s a deeper story that I’ll expect to hear at another time. Good night, Galen. Try not to leave the alarm off and to antagonize Mr. Charisteas while I’m gone. I’d like to come back to see the museum in one piece.”
Galen spread his hands. “Hey, it’s me.”
“That’s the part that makes me worry.”
N
ICK
smiled at the slight woman emerging from one of the small off-to-the-side entrances of the museum. There was something familiar about her. She paused when she saw him approach and smiled. “You must be Mr. Charisteas.” He recognized her then—Galen’s private assistant who he saw in passing yesterday morning. She looked completely different. “I’m so glad to meet our expert. I’m Suzane Eberly.”
Nick shifted the takeout bags and shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, just call me Nick. Is Galen inside? I meant to get here before you shut down for the night.”
“He’s in his office waiting for you.” She tilted her head to one side and studied him in a way that made Nick wonder what Galen had told her about them. “Are you going to let the statues stay?”
Relief and disappointment swept through Nick. Galen hadn’t shared with her their past or how well they knew each other, which was good. He didn’t really want people thinking they were together, even if Galen had made hints that they could pick up where they left off. He still wasn’t sure what he thought about that. A wise man wouldn’t want what Galen offered.
“I’d like to get another look at his plans for the whole exhibit. I’ll admit I wasn’t paying attention because I was too excited to see the Dexios Collection.” Nick smiled at her to ease the worry on her face. “But they’re staying, and I’m going to make sure that a real buzz is created around the opening of the exhibit. It’s been too long since the last time those statues were seen.”