Sicilian Escape with the Forbidden Tycoon - Chapter 2

RYAN

By the time they'd made it out of the room, they were both pleasantly buzzed, and Ryan decided it was kind of nice to have someone to talk to who wasn't another med student. Maybe he didn’t need to hook up with someone—he could just unwind with West. “Come on, let's crash Matty and Heather's dinner.” Ryan stood and stretched, ignoring the way West was definitely staring. “We'll give him hell for not telling either of us.”

“To be fair, I don't think your brother did this on purpose.” West scratched at the back of his neck and frowned. His upper lip dipped in slightly, and Ryan had to look away. The philtrum. That was the official term for it, but seeing the exact spot where it sloped in on West was quite distracting. It looked…kissable. And where on earth had that thought come from?

“Aww, West. One thing you'll learn about me, I don't like to play fair.” He winked at West for good measure and felt a surge of something when West's cheeks turned pink on the edges. Ryan could think of a thousand ways to pull West out of his shell.

Ryan turned on his charm to get the hostess to take them to Matt and Heather’s table. She nodded and led Ryan and a very uncomfortable-looking West over to the table. When Matty finally looked up and saw them standing right next to each other, he practically spit out his wine.

“Hey, Matty!” Ryan flashed a teasing smile at his brother. “Thanks so much for setting me up with a roommate for the week.” He patted his brother on the back.

“Wait. What are you doing here?” Matty shoved back his chair and wrapped Ryan in a giant hug. Ryan’s annoyance melted away as he sank into the hug. “I thought you cashed in your tickets? I thought you weren't coming.”

“I did cash in the tickets. And I upgraded them to first class for the ride here.”

“Babe, you said you checked with him. Ryan, I'm so sorry.” Ryan adored Heather. She had curly brown hair and giant brown eyes, and she favored lip balm and sunscreen to makeup. She was the perfect calm and rational to Matty’s heart-on-his-sleeve personality.

Heather frowned and waved at the seats. “Please sit down. I'm sure we can get this sorted. They have to have more rooms.”

“They don't,” West said quietly. It was the first time he'd spoken since they'd left the room. Ryan remembered his brother saying West was shy, but Ryan had always assumed it was the awkwardness of having his roommate's little brother in his space for the weekend. “Apparently there's some billionaire wedding here this week. The reception is happening right now. And all the rooms are booked.”

“It's cool, man. We’re going to share the room.” He cuffed West on the shoulder, and West stiffened. Maybe the touching was too much for West? Maybe Ryan was being too Ryan about all this? He dropped his hand and decided to tone it down. Ryan was going to have to break him out of his shell little by little. “It will be more fun than if my ex was on this trip. I hope you like to cuddle.”

So much for toning it down.

Matty raised his brows at Ryan and tipped his head toward the door. And that’s when Ryan remembered why he had promised to make himself scarce on this trip.

His brother was going to propose.

Actually, he was supposed to be proposing right now. Ryan glanced from the bottle of champagne on ice to his brother's fidgety fingers. “Hey, West? This table feels a little cramped.” He quickly glanced from his brother to Heather. “Come with me. I have an idea of where we can get some food.”

Ryan stood and crossed his arms, waiting expectantly. And he hoped West, in all his shyness, would forgive him.

WEST

West followed Ryan out of the restaurant and back into the lobby. It was late, and West was tired and maybe still a little buzzed. He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I should go back to the room. I don't need you to, what did you call it, babysit me, this week. You go do your thing.”

“Are you kidding? I can't do this alone.” Ryan looked around a corner and nodded. “Follow me.”

Judging by the glint in Ryan's eyes, he was up to something, and West had a feeling he wasn't going to like it. But Ryan was already a few paces ahead of him, so he followed.

They made their way across the lobby and out onto a terrace. Lemon trees framed the terrace that had been empty this morning, their glossy leaves catching the warm glow of hanging lanterns and strings of fairy lights, which seemed to merge with the stars overhead. The air shimmered with the bright, intoxicating scent of citrus mingled with a hint of thyme and the salty tang of the nearby sea. Live music filled his chest with a song he was sure he knew.

There was music. West's stomach flipped.

“Ryan, this is a private event.”

Ryan turned, and his lips twitched beneath his beard. “Come here.”

Ryan tugged West close. He smelled like mint and beer. Ryan pressed his hands onto West's chest and smoothed out his shirt and straightened his tie. West's heart thundered in his chest. It had been years since someone had touched him in such a casual, intimate way. West didn’t date. He’d spent his high school and college years buried in code and the overwhelming pressure to succeed. And once he found success, he could never be sure who he could trust. But Ryan made his pulse race just by touching his chest, through his shirt. West wanted him to do it again.

“It's not black tie, but I think we'll manage.”

“Ryan, you have lost your damn mind if you think I'm going to a wedding reception for two people I don't know.”

Ryan shrugged and laced their fingers together. “Please, there's going to be plenty of food. And once they see my dance moves, they'll be glad we're there.”

Ryan swiveled his hips and West swallowed his response when a group of wedding guests passed them. Ryan nodded toward them and began walking. West blew out a breath.

He was going to regret this. They were going to get caught.

But West followed him anyway. To protect him. He couldn't leave Ryan alone. And because the universe and his anxious brain wanted to prove him wrong, nothing bad happened.

There was food everywhere. Servers walked around with tray after tray of delicious Italian delicacies. Ryan grabbed two of everything and offered West a secret smile every time he passed the tiny treats over to him.

“We need to dance,” Ryan said as he chewed and swallowed something. “You know. We need to blend in.”

West blustered. “I don't, I mean, I can't.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and bumped West's shoulder.

“Come on, it's a fast one. Just wiggle around a little.”

Ryan shook his hips. West’s heart somersaulted in his chest. He stared at Ryan's shoes, because it was the only safe place to look. Someone whooped, and the bride and groom made their way onto the dance floor. The bride smiled right at West, as if she was in on the secret, and giggled as her husband spun her around before dipping her into a kiss.

West took a deep breath, took a step closer to Ryan and moved his hips.

***

Later, when they got back to the room, Ryan was still humming a song under his breath and generally looked like he had had the best night of his life.

West needed sleep. And given that he was going to cram himself into the small love seat in the room's corner, he wasn't sure that was going to happen.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd look into another hotel.

Ryan took his time showering and brushing his teeth. By the time he'd walked in, West had squeezed his eyes shut and was trying to not look like a collapsed lawn chair on the couch.

“You look miserable,” Ryan huffed.

West kept his eyes closed. “Nope, I'm great.”

“This bed is pretty big, West. We can share.”

“I'm not invading your bed, Ryan.”

“It wouldn't be the first time a guy invaded my bed.” West didn't want to think about anyone who might have been in Ryan's bed over the years. Ryan was his best friend's brother. Matt was the one person in his life who hadn’t walked away. Matt didn’t mind his quirks or the way he would shut down sometimes when it all got to be too much. He trusted Matt. So when Matt set rules, he listened.

And Matt set very clear rules ten years ago. West had never broken those rules. Even if West thought about it once or twice.

“Good night, Ryan.”

Ryan sighed and climbed into the bed. “I'm not going to force you. But seriously, I don't mind. And I'll be good. We can even make a pillow wall.”

“A pillow wall? Are you five?”

West reached over his head and flicked off the small lamp next to the couch. The room fell into darkness, and West tried to do the math on what time it was back in California. He decided he couldn't do math right now.

So he closed his eyes and did his best to fall asleep.

And it must have been somewhere around two in the morning when Ryan threw a pillow at his head and said, “Just get in the bed already.”

And this time, he did.