IT SEEMED the entire city celebrated the success of the House of Suzuki couture show. It certainly looked that way during the Rebel Gala, where conversation buzzed about how structural yet strangely wearable the gowns were. Words like innovative, genius, and the future of fashion were bandied about.
Already the women were swooning over which ones to purchase. There wasn’t any doubt about Kenji’s talent. Cassandra sure knew how to pick them.
The expert use of fabric to create almost impossible angular shapes brought Milo to tears. Each garment resembled a moving sculpture. He couldn’t deny the beauty in the artistry of Kenji’s work.
Yes, he mourned the loss of what could have been with Kaz, but after watching what might have been the most magnificent show in Paris Fashion Week history, he knew he had done the right thing. It would have been a great shame for the magazine to lose its exclusive with House of Suzuki because of his feelings for the designer’s best friend and business partner.
All was right with the world.
Except… as he stood in the middle of the opulent ballroom, Milo never felt more alone in his life. He lifted a champagne flute from a passing waiter who was dressed like a samurai and downed its contents in several swallows. The bubbles went straight to his head, and he swayed for a moment, but he regained his footing, deposited the empty glass on another passing tray, and liberated a fresh one.
Getting drunk as fast as he could seemed like a great plan. Cassandra gave him the night off as a reward for good work. He could have done better if he weren’t a zombie half the time from lack of sleep. Damn dreams. But waking up with the memory of Kaz in his mouth mattered little at that point.
In the morning the team would fly back to New York, and everything would be business as usual.
Except… how could it be business as usual when he felt nothing inside?
And he hadn’t seen his wayward friend since the night Tommy confessed his misguided feelings. It might be a good idea to spend some time apart.
Milo still couldn’t fathom what drove Tommy. It certainly wasn’t sex. Copious amounts of liquor, yes, but in all their years as friends, he’d never thought of Tommy as someone who fell in love. Until recently, he wasn’t even sure the guy had a heart to give away.
Feeling a little light-headed after his second glass, Milo wound his way through the crowd. Hundreds of red-paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving the space a moody atmosphere. Potted miniature cherry-blossom trees were scattered along the walls and strung with white twinkle lights.
Instead of hors d’oeuvres, he was presented with a live sushi bar with chefs flown in from the Land of the Rising Sun, which seemed to go over well with the assemblage. They were supposed to create an East Asian atmosphere, but Milo knew there was nothing authentic about the party.
Normally, the fake wouldn’t bother him. He worked in an industry that thrived on it, after all. But with everything that had happened, stomaching the superficial gave him gas. At least his feelings for Kaz had been real—intense to the point of earth-shattering, but real.
He must be a masochist to continually put himself through that torture. A chuckle escaped him. It was over. He ended things. He needed to live with the consequences.
As if the mere thought of Kaz conjured him up, the crowd parted to reveal the stunning Japanese businessman in a tux. Hurt warred with desire in Milo’s chest.
All that gorgeous black hair was slicked back. It begged for fingers to rake through it while in the middle of a passionate embrace.
Milo’s mouth watered as a myriad of lurid thoughts assailed him at the sight of Kaz. He would never admit it aloud, but he actually missed Kaz. Even impassive, his face was still strikingly handsome. He had one hand in his pocket, while the other rested on—
“Not even a month since you two broke up, and already he has his hand just shy of a supermodel’s ass.” Tommy materialized as if from thin air. “I’d say it’s looking like you don’t mean anything to him.”
As much as he wanted to hate Tommy in that moment, his words took root. Milo couldn’t unsee what was happening before him. And as much as he wanted to pretend Kaz wasn’t practically fondling the reed-slim slip of a girl who looked barely legal, the evidence was so in his face that he couldn’t look away. Milo felt like he was a car wreck and everyone slowed down to stare at him.
“Did you really mean what you said the other night?” he found himself saying without really thinking of the consequences of his words.
“Are you going to use me to make him jealous?” his friend asked back.
Milo looked up at him. Maybe a relationship between them could work. He’d never entertained the idea before. Why not?
“And what if that’s the plan?” No harm in going with the truth.
Tommy’s eyes narrowed. “On one condition.”
“What is it?”
“You need to tell me why you broke up with him in the first place.”
The benevolence in his tone took Milo aback. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s obvious you’re in love with him for you to stoop so low as using my feelings for you to make him jealous.” Tommy wrapped his arm around Milo’s shoulders and pulled him in close. The rest of his words he whispered into Milo’s ear seductively, sending shivers down his spine. “So you need to give me context if I’m going out on a limb for you.”
The blush didn’t come from their close proximity to each other. Milo was mortified with himself. He thought he had been right ending things with Kaz. He thought he prioritized his career more. But seeing him with someone else? After Kaz had boldly claimed ownership of him?
“I’m a horrible person.” He dropped his gaze. “I shouldn’t manipulate you like this.”
“It’s not manipulation if I’m aware of what’s happening.” Tommy placed a kiss on his temple. “So, what happened?”
“But the other night—”
“Forget about it. I was drunk. After some much-needed reflection, I knew you were right. I was taking advantage of the situation without thinking things through.”
Milo tilted his chin up so he could look into those startling eyes the color of moss. “How did I get so lucky to have someone like you in my life?”
“All right.” Tommy grinned a charming smile. “My ego is sufficiently inflated. Are you going to tell me or what?”
Milo placed a hand on his friend’s chest and sighed, inching closer so the only barriers between them were the clothes they had on. “Kenji threatened to pull his exclusive from Rebel if I didn’t break things off.”
Tommy pulled him even closer, if that were possible—they were practically hugging—and muttered into Milo’s hair, “That son of a bitch.”
The shrug came and went. “I can’t blame him. He’s in love with Kaz.”
“What’s that guy got that I don’t?”
“An extra-large dick.”
At the joke, Tommy threw his head back and laughed, drawing the attention of everyone within hearing distance. Ashamed at the attention they were getting, Milo hid his face in the crook of his friend’s arm. Then Tommy’s lips were on his ear again.
“You’re doing good,” he whispered. “He’s looking this way.”
“He is?”
But before Milo could turn to check, Tommy shifted so all he could see was the model’s shoulder. “Don’t look. He’ll know we’re bluffing. Just keep doing what you’re doing and flirt like your life depends on it.”
He plastered a rueful smile on his face as he looked Tommy in the eye again. If he focused on his face, Milo wouldn’t have to hear the extreme pounding of his heart.
“And remember,” Tommy said with a saccharine smile, “no one can force you to do anything you don’t want to. So what if Kenji is in love with Kaz? You’re the one he wants.”
“But my career….”
“Nothing will happen to it just because one designer decides to go postal. In our world, you’re in one day, then the next you’re out.”
“Are you seriously quoting a reality TV show at me right now?”
“But it’s the truth.”
Of course it was the truth. Fashion ate new designers for breakfast and shit out old ones. It was a dog-eat-dog world, and those who weren’t fast enough died in a gutter with the fashion victims and has-been trendsetters.
“If you really love him, then nothing should stop you from having him.” Tommy placed a kiss on his forehead before he bent down in search of Milo’s mouth.
Milo closed his eyes to accept the kiss, even if he thought it was going a little too far. Everything was going to be okay. At least he hoped it would.
The lips he expected never landed. Instead, he was yanked away from Tommy’s hold so abruptly that when he opened his eyes, a wave of dizziness assailed him. He took several deep breaths to keep down the bile threatening to climb up his throat before he could get a sense of what was happening.
The giant wall of Kaz’s back blocked his view of Tommy. Somehow, the guy had pulled him out of his friend’s grasp and positioned him behind his bulk..
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Milo asked indignantly.
Without taking his feral gaze away from Tommy, Kaz said, “He was about to kiss you.”
“We’re not doing this here.” Milo looked around at the mix of concerned and curious faces surrounding them. He tugged at the arm he clung to. “Come on, Kaz. Come with me.”
“I think you should—”
“Shut up, Tommy,” Milo hissed.
The last thing he needed was a brawl. Cassandra wouldn’t forgive him, and by now Kenji would have caught wind of what was happening. He was all for making Kaz jealous, but not to the point of causing any more of a commotion. They needed to get out of there.
“Are you sure about this?” Tommy pressed.
Milo positioned himself between the still-fuming Kaz and Tommy inches away from the grave. “Thank you. I’ll take it from here.”
He lifted his hands in surrender and backed away. “Then my job is done.”
“What does he mean?” Kaz growled as Tommy disappeared into the crowd.
Turning around to face the man he could no longer deny he had feelings for, Milo said, “Take me to your hotel room.”
In an instant, all the anger drained away from those cool blue eyes, replaced by a heat Milo had missed fiercely.
“Are you sure about this?” Kaz asked in Nihongo.
Sending a silent prayer of gratitude for the dispersal of the gathered onlookers, he nodded. “I’ve never been surer about anything in my life.”
Taking his hand, Kaz led them to the exit. A thrill went through Milo as he eagerly followed. Kaz hadn’t even bothered taking his leave.
Kenji would surely be fuming before the night was out, but the sense of satisfaction he felt at the thought of pissing off the designer who threatened to poison him made the possible fallout worth it. He would apologize to Cassandra in the morning.