Luis shuffled to the door because someone had just knocked. He expected to find the butler or Gerome—hopefully, with his clothes. Since their talk a couple of days ago, he hadn’t seen his mate at all. Luis never left his room, as he didn’t want to invade Gerome’s personal space by sitting in the living room. What would he do? Have some coffee? Not likely. There was only so much coffee he could drink.
Not having to see Gerome worked better if he remained hidden in his room.
Luis stopped short when he saw Sam standing there. “Hi. Can I help you?”
“Hey. Sorry for bothering you, but I’d like to talk to you.”
Luis opened the door a bit wider. “Why, if I may ask?” What could Sam possibly want from him?
“Can we sit down somewhere? Perhaps we can have some coffee? I know Gerome’s is much better than the stuff we have at home.”
“Um, yeah, sure. Just let me shut the TV off, and then I’ll be right with you. Why don’t you start the coffee machine if you know how to use it?”
“Of course, I can do that.” Sam turned around, strode over to the kitchen, and pressed the button on the coffee machine. Before Luis could mull over the reasons behind Sam’s visit, he followed the man into the kitchen. The first cup of coffee stood beneath the machine, and a second one waited on the counter for its fill.
A couple of minutes later, they sat on the comfortable couch while sipping the hot brew. So much for not coming out of his room. At least, Gerome wasn’t at home right now.
“I know you’re wondering why I’m here,” Sam finally said.
“Yeah. Of course.” Luis blew on his coffee.
“I wanted to talk to you. Gerome’s not dealing well with this mating stuff, and he has no idea what else to do, so he finally came to me. I had some serious words with him at our wedding, and I hope his behavior has changed since then.”
Luis nodded slowly. “Yes, a bit. Before the wedding, he acted so coolly. He ignored me completely unless it was to yell at or threaten me.” He wrapped his fingers around the mug and shivered at the memory of the fear.
“But since then, he’s changed, right? Or is he still yelling at you?” Sam asked with a very serious face.
“Yes, he apologized. He made sure I understood he would never hurt me and that he regretted what he’d done.”
“That’s good. I asked him the same, but if I found out that he lied to me...” he trailed off.
“What? Would you have gone against him?” Luis shivered at the thought.
“Me? I could, yes, but I would have told Alex how he treated you. Believe me when I say I wouldn’t want to witness that.”
“What, your husband? He seems so... nice?”
Sam laughed quietly. “He is. He’s the best partner you can imagine, and I’ll be forever grateful he finally realized we’re good together, but you don’t want to be on his bad side. He can get very loud and very mean.”
“Really? I would never have guessed.” Luis smiled at the thought of Alex yelling at someone a head taller than him.
“Yep. I’ve known him long enough, and I’d be afraid of him. So, Gerome didn’t lie when he said he tried to apologize and make it up to you?”
Luis took a sip of his coffee before answering. “No, he didn’t. He apologized, and he even took me for an appointment with the hairdresser, but other than that, we haven’t talked. I honestly don’t want to see him.”
“That’s why I’m here. I know you have a real hard time accepting this, and I fully understand why you hate Gerome, but he’s miserable as well. He came to me yesterday to ask for help. He doesn’t know what else to do. All he wants is to make things better for you, to help you accept that you’re mated to him, but he says he has no idea what to do. This situation is hell for him as well, even though you might not believe it.”
Luis shook his head. “Not for him. He’s not the one who was sold.”
Sam stared at Luis for a couple of seconds before he continued. “He’s just as caught in this mating as you are. If you remember right, he agreed to mate you to save Alex and Angela. He sacrificed his chance of finding love to help Alex. And while he could’ve mated Alex because he’d already fathered a child with him, he stepped back so we could have a future with each other. Gerome isn’t cold. I thought that as well when I met him, but when Alex went missing, I saw through his façade, and I found the real Gerome—the man who wanted nothing more than to find love, to find a man with whom he could be himself. A man who accepted that he’s not the badass Prince his father wants him to be, but a man with feelings, a man who merely needs someone to hold him at the end of the day. Someone who can make him laugh and force him to stop working once in a while. Someone who’s got his back. But he gave all that up so his father would help find Alex and Angela.”
Luis couldn’t say anything to that. He knew a lot of it. He’d heard the story, witnessed some of it, but he’d never seen the whole picture. “But—he has to hate me as well. I destroyed everything for him.”
“He doesn’t. He hates himself right now and the fact that he closed his eyes and let you suffer so much, but he doesn’t hate you. That’s why he came to me and asked me to help him. He’s breaking. When he finally saw the truth and stopped closing his eyes to your pain, it started to eat him up from inside. He wants to make up with you, maybe get to know you, but he thinks he’s not even welcome to say hello to you.”
“I never said that. I hate that I’m forced to stay here, but I guess it’s not his fault. I didn’t want to hurt him,” Luis said slowly.
“You’re doing it right now. He told me he asked you to try and get to know him, yet he never reaches you, never sees you. Do you think you could give him a chance? He’s a really good guy with a heart too big for this world. He deserves some love, even though you can’t give him that. But maybe you can, at least, make peace with him.”
While trying to figure out how to absorb all this information, Luis sipped his coffee. He’d hated and feared Gerome for so long that he didn’t even know what to make of Sam’s words. Yes, Gerome had asked him about being polite and dealing with the mating like adults, but so far, Luis had only hidden in his room after the hairdresser appointment. He’d never once took a step toward Gerome. Maybe he really needed to try and get to know the man behind the prince. He’d already told him he’d do it, but so far, he hadn’t followed through on it. Perhaps it was time to change how things worked between them.
Deep down, he’d believed Gerome hated him as well, but it was possible that Sam was right.
He’d start today by simply talking to Gerome a bit. It wouldn’t be easy, and he still didn’t see how they could get along any better, but he’d have to start somewhere. If Gerome felt so bad about things, Luis should put some effort into trying to change it. They were both miserable, and if they could do something about it, they both should.
It was in their hands.
While his mind raced, he slowly emptied his coffee. Finally, he sought Sam’s eyes. “Is he really doing so badly?” he asked quietly.
Sam held his gaze as he nodded. “Yeah. He’s working himself to death, and I know he’s not drinking enough blood. He’s also not sleeping—just catching a couple of hours when he really can’t go on. Please, try to get over your hate and make peace with him.”
“I can try. I can’t promise you anything else right now, but I will do my best.” Luis looked away. He couldn’t bear Sam’s worried expression anymore.
“You really like him, huh? Even though he and Alex...?”
“What makes you think that? Of course, I like him. He and Alex hooked up before he even realized we could be together, and he got Alex pregnant. We wouldn’t have been able to get a child through adoption, so I’m very, very grateful that he gave us Angela, even if it means he slept with Alex. It’s forgotten. We’re married, and Angela is my daughter, no matter what. So, yes I really like him.”
It must be great to have friends like that. Though Albert and Kevin were close to him, he doubted they’d do what Sam currently did for Gerome. “Thank you for telling me this. I’ll try to do better, okay? I can have dinner with him or something. I don’t know if I can manage to like him, but I can try not to be an ass to him.”
“I think that would be a start. Just try to be polite. Remember he’s in the same boat as you are, and you can do much better when you’re not hating each other and try to get along.” Sam put his empty mug on the table. “Thank you for listening. Give him a chance. He’s worth it. Believe me.” Sam smiled. “Now I’m going to leave you to think about it.”
“Yeah, I have enough now.” Luis met Sam’s eyes again. “Would you like to bring Angela by sometime... with Alex, of course? She can play with Gerome, and we can talk a bit as well if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, so tell me if you don’t want—”
“Of course. We stayed away because we didn’t want to intrude here. But if you invite us, Angela would love to have another apartment to destroy. And I’d love to chat a bit with you once in a while.”
“Thank you. Really.”
“Thank you for giving him a chance. Trust me. You won’t regret it. Let me give you my cell phone number in case you need anything. Don’t hesitate to ring me if something comes up. I don’t mind telling Gerome when he fucks up.” He laughed. “Or I’ll tell Alex. That’d be even worse.”
“I really would like to get to know Alex better and see for myself if he’s really that bad.”
“You will. No worries. Do you have a phone? I need to get home soon.”
“Yeah, let me get it from my room.” He stood and hurried to his room where he picked his phone up off the nightstand. The new one Gerome gave him still sat in the bag.
Sam waited and dictated his number to him when he returned, then Luis gave him his number.
“Thank you again. I’ll talk to you soon. Let me know how it goes with Gerome, and we’ll make plans for Alex, Angela, and me to visit.”
“I’m looking forward to it. It was nice chatting with you.”
He accompanied Sam to the apartment door, then went back to collect the empty mugs from the table. While he put the mugs in the dishwasher, he lost himself in deep thought.
Gerome hadn’t displayed any violent tendencies since the wedding, and if Sam’s words were true, then he just acted like that because of his upbringing and his father’s expectations.
The first steps had been the wedding and the hairdresser. Now Luis needed to follow through and get to know Gerome.
If only he knew how to do that.
The front door opened and closed. Expecting Sam, he asked, “Did you forget something?”
“No, why?” Already pulling at his tie, Gerome came through the door.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t think—sorry, I expected Sam again.”
“Sam was here?” His hand at his tie, Gerome stopped.
Luis closed the dishwasher. “Yeah. He visited me to talk a bit.”
“Wait a second. Sam visited you. And he left without saying hello to me?” Gerome didn’t sound angry, just curious.
“Yeah. You missed him by a couple of minutes.”
“Weird. But then, I planned to visit them tomorrow anyway. And if he was here to talk to you, I probably wasn’t welcome.” He pulled off his tie. “What did he tell you? You seem a bit different today?”
Was he that transparent? Apparently.
“Nothing. Just a bit about the mating and we talked about Angela and his relationship with Alex.”
“I don’t think I want to know anything else. I hope he didn’t scare you?”
Luis met Gerome’s eyes. “Why should he scare me? He’s a nice guy.”
“Then it’s good. Let’s just say I recently discovered a different side of him—one you wouldn’t like.”
Luis smiled a bit. “No, he was very polite. I invited him and Alex over some time with Angela. I hope that’s okay?” Luis said, suddenly doubting himself. What if Gerome didn’t want to have Angela, Sam, and Alex visit? “I can always tell them it’s not a good time if you don’t want to—”
“No, no, it’s fine. They are always welcome here. You can invite anyone you want here. It’s your apartment as well, you know.” Gerome sat down at the table and closed his eyes. He didn’t look good. His skin sported a grayish hue, and dark circles under his eyes spoke of the lack of sleep Sam mentioned.
“Thank you. I’m not sure when, but I’ll be sure to let you know. They also might contact you, not me.”
“Either way, it’s fine. Just let me know.” He opened his eyes and rubbed his face. “Everything okay? Do you need anything? I need to get back to work now. I have a few things I needed to finish yesterday.”
“No, everything’s fine. Mind if I make myself something to eat?”
“What? No, go on.”
“Okay. Do you want something as well?” Luis asked, remembering Sam’s words.
“No, thanks. I can’t take the time to eat right now. By the way, my butler should be bringing your clothes over soon. It took me some time, and I had to wait to ask my mother, but I located them.”
“Oh, wow, thank you so much.” Being in his own clothes would be so much better.
“Nothing to thank me for.” Gerome smiled, then stood and walked over to the niche where his computer sat. Luis followed him with his eyes until Gerome sat down and woke up the monitor.
Then he looked for the ingredients for a sandwich. He didn’t want to be too loud and distract Gerome.
Talking to him hadn’t been that bad, and getting his clothes back would help. They’d been polite to each other as well before that, but now, with Sam’s words in his mind, Luis tried to be as nice as possible. It seemed as if Gerome didn’t mind at all. He made his sandwich and decided to eat it at the table, not in his room. If he remained silent, he wouldn’t disturb Gerome that much.
While trying to figure out how to proceed with Gerome, Luis munched on his sandwich. Maybe the best plan would be the simplest: try to meet him after work before he went to his computer and chat a bit with him. Right now, he didn’t see himself making another hairdresser appointment and going there with Gerome. He wouldn’t need another haircut anytime soon, and he couldn’t think of anything else that would require him to leave the palace.
But for now, simply sharing a few words with him in the evenings might help a lot. Maybe he could even watch TV in the living room with Gerome if he ever shut off his PC. He didn’t want to distract him when he worked, but the guy had to stop sometime. Even someone who didn’t need much sleep could work all the time.
He’d just have to wait and find opportunities. Satisfied with his plan, he cleaned up the kitchen, put his plate in the dishwasher, and then went back to his room with a much lighter heart than he’d had when he’d gotten up. Maybe things here wouldn’t be so bad after all.