I finished the last delectable bite of lamb shoulder in front of me, slow-roasted to perfection and so perfectly seasoned with salt, cumin, and its subtle mint garnish that I felt like I was in heaven. I wasn’t sure what exactly Jamie was eating, but the menu said it was something called durum wheat with sea bass, and it smelled so good it was unreal. Moroccan food was new to me, but if the food we were enjoying at this cozy little hole-in-the-wall restaurant was anything to go by, I could get used to it.

The smell of fragrant incense was thick in the air, and the sound of soft Middle Eastern music was muffled in the background, since we’d gotten a quiet table in the corner of the restaurant. The lights were dim, and the mood was perfect.

I couldn’t stop watching Jamie. Everything he did, every experience we had together, it drew me to him in such a powerful way I couldn’t explain. I thought back to the man I’d been when I sat in the corner of his office waiting for him to shut up and leave me in peace, and...I didn’t recognize that man. Better yet, I was glad for that.

We’d barely finished eating when dessert arrived. A waiter with short, curly hair and a beard so perfectly trimmed that I felt jealous set before us a dish of roasted peach with thyme honey glaze, a side of raib sorbet, and a garnish of lemon foam.

Lemon foam. Who the fuck was I?

I certainly wasn’t the bitter asshole who was throwing the days in the trash from my Bronx apartment, that was for damn sure.

“This looks amazing, thank you,” Jamie said ravenously as the waiter smiled and bowed his head to us before leaving us alone again. We both took a deep sigh of hunger and satisfaction as we looked down at the dish, then at each other. We smiled for a moment, and that broke down into laughter.

“I’d never go to a place like this on my own,” I said, shaking my head and digging into the peach dish while Jamie did the same.

“You like it, don’t you?” he asked with a little surprise.

“Oh, god yeah, it’s fantastic.” I chuckled. “I just…” I paused, setting the spoon down and looking at Jamie long and hard. “I can’t fool around, Jamie. This is all you. I mean, the restaurants, the travel, it’s all amazing, but I’d be lying if I said the way I feel about life right now wasn’t because of you.

Jamie looked at me with shimmering eyes, and it warmed my heart to see how much he appreciated the words coming out of my mouth. I wasn’t the kind of guy who spilled his heart a lot, but damnit, this mattered.

“I’m not falling for you anymore, Jamie,” I said, shaking my head and making his eyes widen for a moment. “I have fallen. And I’m a pretty big guy, so I fall hard. I don’t know how that makes you feel, but there it is.” Jamie was fighting back tears when I reached across the table and took his hands in mine. I didn’t want to make a big scene, but-- shit, even I was starting to feel choked up. “I don’t want to sail away when this is all over, Jamie,” I said softly.

“Neither do I,” Jamie said in a thick tone, and we leaned across the table and kissed each other with such force that I felt like my heart was exploding in a blissful mess.

When we broke apart, we stared at each other for a long time, then down at our half-eaten peaches.

“Shit, we’ve still got to finish this,” I laughed, and Jamie joined in before we attacked our dessert together.

About an hour later, we had left the restaurant and were entering our hotel for the night. While I sorted things out with the receptionist to check us in, Jamie handled a call from Nolan. I finished checking us in before Jamie finished the call, and I twirled the card key around in my fingers as I approached him with a smile.

“What’s the word?” I mouthed at him as he glanced at me, and he gestured for me to follow him.

“Hold on just a second, Nolan,” he said into the phone, covering the receiver for a moment and looking to me. “He says he’s just about made up his mind on the contract. He’s all but decided he’s going to go with my technology.”

“That’s great!” I couldn’t help but say. Pride swelled up in me like a balloon for him, and the smile that grew on Jamie’s face told me he recognized and appreciated it. But despite his blush, Jamie shook his head.

“It’s not a done deal yet. He has to run it by some of his people first. Other city ministers and officials, you know how it goes. But as long as nobody has any big objections, we’re good to go.”

I smiled broadly, not only because that was good news, but because I had an idea. Without warning, I walked close enough to Jamie to reach over and grab the phone from him, to his surprise.

“Hey, Mayor Wade?” I said. “This is Damon again. Hear me alright?”

“Uh...yes?” the mayor said, about as confused and surprised as Jamie was. I held up a hand to Jamie and mouthed “Trust me” to him. Jamie nodded slowly.

“I know this is isn’t exactly protocol, Mr. Mayor,” I said, expertly hiding my sarcasm at the honorific. “But we’ve got another problem that you’re in a unique position to help us out with. Jamie has someone after him, and I have a hunch about who it is, but I need proof.”

“I...am a very busy man, Mr. Hunt,” the mayor said reluctantly.

“Believe me, I know,” I said. “But your cooperation here would be beyond valuable. Now, I’m not a numbers man, but I have a feeling that ten percent off the price tag of the bid Jamie gave you is a pretty considerable number, am I right?”

Jamie winced, but I gave him a thumbs-up, and he rolled his eyes, smiling.

“It…might make a difference, yes,” the mayor said, and I couldn’t help but grin, unable to believe I was really doing this.

“Great. So, if all your people agree to accept Jamie’s bid, then I imagine you’re going to have to notify Barry, right?”

“That isn’t decided yet, I should be clear,” the mayor said.

“I know, I know, this is all hypothetical,” I said agreeably. “But on the off chance you do go that way, then what would absolutely make our day is if you could give Barry a call after the decision and inform him that his proposal was a very close second. Tell him that if Jamie wasn’t available, you would have gone with Barry’s.”

There was a pause on the line, but Jamie’s eyes were widening as he realized what I was doing.

“I’m having difficulty wrapping my mind around the...the point of doing this, Mr. Hunt,” the mayor said. “Partly because what you’re saying is actually true.”

“I know, I know,” I assured him. “And that’s why this is a good deal for you-- do something you were already going to do. But consider ten percent off the uh, ‘sticker price’ of what Jamie’s offering as an assurance that you will definitely do it, personally, by phone. Can I have your word that you can do that if we hold up our end of the bargain, Mr. Mayor?”

“I…” he hesitated, and at the front of the elevator, Jamie and I looked at each other with bated breath. “Yes, I can do that.” I fist-pumped, and Jamie let out a breath of relief.

“Amazing. Perfect. Thanks, Mr. Wade, you won’t regret it. I’ll text you my number so I don’t have to steal Jamie’s phone again.”

“You got it,” the mayor said, half laughing himself. I ended the call, and we stepped into the elevator together.

“That was bold,” Jamie said as the doors closed behind us.

“Yeah? Sorry about that, I don’t know how much ten percent actually is, but as your bodyguard, I have a feeling it’s worth the risk mitigation, as Susan would call it.”

“Money’s no object, I’d give it away for free if it wouldn’t make my shareholders tear me to pieces,” Jamie chuckled.

The doors opened, and we made our way into our penthouse suite just as my phone went off. I thought that was surprisingly fast, and that made me wonder just how much money I had cost Jamie.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Hunt,” the mayor’s voice came. “I just wanted to let you know I made the call.”

I had to hold back my impulse to say that those ‘people’ he had to check in with had come to a conclusion awfully quickly. Money sure did talk.

“Really? How’d it go?” I asked.

“It didn’t,” the mayor said simply. “Barry wasn’t available, apparently. I had to leave a message with his EA.”

I recalled Jeff, the mousy guy who’d been hanging off Barry’s arm at the party back in Manhattan. The guy practically worshipped the ground Barry walked on.

“You know what? That’s actually fine,” I said, nodding as we closed the door behind us. “He’s just as good as Barry. I’ll have the new contract, uh…revised.”

I winked at Jamie with a boyish grin on my face.

Shit, I hoped this would pay off.