“I didn’t know that, but it’s got your name on it.”
“Great. I sure as hell hope it’s not from Caitlyn.”
Harry frowned, as he looked at it.
Of course it’s from Caitlyn. “Did she pay you to bring it up?”
“No, no, no, no.” Harry held up his hands and backed farther into the elevator, the only place he could go. “Sorry, sir. If you want me to take it away, I will.”
Simon shook his head. “I’ll deal with it. I’ve told her to leave me alone, but she’s been pretty insistent.”
“You were quite the number for a while. She probably wants to rekindle it.”
“Yeah, well, what she pulled after we were done means I’m not at all interested in rekindling that craziness.”
Harry gave him a conspiratorial grin. “Got it. Did you get any food, or do you need me to order something for you? You’ll need some protein after a workout.”
“Yeah, I was just going to have a shake. This ear thing is really bugging me.”
“There’s a really good little Portuguese place that just opened a couple blocks from here.”
“Portuguese?” He stopped, looked at Harry. “I don’t know that I even would recognize Portuguese food.”
“It’s good. They’ve got some great dishes there.”
“Like what?” he asked.
“It’s hard to even describe, but lots of seafood, sausage, rice. Some great pastries. You could order in, if you didn’t want to go anywhere.”
“Yeah, but I should get out more, and who knows? That might help my ears.”
“Think about it. Then come on downstairs. If you’re interested, I’ll give you the address. It’s good. Trust me on that.”
“You haven’t steered me wrong on food yet,” he said, with a smile.
“Nope, not when it comes to food.” Harry patted his very ample belly. “And don’t let my wife see you working out. She’ll never leave me alone.”
At that, Simon burst out laughing. “I hear you. The good news is, you’re already safely married, so nobody else can nab you.”
“She would probably say that she’ll put me up for sale, if I don’t start listening to her.”
“Nah, you’re too precious, and I know without a doubt that she believes that.”
“Hey, we’re twenty-four years now this weekend.” His smile beamed.
“Good for you,” Simon said. “Not many can say that. Congrats.” He waved, closed the elevator door, headed back inside, then dropped the parcel on the kitchen counter.
“What the hell are you up to, Caitlyn?” he said out loud.
And he was sincerely happy to hear Harry’s news about his anniversary because he really liked the guy. Ever since Simon had moved into the place, Harry had been polite, not overly subservient, yet not too familiar. Just the perfect balance so Simon could be friendly, yet not feel like he had to put himself out and be overly so, especially if he was in a shitty mood. It was simple enough to give him a hand wave. It’s not like Harry would take offense, as some of Simon’s friends would.
Grabbing a knife, Simon slashed open the tape on the side of the package, and, when he opened the box, he found a very expensive bottle of wine nestled inside. “What the hell?” He noted it was the same wine they had shared on one of their more intimate evenings, when they were celebrating, probably like six months together or something. Then he stopped, frowned for a moment, and winced.
“The night I asked her to marry me.” He stared at it. The last thing he wanted was to touch it. He groaned and sent her a text.Thanks for the gift, but no thanks.
She immediately called him. “Hey, it was just athank you, for finding my nephew.”
He hesitated at that. “You’re welcome for that, but you don’t have to send expensive gifts like this.”