“And there’s ‘y’ in my name because my father wanted to call me Jay, while my mother preferred James. Hence the compromise.”
“If you don’t mind me asking something we’re all curious about, Jaymes,” said Clifton, not letting the subject drop. “Why only five weeks?”
“Infidelity,” said Jaymes cryptically, returning Clifton’s gaze without flinching.
“I see,” replied Clifton, the response loaded and an eyebrow raised at Nathan.
“Maybe,” answered Jaymes, a smile fixed firmly in place. “I feel fairly certain you know as much as I do about the nature of toxic relationships.”
Clifton’s face blanched visibly, his eyes narrowing on Jaymes. Whatever veiled reference he’d made had stung Clifton to the core.
“Can Gallagher and I please have our cookie questions?” called Martin, and Nathan felt sure he did so diplomatically to break the awkwardness. “I’m sure we’re not the only ones gagging for a cup of that wonderful fresh coffee I can smell brewing.”
He and Gallagher had innocuous enough questions, but across the table, Jaymes had become sullen, avoiding any eye contact. During Martin’s response, he excused himself abruptly from the table without glancing at any of them. Nathan wondered why admitting to a short-term and seemingly bad relationship had rattled him so much. The longest relationship Nathan could boast was his twenty weeks with Bastian. And did hooking up once a week at most even constitute a relationship?
Nathan had been wondering whether to go after Jaymes when someone touched his shoulder. He peered up as Clifton took the seat next to him, which had also been vacated. Without noticing, and while coffee was being served, others around the table had risen and switched places. Maybe the suggestion had been prompted by Clifton. Nathan hadn’t heard.
“We finally get to speak.”
“And we do have a bit to catch up on, don’t we?” said Nathan.
“My apologies for being frosty to your boyfriend—”
“He’s not—” began Nathan before breathing out a sigh. “Jaymes is a friend. There’s nothing intimate between us. But he and Polly thought I needed a plus-one tonight. Don’t you have a partner?”
“Can’t keep anything quiet when you’re in the public eye. Raul’s in the States going through some punishing training routines. We’re more celebrity partners if that makes sense. Photographed side by side at public events. He’s very photogenic, and we support similar charities. But we have an arrangement.” Clifton placed a hand on Nathan’s arm. “I know I said so on Sunday, but I’m truly sorry about your dad. A genuinely special man. Always had time for me and never talked down to us even though we were kids. You must miss him terribly.”
Nathan relaxed into Clifton’s familiarity. They used to tell each other everything.
“I’ve had time to adjust,” he said, sighing and offering a shrug. “How are your folks?”
“Mum and Dad divorced. A couple of years after we settled in LA. No big surprise there.”
“You had the whole town talking when you disappeared. Did you know? Theories ran from theft, murder and international espionage to some kind of salacious cover-up. Everything blew over eventually. But for a time there, your family was the talk of the village. Even your grandparents remained tight-lipped.”
“That’s because they didn’t know anything.”
“What happened?”
Clifton pulled his hand from Nathan’s arm and clenched his hands together on the tablecloth.
“I had no idea at the time,” he continued. “Dad was headhunted for a job in Los Angeles. He had to be discreet because, officially, he had a non-compete clause with his London bank. Eventually they came to an agreement involving some kind of financial settlement, a buyout of his contract or something. Even then, he was sworn to secrecy. He sold the idea to us in terms of a trip to LA being a trial run to see if we could live there. Honestly, I thought of it as nothing more than a family holiday. Sunset Boulevard, Universal Studios theme park, Hollywood homes tour. Once we got there, he told us everything was a done deal, that he’d accepted the job and we weren’t going home. I pretty much hit the roof. So did Mum. Our lives were here. But he called me out, Nate. To this day, I don’t know how, but he knew exactly what was going on between you and me. Some pretty harsh things were said, none of which I’m going to repeat, but in the end, I felt I had no choice but to stay.”
Nathan had seldom met Clifton’s father. And on those few rare occasions, the man had been indifferent bordering on rude. According to Clifton, he had valued work over family—but always provided for them.
“He blackmailed you?”
“Not in so many words. But nobody ever refused my father. He’s always been very persuasive. If for any minute I’d thought he was blackmailing me, I’d have told him to shove the move up his arse. But Mum and I agreed to give things a try. For the first three months I thought about stealing his credit card and booking myself a flight home. But I have to admit, life improved quickly. LA is not Crumbington. We lived right on the ocean with a wooden staircase leading from our back door down onto the beach, and I learnt to surf in the temperate weather along the Pacific Ocean. I made a few amazingly cool friends, and on top of all that, I was admitted into the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. “
“Sounds like the dream life.”
“You’d think so, but nothing is ever perfect, is it? In college, my older male roommate and I became more than friends. He loved his film noir and had ambitions of becoming an indie movie director. But he also ended up being a manipulative and abusive bastard. Mum saw the signs and intervened. Not long after moving dorms, I got my first break. A small supporting role in a television series followed by a couple of movie parts, but at least they got me on the map until my first lead. I think my father may have pulled a few strings there.”
“Arsehole. Your roommate, not your father.”
“I know. He’s still trying to make trouble, but Giorgio’s handling things now. And that, in a nutshell, is how I got where I am today.”
Nathan nodded slowly, not completely satisfied. He had often thought about Cliff over the years, their closeness and tight bond.
