Page 457 of A Matter of Time

“Shall I take off the shirt and⁠—”

“No,” he snapped at me, buttoning up my coat, making sure I was covered. “This is fine. I don’t want you half-naked in front of everyone.”

We stood there, staring at one another.

“Are we going, or are you just gonna stand there and scowl at me?”

In answer, he took hold of my hand and walked me over to his captain, who complimented my dancing as his wife rose and hugged and kissed me. I wished her a happy birthday, as I had forgotten to earlier. She thanked me for coming and for the lovely bouquet of wildflowers and roses that had been delivered to her home that morning from me and Sam. It was stunning, she told me, the most extravagant she had ever received. And I knew it was. I had used Dane’s florist, after all.

“I just loved them, Jory,” she said, then she reached for Sam’s shoulder so he would lean down and she could kiss his cheek. “Thank you so much, Sam.”

“We’re so pleased,” I told her.

She nodded, then turned back to Sam. “I’m so happy you finally brought Jory with you so I could meet him. He’s simply enchanting, and I just adore him.”

“Me too,” he replied gruffly, his fingers sliding through my hair.

Once we were outside, walking through the parking lot, I turned to him.

“What?” he asked after a moment.

“Finally?” I asked, needing clarification.

His sigh was long and loud. “Whenever there was a thing like a Christmas party, or a Fourth of July party, or the policemen’s ball, or whatever, she always asked me why I didn’t bring anybody. I always told her that I wanted you to come with me but you couldn’t make it.”

“Oh.”

“But it was always the next time and the next time, because the timing was never right, and like last year at her birthday, you weren’t with me yet. I mean, you were gonna be, eventually, but still… I think she got the idea in her head that I was stalling.”

“Which you were.”

“Which I was.”

“I see.” I chuckled as he steered me down a long row of cars.

“So tonight when she saw you and got to dance with you and talk to you, I think she was just so happy that you were real and not a figment of my imagination.”

I nodded.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just… Although I love not being a secret, I also don’t want your career to be screwed because of me. I don’t want people to think about you as the bisexual detective. I just want them to know you as a good detective, as just Sam Kage.”

“Like I said before, if they do, they do, J. If they have a problem with me, there’s nothing I can or would change about that. I get to take you home with me tonight and every night, and that’s all that really matters.”

“Okay.”

“And Christ, did you bond with Ersi and Steph or what?”

“I did, huh?”

“Oh shit yeah.”

“I’m really happy about that.”

“The three of you looked amazing out there together.”

I smiled at him as we walked down a ramp to the next level.