Chapter Three
James refused to be nervous. He sat at the gate at O’Hare, looking up and down the concourse for Daniel before returning his attention to the book he was trying to read. What he should have done was plop himself in one of the bars and have a drink…or three. He needed to calm his nerves. It was only for six days, and then he and Daniel would return home and go back to their regular lives. His mother would be happy, and then a month or so later, James could report that he and Daniella had broken up. James could go back to his life, and his family would be none the wiser.
“There you are,” Daniel said, stepping into the gate area, coming around to sit next to him, placing his Louis Vuitton bag on the empty seat. Daniel handed him a coffee cup. “I figured you could use one.”
“How did you know?” James closed his book, slipping it into his carry-on, and took the cup, sipping the coffee. He didn’t ask how Daniel managed to spike it with whiskey. He was simply grateful.
“I’d need one if I were you,” Daniel said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. He looked great in tailored jeans and a magenta polo shirt. Even dressed as a man, he had style. “But you have nothing to worry about. Just relax. I’ll change once we arrive. Your family is going to look at me and see only Daniella, an attractive woman. I do this all the time.” He seemed so damned calm, and that only made James wonder if he didn’t understand the gravity of the situation.
“What if they look too closely, or if later in the day you develop shadow or something?” James took another sip of the drink and let the alcohol flow through his system, warming him from the inside.
“First thing, I don’t grow much hair on my face at all, and you sat right next to me in the theater and had no clue. Relax. If things get too close, I’ll simply excuse myself to use the ladies’ room.” Daniel shifted in his seat, watching him. James felt his gaze, turning to see what was wrong. “Everyone at that wedding is going to see me through you. Remember that. None of them knows me or has ever seen me before. They will never see me as a man unless you give them a cause to.”
“You know that’s bullshit. They’re going to be looking at you the entire time we’re there.” He could just imagine the microscope his family was going to put Daniel under. “They will want to know everything about you.”
Daniel sighed. “Stand up,” he said gently, and James complied. “Now look at me.” James turned and watched Daniel, wondering what the hell he was getting at. “Not like you want to punch me.” Daniel didn’t break the slightest smile.
“Then how?” he snapped, and for a second Lala made an appearance in Daniel’s cooled gaze. “What do I do?”
Daniel didn’t answer, his gaze instantly morphing into one of warmth and gentleness. “James,” Daniel said with just a hint of breath and seduction. For a second, James could imagine being the very center of Daniel’s world, that Daniel truly cared for him. “Look at me as though you care deeply for me. That you want me to be happy.” He widened his eyes and willed them to grow more intense. “Not like you’re constipated. Look at me as though you love me,” Daniel whispered. “That’s a little better, but it still needs work.”
“They’re going to see through this,” James said, even more worried now.
“No, they’re not. It’s your family. As I said, they are going to see me through you and how you treat me. If you open car doors, take my hand, speak gently and kindly to me—basically treat me like the queen you know I am—they will follow right along. Because if I’m someone important to you, then I will be important to them.” Daniel drew a little closer, and James wasn’t sure if some of his calmness transferred to him, but the butterflies in his belly finally stopped flapping like they were trying to escape the clutches of hell. “Once you’ve done that, short of me dressing completely as a boy, they won’t think anything of it.” Daniel held his gaze, and James did the same, Daniel’s eyes pulling him in, and damned if he didn’t want to dive into those deep sea-blue eyes and go for a long swim. “That’s exactly the look.” Daniel licked his lips, and for a second James parted his own.
The agent called their flight, the announcement booming through the gate area. James snapped back to himself like a rubber band and nearly spilled the last of the drink Daniel had brought for him. He backed away, blinking, and finished the last of the whiskey-laden coffee, dropping the cup into the trash and heading to the gate.