Page 152 of Cross & Crown

neck to take in the impressive lobby.

“Jesus, this is cool,” JD said. He was doing the same thing

as Kelly, and they probably looked like chickens in the rain,

staring at the wonders above them. The brick was all exposed,

and so were the remains of the bars from the cells. The

catwalks still encircled the lobby, where giant iron chandeliers displayed twinkling lights high overhead.

Kelly grinned. Of course Nick loved this place. It had

everything Nick was drawn to: a dark history, a story of

regeneration and retribution, luxurious surroundings, and

alcohol. His breath caught when he saw the escalator that

would take them to the main lobby floor and realized the man

standing there watching him was his boyfriend.

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Nick was wearing a sharp three-piece suit with a thin,

green silk tie and matching handkerchief in his lapel pocket. It had likely been tailored, because it fit him perfectly. Kelly had never seen it on him before, but goddamn. Nick was watching Kelly with a small smile, one hand in a pocket.

Kelly whistled when he walked up to him. “Don’t you

look fancy.”

Nick stepped into him and kissed him on the corner

of the mouth, right where he knew it would send shivers

through Kelly’s body. “Not so bad yourself,” he whispered

into Kelly’s ear.

It took Kelly a few seconds to realize Julian was with Nick,

and that he and JD were waiting for them to stop flirting

long enough to get on with things. They both looked a little

amused, though.

“Sorry,” Kelly offered.

Nick snorted. “I’m not.”

Though Nick was trying to keep an easy smile on his face,

Kelly could feel the tension in Nick’s body. It was making him

nervous again. He supposed anyone meeting with a famous