by Pandora Pine
Drake shook his head. “I don’t believe that for a second. You said he was in Bar Harbor with his mother. Maybe she has a health condition or there was a problem with the plane. He had to fly from the tiny island airport and those little planes always seem to have mechanical problems. Or maybe there was some kind of delay at Logan Airport or at the car rental agency.”
“You might have a small point but he was supposed to be here at noon and it’s nearly 8pm. Hell, he could have driven from Bar Harbor to Hyannis in that time.” Griff’s voice sounded tired.
“Have a little faith.” Drake slapped a hand on Griff’s shoulder. “Now come on, let’s get your mask on. You’ll want to be all dressed up for him when he gets here.”
“It’s in my office.” Griff started trudging off in that direction with Drake following behind.
Pres offered a silent prayer that Leo would make it before the unmasking at midnight. He had a feeling if the historian was a no-show, Griff would be the one turning into a pumpkin when the clock struck twelve.
The party was in full swing. Presley was shocked at the number of people who turned out. As the night had gone on, he’d walked through the dining room speaking with his guests, many of whom had heard about the ball from posts on social media. Drake had really been dead-on when he suggested Facebook and Twitter as a way to advertise the party and the hotel.
Other guests had been asking for tours of some of the guest suites and Drake and Noble had been all too happy to show off their handiwork. Griff had been stationed at the front desk for a good portion of the night greeting incoming party guests and taking room reservations. A lot of the people who’d toured the suites had been interested in booking stays at the hotel.
It was Presley who was standing at the desk now. He’d come to relieve Griff a few minutes ago. Being alone at the desk wasn’t the place for Griff to be right now. Pres had seen the excited look on his face every time the front door opened and then the sad look on his face when he realized the new guest wasn’t Napoleon. If Pres ever got his hands on that little bastard, he’d punch Leo’s throat out.
While he was mulling over how he’d make the writer pay for upsetting Griff, the hotel’s front door opened and a disheveled man came in wearing a badly wrinkled white dress shirt and tugging a black suitcase behind him. “Oh, hi, you must be the famous Presley Forrester I’ve heard so much about!” The man ran a hand through his wavy blond hair before offering that hand to Pres. “Napoleon LeClerc at your service.” The man bowed. “If you’ll pardon my French, getting here today was an absolute headache.”
Presley burst out laughing. He couldn’t help himself. The man was an inch or so taller than his own six feet, but he was skinny as a rail. His curly blond hair was a mess and his wire rimmed glasses, which outlined his grey eyes, were a bit skewed. “I am Presley. It’s nice to finally meet you, Leo. Griff’s told us a lot about you.”
“I feel just awful for only texting him once today. Getting here was supposed to be easy, peasy, macaroni and cheesy, but nothing went right.” Leo straightened his glasses and ran a hand through his messy hair. “There were mechanical problems with my flight out of Maine and the traffic in Boston was a force to be reckoned with.”
“Well, how about if I show you up to your room and you can settle in and have a shower before you join the party?” Pres pulled his phone out and sent a quick text message to Drake.
“That would be sensational.” Leo turned around to grab his luggage. “Thank you so much for letting me check-in a day early.”
“Hey there,” Drake was all smiles as he greeted Presley.
“Leo, this is my boyfriend and the hotel’s social media guru, Drake DeMelo. Drake, this is Napoleon LeClerc.”
“Leo, it’s great to meet you!” Drake shook his hand and shot Pres a look of approval. “Does Griffin know he’s here?”
Pres shook his head. “Why don’t you get him settled into The Hiraeth Room? That way he can grab a shower and iron his shirt.”
“You named a room in the hotel after Captain Benson’s ship?” Leo’s grey eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.
“I thought it would be a nice way to honor Captain Benson.” Drake smiled brightly at Leo. “You’ll be staying on the second floor. All of the rooms on that floor were named after famous ships.”
“You don’t say!” Leo patted himself down as if he were looking for something. “For the love of Pete, where’s my notebook.”
“You sound like our friend Landon.” Pres reached over the front desk to grab a pad of hotel stationery and a pen. “Try this.”
Leo nodded absently and started scribbling.
“Who reminds you of Landon?” Noble walked into the entryway holding Landon’s hand.
Presley pointed to their first hotel guest. “Leo. He couldn’t find his notebook.”
Landon’s eyes bugged out. “That happens to me all the time. I finally had to leave notebooks all over our cottage, even in the bathroom.”
“Oh my stars! You’re Landon Fairchild!” Leo’s eyes popped wide open and he rushed to Landon. “I must have read Killer Cure ten times! I pre-ordered Killer Instinct the day you made it available. I’m just so thrilled to meet Sand Dollar Shoal’s resident author laureate.”
Landon wore a perplexed look on his face but reached out to shake Leo’s hand. “It’s great to meet you too. Once Griff told us you were coming, I went through all of Noble’s old copies of Yankee Magazine. You are an incredible travel writer. The detail of your pieces was so exquisite, I felt like I was standing next to you on your travels. It’s going to be a pleasure having you at the hotel for the summer.”
“Christ, does Griff know he’s here yet? He’s been moping around like a kicked puppy all day,” Noble blurted out.
Pres rolled his eyes and walked around the front desk to grab Leo’s room key. “Drake, take Leo up to his room and get him settled in. Noble and Landon, keep meeting Leo between yourselves for now. Don’t even tell Gregor.”
Noble arched an eyebrow over the rim of his masquerade mask.
“I know, I know. We’ll deal with Gregor’s wrath later.” Pres knew Gregor didn’t like to be kept in the dark, but he wanted Leo to be a surprise for Griff.
“Thank you for your gracious welcome, Presley.”
“You’re welcome.” Pres watched while Drake grabbed Leo’s suitcase and led the way up the main staircase. When they were gone, he turned to Landon and Noble. “What do you think?”
“He is the oddest man I think I’ve ever met in my life.” Noble laughed.
Landon shook his head. “I like him! He’s gonna be an absolute hoot to have around all summer.”
“Of course you think that, you both say the word ‘hoot!’” Noble grabbed his boyfriend’s hand and tugged him back toward the party.
Pres didn’t think Leo was odd at all. What he did think, was that Griff was about to meet his match.
XX
Drake was waiting for Leo at the bottom of the stairs. He was still glowing with all the praise Leo had heaped on him for the naming and decoration of the Hiraeth Room. He had filled the room with items you would have found on sea-faring ships of the nineteenth century. His favorite piece was an antique sextant that he’d found online. It was little touches like that, Leo had said, that made the room so special.
“May I have this dance?”
Drake turned around to see Presley holding out his hand.
“It would be my honor.” Drake swept his lover into his arms, holding Presley tight. With each hour that passed, he was getting more and more nervous about his big reveal.
Half the time he was certain Presley would hold him close and forgive him for keeping his porn star past a secret. The other half of the time, he was scared to death Pres would break up with him and fire him.
Getting to hold his lover like this, for what could be the last time was bittersweet. Not wanting this part of the night to end, Drake kissed Presley with all the need and love in his heart.
> “What’s up with you?” Pres asked breathlessly. “You kissed me like you’ve got a dawn appointment with the hangman.”
“Here I am! The Phantom of the Opera!” Leo hopped down the last two stairs, his cape billowing dramatically behind him.
“OH. MY. GOD!” Drake squeaked, pulling away from Pres. Leo was wearing the signature white half mask favored by the Phantom along with a black tuxedo and the cape. The costume, in his mind, was brilliant.
“You like it?” Leo twirled around, which fanned the cape out behind him.
“I love it! Griff is going to love it too!” Pres wore an awed look on his face.
“No time like the present to go introduce you, right?” Drake took Presley’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze.
Leo nibbled on his bottom lip and after a few seconds, nodded his head.
“Come on.” Drake slung an arm around his shoulders and led him into the party.
“This is incredible. I should have brought my camera down with me.”
“No worries. We hired a professional photographer for the night. I’m sure Griff won’t mind you using some of those images in your article,” Pres said, craning his neck around the room, presumably looking for Griffin.
“There he is.” Drake pointed. Griff was standing with some party goers who were telling him an animated story by looks of the way they were waving their arms in the air. “Why don’t you go grab him?”
Pres nodded and hurried over to his friend.
“Are you nervous to finally meet him?” While Drake had been playing the role of Damien Lovecock, he’d spoken with fans on Damien’s Twitter page, but he’d never gone so far as to arrange to meet any of those men. He knew this was a business meeting for Griff and Leo, but had seen there was a spark of personal interest on both sides.
Leo’s face lit up and he nodded, sending his blond curls falling over his Phantom mask. Drake thought he looked like a little boy excited to get a cookie.
Drake saw Pres weaving his way through the crowd with Griff following behind with a serious look on his face. He couldn’t wait to hear what excuse Pres gave him for getting him away from the other guests. He sensed Leo taking a step behind him.
“Okay, Drake. Where’s the fire?” Griff fisted his hands on his hips. “Pres said you needed to speak to me urgently.”
Drake grinned, shaking his head. “There’s no fire, but I’d like to introduce you to someone very important.” He wasn’t totally certain but he thought he saw Griff roll his eyes.
“Oh? Did that cameraman from Channel Five finally show up? Give me five minutes to get this mask off and make sure my hair isn’t sticking up and then I’ll be ready to go.”
Drake and Pres both started laughing. “No, Griff. Channel Five isn’t here. This person is more important than local media coverage. He’s our fist official guest at Sand Dollar Shoal.”
“Damn it, Drake. We all agreed we weren’t going to allow any guests to check-in early.” He looked back and forth between Presley and Drake who were laughing harder. “What the hell is so funny?”
Leo stepped out from behind Drake. “Unless I’m mistaken, I believe you invited me to stay at the hotel tonight, Griffin.” His lips quirked up in a slow, easy smile.
“Leo?” Even behind his red mask, Griff looked stunned.
“Napoleon LeClerc at your service.” Leo bowed, his cape swirling around his sides. “I must offer my deepest regrets for arriving so late. The trip from Maine was not as easy as I assumed it would be.” Leo straightened up and held out his hand to Griff.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. LeClerc.” Griff shook his hand stiffly and jerked his hand free as if he’d been burned. “Let me show you up to your room.”
“Drake and I already took care of that.”
Griff visibly sagged. “Okay, then. How about I show you over to the buffet table? You must be starving after such a long day traveling.”
Leo’s smile lit up his whole face. “I’d love that.” He offered his arm to Griff who hesitated before taking it.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention?”
“Jesus Fucking Christ! Am I having a stroke or is Noble about to give a speech?”
Leo patted Griff’s hand.
“He looks like he’s about to say something.” Drake shot Presley a worried look.
“On behalf of Griffin Fox, Presley Forrester, Gregor Allen and myself, Noble Killington, I’d like to welcome you all to Sand Dollar Shoal.”
The crowd broke into applause and whistles.
“Opening this hotel was the dream of Griffin Fox and thanks to him, I’ve found the love of my life. Landon Fairchild, come on down!”
Being one of the tallest men in the room, Drake was able to see Landon, who was standing with Gregor near one of the buffet tables. He saw a blush creeping up the back of his neck as Landon made his way over to Noble who was standing in front of the orchestra.
“For those of you who don’t know the story, I was down here all winter working on the renovation of the hotel. One day, I saw a man walking on the beach and looking totally lost. We were hours away from a blizzard, so I did what any sane man would do and invited the total stranger to spend the night at the hotel. I won’t lie to you, I was worried that Landon might be a serial killer and don’t you know, I was right! Well, not literally, but Landon does write books about serial killers.” Noble wrapped an arm around Landon’s back and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I know we’re not unmasking until midnight, but…” Noble took off his mask and handed it to Landon before getting down on one knee.
“Oh my fucking God!” Presley whispered to Drake.
“I fell in love with you the moment we met, Landon. You make my life glitter and shine. You love me for who I am and because of that, I am the happiest man alive, but being the happiest man alive isn’t enough anymore. I want more. I want to be your husband.”
Landon’s right hand fluttered up to his heart while the left swiped at the tears coursing down his face.
“I want to spend every day for the rest of my life loving you with every ounce of my soul. I want to be your shoulder to cry on. I want to be the last man you ever kiss, the last man you ever love.” Noble took a deep breath and held up a shining ring. “Landon Fairchild, will you marry me?”
Landon nodded, getting down on his knees to kiss Noble, who pulled away long enough to slip the ring on Landon’s left hand. He hauled them both up to their feet. “He said yes!” Noble held up their joined hands.
“Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle!” Leo grinned at Griff. “If that’s not the most romantic proposal I’ve ever heard, I’ll eat my mask.”
Griff burst out laughing. “Let’s get you fed so you’re not tempted either way.”
Drake pulled Presley closed. “Leo’s right. That was one amazing proposal.”
Presley nodded against his shoulder and held on tighter.
Drake offered a silent prayer that one day he’d be the one proposing to Presley.
18
It was nearly midnight. Drake’s stomach was dipping and plunging like he was on a roller coaster. He’d tried to keep himself busy with showing guests the hotel rooms and answering questions people had about the hotel. Nothing he did was enough to settle his stomach.
He knew the only thing that was going to make him feel all right was telling Presley the truth. After Noble’s dramatic proposal, Drake had helped Gregor break out the champagne, which they were going to trot out at midnight when everyone took their masks off, but Gregor and Griff agreed after the proposal was a better time. Drake had busied himself by handing out glasses to the party goers.
While he’d been filling glasses and passing them out, he’d been trying to figure out the best way to say what he needed to say to Pres. Part of him thought a sob story would be best. If he told Presley about his rotten childhood and how he wasn’t getting any other auditions so he had to take Donovan Charles up on his offer to star in porn, it might be easier for him to accept.<
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The other part of him thought it was just best to say it straight out and not offer any excuses. Drake believed Presley when his lover told him he loved him. He had to believe that once the secret was out, Presley would still love him even though he might be hurt or angry.
“You look like shit, man. What’s up?” Noble slapped a hand on Drake’s shoulder. He was the only man walking around the party with his mask off.
“We can’t all be the luckiest bastard alive, now can we?” Drake plastered on a fake smile.
“Don’t bullshit me.” Noble raised an eyebrow. “I know you’re worried about telling Presley your secret.”
Drake sighed. The fake smile slipped from his lips as he started chewing on the lower one. “I’m telling him tonight. After everyone goes home and we’re done cleaning up, I’ll take him back to the cottage and just lay it out for him.”
Noble nodded. “Pres has always been a straight shooter. He’ll appreciate the same thing from you.” Noble took a deep breath. “Drake, just how bad is this secret? I mean are you on the run? An ex-con? Are you married? Maybe if I know what you’re keeping secret, I can help you figure out how Pres might react.”
Drake knew Noble well enough by now to know he was telling the truth. The one thing he’d noticed about this band of brothers was that they always had each other’s backs and held each other’s confidences. “I’m not a criminal and I’ve never been arrested or married. My secret has to do with my life in California. I, um, had a job that I’m not exactly proud of.”
The worried look on Noble’s face softened a bit. “All of us have jobs we’re not proud of in our past. Hell, when I was younger I used to be the one who’d pull all the used nails out of boards my father removed during demolitions.”
Drake laughed, wishing his secret was as simple as an embarrassing teenage job. "I need Pres to be the first one that hears this news. It's bad, Noble. Really bad and I know how much you love him. You won't be able to keep what I have to say to yourself and you're probably gonna want to punch me out.”
