Katie was talking on the phone again as Nick entered the house. He didn’t say a word to her, instead, he just went straight into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of whiskey, which he brought with him out on the balcony.

His eyes darted over the lake, half hoping and half expecting to see Julian somewhere down there, but there was no one.

Nick had no idea where his big fascination with Julian came from. He could easily find other men attractive, but it wasn’t the same… he didn’t want to kiss them, only Julian. Nick liked the way the young man made him feel and how he made him smile all the time. He wanted to lay down next to him, so close that he could feel Julian’s breath against his lips again, close enough to count the small freckles on his cheeks and close enough to feel Julian’s sun-kissed skin against his own. Nick told himself that it wasn’t sexual… he just wanted to feel Julian.

Nick wondered why Julian was out here all alone. With his look and charms he could hardly be single, so why would anyone want to leave him out of their sight? Nick wouldn’t have done that if Julian had been his. He would want to be around him all the time, just to make sure that he wouldn’t disappear.

Nick shook his head and laughed a little at his own stupid thoughts. He had never felt this kind of spark towards another person before. They didn’t even know each other yet, but for some reason, it didn’t matter… the past didn’t matter.

Julian brought a smile back on his lips, and it had been a long time since another person had been able to do that to him. Not even Katie had had that effect on him. He’d been in love with her at first, yet she couldn’t make him feel as free and relaxed as Julian could.

Nick looked over his shoulder towards Katie, who was still on the phone. She smiled and him and rolled her eyes while gesturing to the phone, so he knew it must’ve been her old aunt Sophie.

Nick returned the smile and took another sip of the caramel looking liquid.

Nick stayed in front of the windows and looked over the beautiful lake, that just kept hypnotizing him. He felt drawn to it, and it was impossible to resist.

After a while, Katie hung up the phone and walked up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder.

‘’Did you invite him?’’ She whispered. He could hear the smile in her voice since it sounded lighter and more relaxed than normal.

‘’Yes,’’ Nick answered as he leaned into her touch. ‘’He would love to join us.’’ Nick closed his eyes and focused on her gentle touch, but his mind wasn’t done messing with him. After a few seconds, he began imagining that it was another body that was pressed against him than the one of his wife's. It made him enjoy the touch more and he felt himself get a little hard. He cleared his throat and stepped away from her. She looked questioning at him but didn’t comment on it.

‘’It sounds good,’’ she said with a smile as she walked towards the kitchen. ‘’I’ve canceled the chef for tomorrow, so it’ll be perfect.’’

Nick turned to stare after her. ‘’You, what?’’ he said shockingly, as he walked into the kitchen after her. 

She just smiled at him. ‘’I canceled the chef,’’ she repeated as she leaned her hips against the kitchen counter. ‘’I think I’ll survive cooking just for one day.’’ Nick just stared at her, not knowing what to say. In the nine years they’d been together, she’d never once cooked anything for them. Something was up with her, and he couldn’t figure out what it was. She straightened up and picked up the car keys from the kitchen counter. ‘’I’m taking the car,’’ she said as she began to walk out of the kitchen. ‘’I’m going to get a bit of grocery shopping done for tomorrow… do you need anything?’’

She looked at him, but Nick just shook his head. She walked up to him, kissed his cheek gently before leaving.

He went up to the bedroom and threw himself onto the bed. Nothing was making much sense to him lately. Katie had seemed so different all day… so happy. And though it was nice to see her smile for once, it didn’t feel right. He’d only been gone from his old life for one single day, and his world was already turning upside down.

Nick closed his eyes, and within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

After a couple of hours, Katie came back. She parked in front of the large house and started to pull bags out from the back seat and placed them on the ground. She had gone a little bit over the top with her shopping, but it had been years since she’d cooked anything, and she wanted it all to be perfect.

She bent down and picked two up when a voice disturbed her.

‘’Do you need a hand, miss?’’ A voice said. She looked over her shoulder and looked into a pair of beautiful brown eyes. ‘’I’m Julian, by the way… thank you for the diner invitation.’’ Julian went over and took the bags from her hands, and her cheeks heated up as she looked at him.

‘’Oh thank you,’’ she said with a big smile. She couldn’t take her eyes off him as they walked into the house. She’d only seen Julian from afar, and he’d looked good from a distance, but up close he was even more beautiful and it made her heart beat faster. ‘’Both my husband and I are looking very much forward to tomorrow.’’ She said as they reached the kitchen. Julian placed the bags on the counter and Katie stepped closer to him. ‘’So my husband told me that you were an author.’’ She said with a flirting smile.

‘’Both yes and no… I’m a journalist.’’ Julian shrugged as he tried to step away from her, but she wasn’t having it.

‘’Oh, but I thought you were working on a book… I guess Nick just misunderstood that then.’’ She laid a delicate hand on his shoulder, she just wanted to feel him a little. Julian just smiled awkwardly at her as he took another step back, to get away from her touch.

‘’No, your husband is right. I’m staying here so I can work on a book, but I don’t know if it’ll work out.’’ He said. She still could not look away from his beautiful deep eyes, and she was drawn closer and closer to him without being able to do anything about it. His voice was so gentle in her ear and those eyes… Those eyes enchanted her. She wanted to be close to him.

'’fascinating… I believe in you. '' She said, stepping a little closer to him again, with an incredibly flirtatious expression in her eyes. ''Can I offer you a glass of wine?''

‘’No, thank you,’’ Julian muttered as he walked towards the kitchen door. ‘’I have a lot of writing to do, so I have to go.’’ He walked towards the front door, and Katie followed after him. ‘’I’m looking forward to tomorrow.’’ Was the last thing he said before leaving the house.

Katie stood there for a while and stared after him, as he slowly walked down the dirt road towards his little house. Her heart was beating faster in her chest and a big smile was on her lips.

She was pulled out of her daydreaming when Nick emerged behind her.

‘’Is everything okay?’’ He asked as he walked up beside her to get a glimpse of what had caught her attention, but Julian was already gone. He cocked an eyebrow at her as she smiled at him. 

‘’Everything is fine,’’ she said sweetly. ‘’I bought everything we need for tomorrow, so it’s going to be perfect.’’ She walked into the kitchen as Nick followed closely behind her, and began to unpack the bags while smiling. ‘’I ran into Julian, by the way… he helped me carry all of this inside.’’ That caught Nick’s attention. He didn’t like seeing that dreaming smile on her face as she spoke his name. She looked like one who felt the same as he did, and that was not okay. He didn’t care if she cheated on him, since they weren’t really in love, but he didn’t want her to flirt with Julian… he was Nick’s, and not hers. He wanted to be angry with her, but he shook the feeling off. He had no right to be jealous. He didn’t own Julian, and Katie was in her right to flirt with whoever she wanted.

He ignored the gnawing feeling in his stomach and tried to focus on something better. Even though he’d been skeptical about the whole dinner idea, he was beginning to look forward to it. He knew that Julian would be a great company, and he looked forward to having dinner with someone else, where he didn’t have to dress up for it.

Katie was still smiling big as she finished unpacking, and Nick couldn’t blame her. There was just something about the young man in that little house that woke something inside both of them. It wasn’t because Julian was perfect. He was beautiful, yes, but no one was perfect… it was just a mix of those beautiful eyes and the buzzing in their heads when they were near that beautiful lake. Julian just wasn’t like others. There was something special about him that neither Katie nor Nick could put a finger on.

Nick just hoped that he would be able to spend much more time with the young man since he was carving the feeling of the relaxation and freedom Julian brought with him.

‘’He is a very nice young man,’’ Katie said with a smile, and Nick was pulled out of his daydreaming.

‘’Yes, he definitely is.’’ He answered as he cleared his throat. Julian was more than just nice, but he didn’t want to say that out loud.

Katie walked into the living room and sat down on the couch and Nick followed suit.

‘’It’s rare to meet someone like him.’’ She mumbled, almost too low for Nick to hear. Nick leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. Yes, it was rare to meet someone like him. Someone who changed both of them without even knowing, and without even doing anything. He was just like an angel, sent down to make life easier and better for both of them. And Julian would do that… he would change their lives forever.