Facade

was carefully shielded from the outside world since there were a lot of whackos around who weren’t to be trusted around someone as famous as him, but there was nobody in Nicky’s extensive entourage that Jonas was particularly worried about. Of course Nicky still had an almost symbiotic relationship with Tanna, and Jonas was aware that whenever Maia wasn’t enough for Tanna Nicky was her easy second choice, but that was nothing new and had never interfered with their love life before. They were clearly going through a lull, and Jonas made a mental note to talk to Nicky about it as soon as the designer slowed down enough to actually listen.
    “Nicky, we need to get away, just the two of us,” Jonas told Nicky one morning after his lover had kissed him awake only to leave him alone in bed sporting morning wood.
    “I can’t,” Nicky answered resolutely. “We’re drawing up plans to open a store, and Tanna will kill me if I take off now. This is the only time we have a few weeks without traveling and Tanna thinks she’s found the perfect location and—” Jonas interrupted Nicky’s rambling by pulling him into his arms and kissing his neck. Although Nicky was fully clothed, Jonas was sure he could feel just how turned on he was.
    “Mmm, that feels nice.” Nicky reacted by closing his eyes and molding into Jonas’s embrace until he seemed to realize he had other plans and pulled away. “I don’t have time for this, Jonas.”
    “No, you never do anymore,” Jonas murmured quietly, more to himself than to Nicky as he moved back into the bedroom. He expected Nicky to leave but when he turned around, Nicky was watching him intently.
    “I’m sorry,” Nicky said, his face serious, just before he turned around.
    Jonas couldn’t help but feel that the words and the body language didn’t go together. Was Nicky tired of him? Or was he just stressed out? Confronting his lover when he was about to run out the 172
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    door meant setting himself up for yet another disappointment, so he stood down.
    “You could come with me to look at the location,” Nicky suddenly suggested, his back still toward Jonas and his hand already on the door handle.
    “You don’t need me there,” Jonas replied, still feeling angry about Nicky’s constant rejection.
    “No, I don’t, but I still value your opinion.” Resisting Nicky when he gave him one of his pleading looks was hard enough on a good day, and this wasn’t a good day.
    “Okay,” Jonas conceded. “Give me five minutes to get ready.” THE site where the new store was going to be was a mess, but the location was perfect. The Rue Saint Honoré was the place to be if you were a name in fashion, and a small storefront had just become available. With her finger on the pulse of Paris haute couture , Tanna had taken an option on it right away, and now they had twenty-four hours to decide whether Nicky wanted to open his very first store there.
    It was a big step and Jonas knew it. Up to now, Nicky had sold his prêt-a-porter line in joint stores that carried several big name designers, but this store meant having his own name on the marquee and therefore increasing his exposure, not to mention the fact that Nicky would be able to have a say in everything from the store’s decorations to what the shop girls would be wearing and how they would approach the clientele. Having a successful flag store was the one thing missing in Nicky’s career, and Jonas could understand this made his lover nervous.
    Jonas watched Nicky and Tanna walk among the rubble the last owner had left on the premises and saw how differently they approached this project. Nicky couldn’t stop talking about how dark it was and how they’d have to find an interior decorator who could bring some light into the place, and Tanna was already calculating Façade
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    the cost of Nicky’s dreams in her head. Jonas of course, stayed in the background. He would give his opinion if Nicky asked him, but other than that, he remained silent. He enjoyed watching the two of them, though. Nicky was darting in and out of every nook and cranny like a puppy while Tanna was trying not to damage her delicate Armani Privé shoes on the exposed concrete floor.
    “I think we should do it, Tan,” Nicky shouted at Tanna from a small platform running up to a walkway that circled about half of the store. “What do you think, Jonas? Can you see us doing a runway show here? For the opening of the store?” He