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Syed was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate since the recent revelation about Christian. The Christian he'd met didn't seem capable of a short-term relationship, let alone marriage. He couldn't even begin to think how Christian must have felt when he'd lost Josh… His death must have been fairly recent but Christian didn't come across as a grieving man, quite the opposite actually. There were a million questions that Syed wanted to ask, needed to ask, but talking about death was difficult even at the best of times. It was such a private thing too, he hardly felt it was very appropriate for him to ask, he didn't even know Christian's favourite colour, and going straight in with questions about his dead fiancé probably wasn't the best idea. Why was it any of his business anyway? Christian was nothing more than a client and Syed had been employed to renovate his home, not counsel him.

Syed's trail of thought was broken by a large folder landing on his desk and the sound of clicking in his ear. He looked up to see Pete staring at him, a hint of annoyance on his face.

"Snap out of whatever it is that you're in, Syed. I don't pay you to daydream. Now listen, that folder's got everything in it that you'll need for the renovation of Christian's place. Whatever you do, don't lose it! Floor plans, paint colours, schedules, suppliers and -"

"Ben told me about Christian's fiancé dying," Syed blurted out, desperate to know more. "Two weeks before they were meant to get married, he didn't tell me how though..."

Pete laughed slightly, causing Syed to become incredulous, "I hardly think that it's funny."

"No, God no, it was terrible," Pete composed himself. "I just know that you've now fallen for him a tiny bit more. It's ok, it's a perfectly normal reaction, you're drawn in by it all. The tragic widower, well, almost, they didn't quite reach the aisle did they?" Pete shook his head and spoke again. "Christian's one of my best mates, and what happened was truly awful, the effect it has on other men just amuses me. They already love him a tiny bit when they meet him, his charm, his good looks, his amazing ability to flirt! As soon as they hear about his fiancé then they lose any remaining control, it only makes them want him more. And now the same thing has happened to you, hasn't it?"

"Absolutely not," Syed shook his head in protest.

"Yeah, of course it hasn't," Pete gave a wry grin. "You know what Syed, you go for it. You let him get to you, get you into his bed and then find out what happens afterwards. Don't come crying to me when he says that he'll call you and then never does."

Syed really wasn't in the mood to be lectured about Christian again, he'd come across his sort before and was well aware of what they were capable of. He wanted all of the details now, hearing the basics had only made him crave more. "I already told you that I'm not interested."

"Well that was before you'd heard the full story."

"I still don't know the full story!" Syed pushed himself back in his swivel chair and sulkily folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I haven't really got time for this right now. If you want to know every last detail then you can come round mine tonight." Pete muttered as he walked away, "Prepare to fall for Christian completely though."

x-CS-x

The working day had passed slowly as Syed worked through the plans for the renovation of Christian's new home. The warehouse conversion looked decent even in its raw state, and Syed knew it would look amazing when the work was complete. This was the first project he'd been really excited about since he joined the company, whether that was due to Christian's involvement was another matter.

He was now sat in Pete's living room on one of several leather chairs; Pete was reclining on the large leather sofa, a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Well I guess the best place to start is the beginning. Christian and Josh were together for almost four years, they met at the beginning of 2007. Josh was a few years younger, stunning man, could easily have been a model, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Christian adored him. They got engaged on Christian's birthday in 2008, he said it was the best birthday present he'd ever had," Pete smiled fondly. "They were going to get married last June, a perfect summer wedding. Everything was arranged. They'd even started looking into adoption, they both really wanted to become parents. I've honestly never seen Christian happier. Anyway, a couple of weeks before the ceremony, Josh and Christian had a little bit of a falling out, about something stupid like tablecloths I think. I guess the stress of the wedding just made them both overreact a bit, you know, something out of nothing. Josh stormed out and didn't come home that night, Christian just thought he'd gone to stay with a mate and didn't really worry about it. Then the next morning the police knocked on the door."

Syed could already feel himself welling up; he didn't need to be told the outcome of the story. He already knew what Pete was going to say.

"Josh had been involved in a major collision on the motorway. Some other guy was driving recklessly, had a few too many to drink, he survived but Josh was announced dead at the scene," Pete sighed.

"I don't know what to say," Syed had a thousand images in his mind; he couldn't even begin to imagine the horror of it all. "Poor Christian."

"It was terrible," Pete agreed. "Christian went from having everything, to nothing. His whole future was taken away from him in an instant. He barely ate or slept, and he didn't speak, for weeks after it happened. He'd just sit there, holding a picture of him and Josh on the evening that they got engaged. He blamed himself, obviously. He thought that if he hadn't of snapped at Josh then he would never have walked out, never have crashed the car." Pete exhaled heavily, "He was kind of right I suppose. The grief and guilt… it just ate away at him. So, no more wedding obviously. They had a funeral instead, the day before their wedding would have taken place. Christian just seemed to go into autopilot afterwards, threw himself into his work. Ben told you that he owns a chain of gyms, didn't he?"

Syed nodded.

"The one he opened most recently is named after Josh, JC Fitness Centre; he was going to take Christian's name when they got married. I always thought Joshua Clarke had a nice ring to it. Anyway, about four months after the funeral, Christian started socialising again…" Pete rolled his eyes slightly, "and that's pretty much all he's been doing since, he's damn good at it too. He's like a magnet, always surrounded by men. He chats them up in a bar, takes them back to his place, fucks them and then sends them on their way. And according to him, it's brilliant."

Syed sensed a hidden message in Pete's words, which was confirmed when he began speaking again.

"So I'm not just saying that you'd be nothing more than a one-night stand, I know you will. The last thing Christian wants is to get involved with someone else, I think if he had his heart broken again then it would kill him."

Syed rubbed his hands over his face, "Is that why he's moving into this new place then? Is he trying to move on?"

"I think so; he doesn't talk about it all much. He's only just managed to sell the house that him and Josh lived in, he was going to sell up just after Josh died but we all thought it was too soon so convinced him to wait a while. He seems a bit more content now, I know he seems really happy and confident on the outside, but underneath all that I think there's a really vulnerable man there."

Pete's words seemed to be mirroring Syed's earlier thoughts.

"He's only ever cried in front of me once though. We were going through some of Josh's things and he found this DVD. There was nothing written on it, it was just a plain disc. So obviously he watched it… Josh had made it. It was going to be played at the wedding reception, it was just loads of photos of him and Christian. Normal, everyday photos of their life together. Christian sobbed his heart out watching it." Pete looked at Syed and noticed a glistening in his eyes, when he peered closer he could see tears threatening to spill. "Do you need a tissue?"

"Sorry, it's just devastating," Syed wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I never would have thought… he just doesn't seem like somebody who's been through all of that."

"Men think they can change him, they're completely convinced of it." Pete went on, "They all think that they can be the one to break through the barriers and make a difference. Make him fall in love again. But they can't. I've seen so many men try and fail. The last thing Christian's interested in is commitment, he'd rather stay single. And that," Pete took a sip of wine, "is what makes him so utterly irresistible. Isn't it?" he looked sideways at Syed.

"Nope. I'm still not interested in Christian Clarke."

If only it was as easy to convince yourself as it was to convince others.

No chance of Chryed getting together then? Lots of Chryed interaction in the next chapter ;)