HEADLINES

PRIME TIME SERIES #3

ELLA FRANK
Copyright © 2020 by Ella Frank
www.ellafrank.com

Edited by Arran McNicol

Cover Design: By Hang Le

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written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a
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 CONTENTS

Synopsis
Also by Ella Frank
Dedication

1. Sean
2. Xander
3. Sean
4. Xander
5. Sean
6. Xander
7. Sean
8. Xander
9. Sean
10. Xander
11. Sean
12. Xander
13. Sean
14. Xander
15. Sean
16. Xander
17. Sean
18. Xander
19. Sean
20. Xander
21. Sean
22. Xander
23. Sean
24. Xander
25. Sean
26. Xander
27. Sean
28. Sean
29. Xander
30. Sean
31. Xander
32. Sean
33. Xander
34. Sean
35. Xander
Epilogue

Thank You
About the Author
 SYNOPSIS

USA TODAY bestselling author Ella Frank concludes the story of

Sean Bailey and Alexander "Xander" Thorne in Headlines.

Xander
If I had to describe Sean Bailey, it would be as the sexy,
caring, wonderful man I’ve gone and fallen in love with. I
never could’ve imagined a world where he was my
everything. But with each passing day, the connection
between us grows stronger, and the idea of a world without
him is something I can’t imagine.

But Sean’s love doesn’t come without complications. As the

older brother of my lifelong best friend, this new love has
caused relationships to break down and communication to
become stilted, and the one question that remains is: am I
willing to give up the love and friendship of one for the
chance of love and forever with another?

Sean
I didn’t mean to fall in love with Alexander Thorne, my
brother’s ex and the number one prime-time news anchor in
the country. I mean, no one could’ve seen that coming—
least of all me. But that’s exactly what happened over these
past couple of months: I fell in love.

That’d be complicated enough, I suppose, but Xander? Well,

he fell in love with me too, and while it’s caused some major
upset in the dynamics around here, I have to believe that a
love this real can only lead to somewhere amazing.

This thing between us started out as a job, a friend helping

out a friend. But after playing the role of Xander’s boyfriend,
I find myself wanting the job full-time, because neither of us
are playing anymore.

Headlines is the final book of the Prime Time Series and should
only be read after book one, Inside Affair, and book two, Breaking
News.
 ALSO BY ELLA FRANK

The Exquisite Series

Exquisite
Entice
Edible

The Temptation Series

Try
Take
Trust
Tease
Tate
True

Confessions Series
Confessions: Robbie
Confessions: Julien
Confessions: Priest
Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest
Confessions: Henri
Confessions: Bailey

Prime Time Series

Inside Affair
Breaking News

Sunset Cove Series

Finley
Devil’s Kiss

Masters Among Monsters Series

 Alasdair
Isadora
Thanos

Standalones
Blind Obsession
Veiled Innocence

PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
ACED
LOCKED
WEDLOCKED

Fallen Angel Series

Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
HALO
VIPER
ANGEL
An Affair In Paris

Elite Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Danger Zone
Need For Speed
Classified

Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine

Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
 DEDICATION

I need you in my life, Sean. Right here beside me. Because without
you, nothing makes sense anymore.

~ Xander
 1

SEAN

“IT’S HOT AS hell out here tonight.”

I glanced over to Nichols, who was seated in the
passenger seat of my SUV tugging at the neck of his
bulletproof vest. He’d been bitching and moaning from the
second we’d pulled in behind a beat-up Cadillac to settle in
for tonight’s takedown.
Me? I was dealing with the heat. Yeah, I was
uncomfortable, but this was my first case since being cleared
for duty, and even the prospect of a four- to five-hour
stakeout hadn’t been enough to dampen my mood.
I was back on the job and it felt good. What would feel
even better would be finally nailing the scumbag we were
sitting here patiently—
“I swear, there’s sweat pooling in the crack of my ass.”
—or not so patiently waiting for.
“There better not be any of your bodily fluids on my car
seat, Nichols, or you’re paying to get it detailed. Plus, the
sun’s gone down. I’m sure it’ll start to cool off soon.”
It really had been a scorcher of a day. One of the hottest
so far this month, and even though the windows were down,
with no breeze, it was like sitting in a hot box.
“Cool off my ass.”
 “If it’s all the same to you, can we stop talking about your
ass? It’s starting to feel a little too intimate, and I don’t want
your wife chasing me down. She scares me.”
Nichols flipped me off, and I chuckled before returning
my attention to the street up ahead. Dark, grimy, and
unwelcoming, it wasn’t exactly the kind of place you’d want
a loved one walking around in. It was, however, the perfect
place to conduct the kind of shady transaction we were here
tonight to intersect.
For the past week we’d been trailing one of Chicago’s top
drug dealers and his brother. Vincent and Johnny Martinelli
had been running one of South Side’s top crime rings for the
past twenty years, and between the two of them, they had a
rap sheet ten feet long.
From possession and prostitution to domestic battery and
burglary, these two weren’t squeamish when it came to
getting their hands dirty. But one thing Vincent had always
drawn a line at was murder. He subcontracted out to take
care of his dirty laundry, which was how he’d lasted so long.
But tonight, that was going to end.
We’d gotten a tip from one of the local gang bangers
looking to cut a deal on where old Vincent was about to lay
down some serious cash in exchange for one of his problems
disappearing.
Which brought me back to my sweaty situation with
Nichols.
“As happy as I am to have you back”—Nichols brought a
can of soda to his lips and took a sip—“keep your hands to
yourself.”
I scoffed and was about to tell him he wasn’t my type
when Jenkins—one of the other detectives on tonight’s
detail—came over the radio.
“Got eyes on the suspects, but traffic interfered. They’re
traveling down Washburn in a Crown Vic with an SUV in
tow.”
I straightened in my seat, my adrenaline beginning to
hum now as I waited for the cars to come into view. It’d be a
real sweet welcome-back gift to myself to catch these two
and finally get them off the streets, and as the boxy grille of
the Crown Vic turned onto Twenty-Fifth Avenue, I tipped my
head in its direction.
“That’s our guy,” I said as the car started our way. It
crawled down the street, and as it approached the drop-off
location, the headlights flicked off and it turned into an
empty lot behind a repossessed apartment block.
Nichols shifted in his seat, going for the door. But I placed
a hand on his shoulder, halting him.
“Wait. We wait for backup on this. These two don’t play.”
I grabbed the night binoculars and took a look at the
now-stationary vehicles. The SUV blocked the Crown Vic for
the most part, but when a black Lincoln pulled into the lot
from the other side, my senses started to tingle.
Here we go. If our intel was on point, that would be Trevie,
the banger they planned to contract out for the hit on Jay-Jay
—a bookie turned snitch.
“Jenkins? We’ve got a black Lincoln coming in the east
side of the lot, as expected. Should be Trevie. What’s your
ETA?”
“Five to seven. Fucking car is broken down. It’s blocked
the way.”
Shit. Oh well. I hoped these two had something to discuss
before they got down to business.
When the Lincoln drew to a stop opposite the Crown Vic,
the passenger door pushed open and Vincent climbed out. I
cursed and lowered the binoculars.
“Fuck.” Jenkins’ little traffic holdup had put us in a bit of
a bind.
 “We can’t wait for them, Sean. If we wait, we’ll miss our
chance.”
No shit. I knew Nichols was right, but the idea of just the
two of us against these assholes didn’t sit well. Not at all.
I took another quick look through the binoculars to see
Vincent was now holding a black bag—the money.
Motherfucker. If we were gonna do this, it needed to be now.
I tossed the binoculars on the dash and glanced at my
partner.
“Let’s go.”
I shoved open the door, climbed out, and reached for my
gun. As Nichols rounded the hood of the car, we darted
across the street, heading toward the front of the apartment
building, out of sight.
The adrenaline was pumping now, the possibility of
discovery higher with every step we took, and still no fucking
backup. I plastered myself to the brick building by the
broken-down stairs, and when Nichols came up alongside
me, I gave him a clipped nod.
He returned the gesture, and I peered around the corner
to check out exactly what we were dealing with. Just as I’d
seen from the car, there were three men—Vincent, Johnny,
and Trevie—all of whom would be armed. So we needed to
get in and get the upper hand before any of them drew their
weapons.
Nichols and I waited in tense silence as the three went
back and forth with one another, and when Vincent finally
handed over the bag of cash, I gave the signal. The next
second, the two of us burst around the corner, guns drawn
and leveled on the three assholes now looking our way.
“Chicago PD! Drop the bag and put your hands up where
we can see them!”
Vincent’s eyes ping-ponged between the two of us as we
continued forward. Nichols had his gun trained on Johnny
and Trevie, but my focus was on the big fish of the family—
good old Vinnie.
“Drop the bag and put your hands up!” Nichols shouted
when no one moved.
My heart pounded as we drew closer, my attention never
leaving the fucker watching me with cool focus. Then, out of
the corner of my eye, I saw movement.
“Hands up, Johnny,” Nichols said. “Don’t make me
fucking shoot y—” Before he finished his sentence, though,
Johnny reached for his weapon and Nichols had no choice.
The gunshot rang out in the night air, and Johnny fell to the
ground like a sack of potatoes, his gun landing on the gravel,
his body unmoving.
Trevie then went for his weapon, but Nichols was already
on that. A shot to his thigh had him crying out and dropping
to the ground as Nichols ran over and kicked the piece out of
reach. I kept my eyes trained on the man daring me to blink,
as a cruel smile slashed his thin lips.
Vincent barely spared his brother a glance before he
decided his best bet was getting the fuck out of there, and
without another thought, he took off.
Nichols gave the go-ahead from where he was slapping
the bracelets on Trevie, and that was my cue. Booking it
down the back alley between the apartments, I took off after
Vincent, gun drawn, legs pumping.
I could see the asshole up ahead and reached for the radio
clipped to my vest. “Squad. This is 2457. Suspect Vincent
Martinelli is running. He’s heading west on Thirty-Second in
the alley between the apartments. Plain-clothed officer in
pursuit on foot,” I said around labored breaths. “I repeat,
suspect is running. In pursuit on foot.”
Vincent grabbed a trash can and threw it to the ground,
causing me to half slide, half hurdle the thing, but luckily I
made it to the other side without losing too much
momentum.
“Stop! Chicago PD!”
The muscles in my thighs were burning as I forced them
to work harder, refusing to let Vincent out of my sight as he
took a left down the side of one of the abandoned houses
toward the street.
Following his lead, I banked left and cursed when I saw
him climbing a fence—really? First fucking case back and
I’m doing shit worthy of the Olympics.
“Give it up, Martinelli! You know how this is gonna end.”
Perched up top of the fence, Vincent looked down at me,
and I stopped, aiming my Glock his way. But before I could
get a clear shot, he swung his leg over the metal and dropped
to the ground.
Gnashing my teeth together, I holstered my gun, made
my way forward to the chain-link fence, and scaled the thing
like a fucking monkey. When my boots hit the other side, I
took off again, gun back in hand as I sprinted across the
street.
“2457 crossing Thirty-Second to Hancock. Foot pursuit
still in progress,” I said, just in case they couldn’t tell by my
gasping breaths.
Jesus, I needed to start working out again—or at least
more than I already was. Before my little stint in the hospital,
this foot chase would’ve been a breeze. But right now,
Martinelli’s desire to get away from me made me have to dig
real damn deep.
As he ran down another side alley, I followed, and when
he stopped and turned to take two shots, I dove to the side,
my shoulder colliding with solid brick, the bullets barely
missing me.
I steadied myself and fired back, and my aim was spot-
on. A bullet caught Vincent in the thigh, and he cried out,
dropping his gun and grabbing at his leg. I ran forward and
shoved him back into the wall away from his firearm. He
swung out, his fist socking me in the cheek, causing spots to
dance across my vision, before I could put all my weight into
holding him in place.
“I told you to fucking stop, asshole.” I holstered my gun
and got all up in his face. “When you run, it just pisses me
off.”
“Fuck you.”
A hiss of air left Martinelli’s lips as I “accidentally”
bumped into his injured thigh. Then I grabbed his wrist and
spun him around, forcing his front to kiss the bricks.
“No thanks. But I’m sure you’ll find someone willing
where you’re going.”
Once the fucker was secured, I reached for my radio and
put in the call. “Squad, this is 2457. Shots fired by police, roll
an ambo to Thirty-Second and Hancock. Suspect is secured.”
Well, I’d wanted something exciting for my first case back
—mission accomplished.
 2

XANDER

THE SOUND OF Sean’s SUV in the drive alerted to me his

return, as I added a sprig of parsley to the pasta I’d prepared
for dinner. I headed to the door and checked the peephole,
and when I was sure it was him, I lifted the chain.
This had become a new habit of ours over the past week.
Sean had gone back to work and I was the one at home
waiting for his return. It was weird but somehow the most
normal thing in my life these days. Monday, however, that
was all about to change.
At Marcus’s—or Sean’s—request, I’d taken the rest of the
month off and was seeing a therapist who’d helped me deal
with everything I’d been through over the past few weeks.
But now it was time to try to reclaim a little bit of my old
normal, and that meant returning to my everyday life. First
step, work.
“Hey, anchorman, I’m home.”
I looked up from the glass of wine I’d just poured, and
when I caught sight of Sean walking into the living room, my
mouth fell open. His face looked as though he’d gone three
rounds in a boxing ring. Bruised and battered on the left
side, his cheek had a cut to it and was starting to color.
 “Jesus.” I quickly put the bottle down and made my way
out of the kitchen. “What happened to you?”
Sean chuckled as he shrugged out of his sports coat. “I
caught the bad guy, that’s what happened.”
At the broad smile that crossed his lips, I frowned and
reached for his face. “And in the process ran into his fist?”
“Oh.” Sean touched his fingers to his cheek and then
grinned. “This is nothing. I cleaned it up. You should see—”
“The other guy?”
“Yeah, but he’s in lock-up, so…” Sean reached for my
waist and drew me close. “How about I just tell you how
amazing I am instead?”
I placed my hands on his chest and looked up into his
handsomely rugged—if slightly battered—face. “How about
I doctor this cheek a little, and then you can tell me how
amazing you are.”
“Deal.”
“Okay, sit. Why don’t you start in on this?” I handed him
the glass of wine. “And I’ll go and raid your first-aid kit.”
“Hmm, I could get used to this. Wine, dinner, and first aid
given to me by the man voted… Wait, what was it? Sexiest
anchorman in the country.”
I crossed my arms and stared down at him. “And where
did you come up with that little gem of information?”
“I might’ve done some research on you today during my
downtime.”
My mouth fell open, and then I laughed. “Research?
You’ve known me most of my life. I’m pretty sure what you
did was look up gossip about me.”
Sean leaned back and propped his feet up on the coffee
table. “Okay, you caught me.”
“So you Googled me.”
“I—yeah, I Googled you.”
“Uh huh.”
 Sean took a sip of his wine and grinned.
“Then you must’ve also learned that I was voted that—”
“Three years in a fucking row. I did. Just how many men
am I competing with out there, Xander?”
A smile curved my lips as I leaned down until I was inches
from his face. “You aren’t competing with anyone.”
“No?”
“If you were, do you really think I’d be here each night
with dinner on the table waiting for you?” Sean’s eyes
dropped to my mouth. “Just so you know, the answer to that
would be no.”
I brushed my lips over the top of his and nipped at his
lower one.
“I thought you were going to get the first-aid kit?”
“You’re right. Stop distracting me.”
Sean chuckled and raised his glass back to his lips, and as
his eyes travelled down over me, my heart began to thump.
“Stop it.”
“I’m not doing anything.” The twinkle in his eyes said
otherwise, however.
I shook my head and made my way to the bathroom,
where I grabbed the first-aid kit, and when I returned, I
found Sean with his eyes shut and his head resting back on
the cushion behind him.
I lightly tapped his leg, and when his eyes opened, he
dropped his feet from the table to the floor so I could move
in between them.
“Are you going to tell me how you got this?” I placed the
kit on the arm of the chair and took out some disinfectant
cream and a cotton tip. “And before you worry that this is me
nagging, it’s—”
Sean tugged me down close to him. “Yeah?”
“Well, it’s not.”
“Then what is it?”
 “It’s me being…”
His lips found the side of my neck and he kissed his way
up to my ear. “Hmm?”
I sighed. “Concerned.”
He slipped his hand under my shirt to finger the
waistband of my shorts, and then his lips met mine in a
fierce kiss. I entered his mouth and tasted the wine he’d
been drinking, and God, what an addictive combination that
was.
My erection throbbed as he wrapped his arm around my
waist. “Get up here,” he demanded, and urged me onto his
lap.
Once I was there, a knee on either side of his hips, the
recliner began to rock, causing my hard-on to rub nice and
firm against his.
Sean waggled his brows. “Now that’s a nice little side
effect.”
“Nothing little about it.”
He grinned and smoothed his hands down to my ass,
pulling me in roughly. Then he angled his head and sank his
tongue deep inside my mouth, and the groan that rumbled
out of him vibrated against my chest.
I played with the longer strands of his hair, and when I
began to writhe over the top of him, Sean pulled his lips free.
“Jesus, you feel fucking amazing.”
My chest heaved as I stared down at him, and when my
eyes caught on the purple tinge starting to color his eye, I
frowned. Here he was all black and blue, and I was climbing
him like a jungle gym. Come on, Xander, show some restraint.
Knowing it was going to cost me every ounce of control to
put a stop to this, I reached for his wine glass and downed
the rest of the contents in one long swallow.
When I was done, Sean laughed. “Thirsty?”
 “Not the right word.” I reached for the cream and cotton
tip again. “Hey, stop that,” I said when Sean squeezed my
ass. “Put your hands under your legs.”
“How about I put them under your legs?”
I narrowed my eyes. “How about I get your cuffs and use
them on you?”
A low laugh escaped him as he slowly slid his hands down
the sides of the couch and under his legs. “There. Satisfied?”
“As far from it as humanly possible. But I want make sure
this cut is cleaned up properly.”
Sean inclined his head but said nothing else as I went to
work. I made sure the gash across his cheek had been
cleaned, and when I was satisfied Sean had done a pretty
good job of it, I went about dabbing some cream into the
wound.
It was nasty, that was for sure, and when I mentioned he
might need stitches, Sean waved it off.
“No offense, but the last thing I want is to go to the
hospital and have a doctor stick me with a needle.”
“Yes, but if you need to—”
“I don’t. It’ll heal.”
“You’ll have a scar.”
“Which will make me even sexier, right?”
I placed two butterfly clip bandages across the cut. “Like
you need that.”
“Ooh, are you saying you find me irresistible?”
I shut the first-aid kit and ran my fingers along his jaw
line. “I’m saying that if they ever do a vote on the sexiest
detective in the CPD, you’d be a shoo-in.”
Sean kissed my fingertips and lounged back in the
recliner again, pulling me into his arms.
“I’m glad you think so. As for how this happened? The
suspect socked me one in the face when I finally caught up
with him tonight.”
 I raised my head and studied his smiling face.
“Something that you seem…happy about?”
“Well, not happy, no, but this was a couple of years in the
making with how many times this guy has walked free. We
got a real scumbag off the streets tonight, and that’s always
a good feeling. Chasing him down, however, that was not a
good fucking feeling. I’m out of shape. I’m lucky this was the
worst I got.”
“Okay, I wasn’t worried before, but I’m starting to now.”
Sean laughed and pulled me back into his arms. “Nah, no
need to worry. It just made me realize I need to up my
exercise routine now that I’m back, and I’ve come up with a
fantastic idea.”
“You have?”
“Yep. Wanna hear it?”
“I don’t know, do I?”
“Mhmm.” Sean stroked his fingers up and down my back.
“You’re going to come running with me in the mornings,
and my job is going to be to chase you.”
A laugh escaped me as I tipped my face up to his. But
Sean’s eyes were leveled on me, dark and intense.
“You’re serious.”
“I am. I know you like to run—you use my treadmill every
day—and, well, I need a partner.” Sean paused, his
expression turning grave. “Things could’ve gotten ugly out
there, and I—”
“Okay, I’m in.” Anything to make sure he didn’t get hurt
on the job—and the grin that crept back across his lips told
me he knew that. Dirty sneak. “Do you really need to chase
me?”
“I mean, no. But it’ll be much more fun that way, don’t
you think?” I rolled my eyes as he reached for one of my
hands and entwined our fingers. “Enough about my day,
though. How was yours?”
 “Oh, you know. Same old, same old. I organized your sock
drawer, went to the grocery store, made you dinner, and
then counted down the hours until you returned to me.”
“I’d laugh at how pathetic that sounded if it wasn’t the
truth.”
I sighed. “I know. It was great when you were here, but
now…”
“Now you’re itching to get back to work.”
“Yes. I’m not a very good homebody.”
Sean’s lips quirked. “I don’t know about that. I think your
body’s excellent in my home.”
I shoved at his chest and climbed off his lap. “You know
what I mean.”
We moved to the table, and I placed his plate down in
front of him and refilled his glass, then took the seat
opposite him. I sprinkled some parmesan cheese on my
pasta then held it out for him.
“Thanks for dinner.”
“Anytime.”
Grabbing up his fork, Sean got stuck into his meal, and
about three bites in, he paused and looked my way. “I forgot
to ask. Did you get a hold of Bailey?”
My hand paused midway to my mouth and I shook my
head. This had become another new habit of ours—trying to
get in touch with Bailey. Whether it be by text or phone, he’d
been avoiding us for two weeks straight now. He’d even had
Henri cancel last weekend’s dinner, and I was under no
illusions that tomorrow night would share the same fate. At
this rate, I wasn’t sure he’d ever come around.
Sean put his fork down and let out a sigh. “This is getting
ridiculous. I knew he’d be angry, but really, completely
ignoring us? I’m going to go see him tomorrow.”
“I don’t know, Sean. Maybe he just needs time.”
“How much fucking time?”
 I opened my mouth to offer up a suggestion, but there
was nothing I hadn’t said that Sean hadn’t already heard.
“Maybe he’s just trying to process.”
“Yeah? Well, I’m done waiting. It’s making me antsy as
shit. And what about Kieran? God knows what he’s told him,
or if he has…”
I didn’t say anything to that, because for once in my life I
had no idea what Bailey would or wouldn’t do in this
circumstance. I’d known he was going to be hurt, even
angry, but I’d had no idea he would cut me off cold turkey
and seem happy to leave it that way…forever.
“I’m thinking nothing,” Sean continued, still talking
about the youngest of his brothers. “You know, since he
hasn’t turned up to give me holy hell yet. But come on,
Xander. Bailey’s all but blocked us out of his life, and that’s
not gonna fly anymore. We’ll go over tomorrow.”
I screwed up my nose at that. “I think maybe you should
go talk to him. If we both show up, he might feel ganged up
on. Plus, I’m the last person he wants to see. You’re family
—”
“So are you.”
“Not technically.”
“I’m going to fix this.”
I tried for a smile, but I knew Sean could see right
through it.
“You just need to have a little faith.”
“I do. I just… I don’t know that we can ever come back
from this.”
“You can. I know you can.”
I reached for my glass and took a sip of the wine. The hole
in my heart that Bailey had left behind ached the way it
always did when I remembered the betrayal in his blue eyes.
“Hey,” Sean said. “I’m going to go see him and we’ll
work this out.”
 I nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay.” He winked at me and then dug back into his
pasta, but the rest of the meal we ate in silence, our minds
clearly on what would or wouldn’t happen tomorrow.
 3

SEAN

THE RUMBLE OF thunder didn’t bode well for the day ahead
as I pulled my car to a stop at a red light. It was just turning
ten on Saturday morning, and courtesy of the hot-as-hell
day before, a wicked thunderstorm had rolled in to greet the
weekend.
It was kind of fitting, really, considering where I was and
what I was on my way to do. But there was no turning back
now. I’d made my decision and I would see this through, no
matter how twisted up my gut was over it.
Just like last night, Xander had declined my invitation to
join me in tracking down Bailey this morning, and while I
understood his reasoning, somewhere in the back of my
mind was a niggling feeling of doubt. One that I did my best
to squash whenever it snuck up on me.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew the history between the two of
them was strong and I was the outsider here. But I also knew
how Xander was with me. I knew the way he melted at my
touch, the way he smiled when I walked in the front door,
and I knew that nothing other than the real deal would’ve
ever made him risk his relationship with Bailey.
Xander was hurting over this, just as I was. The hole
Bailey had left was a gaping one neither of us could fix for
the other. Which was exactly why I was here, turning onto
Bailey’s street and crawling back to my childhood home like
some dog with my tail tucked between my legs.
My first instinct after everything had gone down between
the three of us had been to chase Bailey down and tell him to
pull his fucking head in. After all, if I had to accept
Boudreaux in my life, the least he could do was try to wrap
his head around Xander being in mine.
But after talking it over with Xander, I realized there was
much more than just anger riding Bailey. There was a deep
sense of betrayal by his brother and his best friend. Yeah, I’d
sure made of a mess of this, hadn’t I?
I pulled the SUV over to the curb, figuring a sneak attack
might be the way to go. But five minutes after removing my
keys, I found myself still seated behind the wheel.
Fuck, I felt like I was going to be sick.
As a teenager I’d been the poster child of what not to be
like for Bailey and Kieran. I’d been told over and over again I
wasn’t going to amount to anything. That Bailey was the
good son, Kieran the brave, and me? I was just the bad seed.
But that was bullshit. I knew that now. I’d been dealing
with a closeted drunk who took his anger out on the only
person who knew his secret, the person who reminded him
most of himself. I’d come close to proving him right at the
beginning of the year, too, until Bailey had dragged me out
of my funk, and that was the other reason I was here tonight.
I owed Bailey. He really was the good one, and I would do
everything I could to make this better.
After one final pep talk, I shoved open the car door and
headed for the drive. As I passed by the garage, I noted one
side was open and spotted both Bailey and Boudreaux’s
vehicles—good, they were home. Then I reached the porch
and went to knock.
 A loud clap of thunder boomed throughout the sky,
making me jump about ten feet, and when I finally managed
to dislodge my heart from my throat, I banged on the front
door. I waited on the porch still and silent, and the only
sound I could hear was the thump, thump, thump of my heart.
When a couple minutes passed and no one answered, I
raised my hand to knock again, and that was when the door
was pulled open and filled by Boudreaux in his signature
black jeans and tight black t-shirt. I had the fleeting thought
to ask whether he owned clothes of any other color.
“Dick,” he said, crossing his muscled arms over his chest.
“Nice shiner you got there. I see you’re making friends
wherever you go.”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s good to see you too.”
“Mhmm. I was wondering how long it would take before
you decided to show up here in person.”
I searched his features for the smug eat shit expression I’d
expected. But instead I found one full of…curiosity. I had no
idea what or how much Bailey had told him, so I decided to
dip my toe in to test the waters rather than throw myself in
the deep end.
“Well, I need to talk to Bailey and can’t seem to get him
on the phone, so I thought I’d swing by and see if he was
home.”
Boudreaux narrowed his eyes. “Couldn’t get him on the
phone?”
“Right, uh…” I slipped my hands into my pockets to keep
myself from fidgeting. Fidgeting, for fuck’s sake. Like some
kind of criminal. Shit, hadn’t these tables turned. “Look, is
he home? Can I come inside?”
I went to move by him, but Boudreaux stepped out and
pulled the door closed.
“You got a problem?” I said.
“No. But I think you do.”
 I’d opened my mouth about to tell him to get the hell out
of my way when another rumble of thunder vibrated
throughout the sky.
“Look, the sky’s about to unleash holy hell. Can you just
let me in?”
“Sorry, can’t do that.”
“You can’t do— What the hell does that mean?”
Boudreaux shrugged. “Exactly what I said.”
“You listen to me. I want to see Bailey.” I took a step
forward, and when Boudreaux got in my way again, I told
myself to stay calm. “Get out of my way, Boudreaux.”
“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.”
I could feel my frustration beginning to rise as I stared at
the stubborn wall of man in front of me. If Boudreaux wasn’t
careful, I was going to give him a shiner to match my own.
“And why not?”
“Bailey’s not home.”
The lie was blatant, and he knew it. “His car is in the
garage.”
Boudreaux peered around my shoulder, and then looked
back to me. “He took my car.”
“Are you kidding me with this shit? Your car is in there
too. Just let me inside. I need to talk to him.”
“I agree. You do need to talk to him. The problem is, he
doesn’t want to talk to you.” Boudreaux frowned. “I’m
curious—were you two ever gonna tell him?”
It didn’t take a genius to work out the two he was talking
about. But I was still trying to wrap my brain around Bailey
sending out his muscleman to keep me from getting inside
the damn house.
“You gotta admit, you hooking up with a guy is a mind
fuck all on its own. But Xander?” Boudreaux let out a long
whistle. “That was a disaster waiting to happen. I mean, I
get it. He’s one fine piece of ass, but—”
 “You shut your fucking mouth,” I growled, and
Boudreaux’s lips curved into the smug smile I’d expected to
see when I first arrived.
“Or what?”
“My fist will shut it for you.”
“Relax, Dick. I just wanted to make sure there were real
feelings there with you and ENN’s most prized news anchor.
You know, before you went down this road.”
My jaw twitched as I did my best to ground my molars to
dust. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“That this road is not going to be easy. Bailey doesn’t
want to see you or Xander right now. He’s hurt,
embarrassed, and feels like he’s lost two of the people
closest to him.”
“Fuck.” I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck. “We
didn’t mean to hurt him. It’s not like I took this job
expecting to—”
I bit off my words, not about to pour my heart out to
fucking Boudreaux. But really, the last thing I’d expected
when I’d taken the job as Xander’s bodyguard was to fall in
love with him.
“What didn’t you expect?”
“Nothing.” I did my best to glare Boudreaux to death.
But, as usual, nothing seemed to get this guy out of my life.
“Well, he can’t ignore us forever.”
“Can’t he? He seems to be doing a pretty good job of it.”
“You’re not helping, Boudreaux.”
“Is that what I’m supposed to be doing?”
I suppose I deserved that. It wasn’t like I’d been all open
arms with him when I found out Bailey was dating my CI. I
took a step back, feeling more defeated than I had in a long
time. This was a fucking nightmare. “Just forget it.”
I turned on my heel to head back to my car before the rain
started and decided to make my morning even shittier, but
Boudreaux called out my name. I glanced over my shoulder
to see him eyeing me closely.
“I’ll call you, okay? Maybe I can talk to him or something.
I don’t know.”
Well, that was better than nothing.
I nodded and, without another word, headed back to my
car, wondering when Boudreaux had become the one person
in the world who seemed able to help me. But then again, life
was getting really good at dealing up the unexpected, wasn’t
it?
 4

XANDER

THE RAIN HAD been falling for a steady thirty minutes or so

as I sat in the recliner facing the small window with a book
in hand. I’d been trying my best to distract myself ever since
Sean had left, but it was no use. No matter how hard I tried
to concentrate on the words in front of me, my mind kept
wandering back to what Bailey had said the last time I’d seen
him.
They’d been bitter, hurtful words, words of the
heartbroken and humiliated, and no matter how many times
I told myself that Bailey would get past this and forgive us, I
wasn’t one hundred percent positive I was being honest with
myself.
I looked back to my book and sighed. I was getting
nowhere with this. So I reached for the remote instead, about
to find something to zone out on, but then my phone began
to ring.
Quickly grabbing it up, thinking it would be Sean, I looked
at the lit screen to see my mother’s number flashing back at
me. Huh, that was unusual. She generally checked in with me
Monday mornings for our weekly catch-ups.
Immediately thinking the worst, I hit accept and brought
the phone to my ear. “Hey there, Mom. To what do I owe this
unexpected call?”
“Hello, Alexander. And what do you mean? I don’t need a
reason to call.”
That was true. But she always did have a reason. My
parents lived by their schedule. If they had you penciled in
for Monday morning phone calls, then they didn’t deviate
from that unless there was a very good reason.
It’d been that way my entire life. Scheduled, punctual,
and on time. It was a sign of good manners. At least, that was
what I was raised to believe.
“Of course you don’t need a reason. I just wasn’t
expecting it. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, yes. Everything is fine. In fact, your father and I had
a wonderful idea that we wanted to run by you, which is why
I’m calling.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
I swear, my parents were busier now that they were
retired than they had been when they worked. But after
leaving the cold, harsh winters of Chicago for the warm
weather Florida had to offer, I could see why.
Who wouldn’t want to be out enjoying life when every day
felt like a vacation?
“Well, we want to fly up and visit you for your birthday.
We thought we could come and stay with you and organize a
party. We haven’t visited since all of that horrible business
with the attack, and we’d like to see you with our own two
eyes.”
I slowly slid my book onto the coffee table as I tried to
wrap my brain around what she was suggesting. But instead
of being able to process it and give any kind of logical
response, alarm bells began to sound in my head.
My parents wanted to come here, to Chicago. Where I had
all but moved out of my place and moved in with Sean.
Bailey’s straight, older brother, who was now my boyfriend.
 The first part of that scenario was troublesome enough.
But trying to imagine explaining the last part of it was, well,
unimaginable. I’d thought I would have more time before
telling my parents about Sean. Time to get Bailey on board
and then tackle my family. But it seemed fate had a different
idea for us. It was now or never.
“Uh, that sounds great. I can’t think of anything I’d enjoy
more than a visit with you and Dad, but—”
“Don’t tell me you’re going out of town or on assignment.
You said you were only going back to work this week.”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that. I’ll be here. But I…” I got
tripped up on my words for a second—something totally
unlike me—and my mother immediately caught the slip-up.
“Alexander? What is it? Is everything okay?”
Getting to my feet, I ran a hand through my hair. “Yes,
everything’s fine. But I need to tell you something.”
How to best explain this? I could take the easy way out
and tell her I was staying with a friend, but that felt wrong. It
somehow lessened everything Sean and I had been through
over the last few weeks, and cheapened what we felt for one
another now.
No, I needed to be upfront. I needed to lay it out and let
them know how things were before they showed up and
found out firsthand. They knew the Bailey brothers, not to
mention my history with them. So this was going to be quite
a shock, to say the least.
“Okay,” my mom said. “Well, you know you can tell me
anything.”
“I know.” I stopped by the small window and stared out
at the rain running down the glass. “I’d love to see you and
Dad next week, and you’re welcome to stay at my place, as
always. But…” I swallowed, and then just ripped the Band-
Aid off. “I won’t be there. I’m not living at the apartment
right now.”
 There was a long pause as my mother processed that
information, and then the questions began. “What do you
mean you’re not living there? What happened? Where have
you been staying? Are you sure you’re all right?”
If anyone had ever wondered where I’d gotten my curious
nature from, they need not look any further than my mother.
“I’m fine. It was just too difficult to be there after
everything that happened, and finding out that lunatic had
been in my place made me feel uncomfortable.” It was one of
the things I was working on with my therapist.
“I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t want to worry you any more than I already had.”
“Alexander. When are you going to realize that it’s our job
as parents to worry about you?”
“I’m okay. I’m just not ready to live there again yet.”
“That’s completely understandable.”
“That’s what my therapist tells me.”
“Well, she sounds very wise.”
I chuckled. “She is. Anyway, if you’d like to stay there
with Dad, you are most welcome.”
“So where have you been staying? With Bailey?”
“Actually”—here goes nothing—“I’ve been staying at
Sean’s house.”
“Sean? Bailey’s big brother?”
“Yes,” I said before I lost my nerve, and then just kept
right on going. “We’ve gotten close after that night. I—we’re
—dating.”
Another much longer pause stretched between us, and
then she said, “Sean Bailey?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, wishing I could see the
expression on her face “Yes.”
“I…I didn’t realize he was gay. He always had a girl on his
arm, from what I remember.”
 Shit. I’d known this would be something people
speculated about when they discovered we were dating, and I
probably should’ve had a response at the ready. “I guess my
charming nature made him switch sides.”
“Alexander, please don’t be flippant about this.”
“I’m not.” I really was, but I wasn’t in the mood to get
into this right now. Something she clearly wasn’t
understanding.
“You’ve been through a traumatic event, and I
understand Sean was the one to help you. But maybe now
isn’t the right time to enter into a relationship. Maybe the
two of you should put a bit of space between—”
“I don’t want space between us, Mom. That’s kind of the
point.” The sound of the front door slamming caught my
attention, and I moved into the hall to see a wet Sean
stepping through the door. He caught my eye and waved, and
I pointed to the phone and mouthed, One second.
He nodded, kissed my cheek, and then headed off to the
bathroom.
“I don’t want to tell you how to live your life,” Mom said.
“But are you sure about this? About Sean? It seems a little
—”
“I’m sure, Mom.”
“And Bailey? What does he think about it all?”
And that was my cue to get off the phone. “Look, I’ve got
to go. If you and Dad still want to come to town next week,
let me know and I’ll tell the front desk at my building to
expect you.”
“I— Okay. I’ll talk to your father and call you during the
week.”
“Sounds good. We’ll talk then. Thanks for calling.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom. Bye.”
 After ending the call, I made my way down to our—Sean’s
—bedroom, and found him stripped down to his briefs,
pulling on a dry pair of jeans.
I leaned up against the doorjamb and watched the show
before making my presence known. “Well, this doesn’t bode
well. Did Bailey toss you out in the rain?”
Sean glanced at me then pulled a shirt from a drawer and
tugged it over his head. “Didn’t even see Bailey. Boudreaux
wouldn’t let me inside.”
“What?” I straightened and walked in.
“Yeah, turns out Bailey doesn’t want to talk, see, or even
let me in the house.”
Damn it. Bailey was taking this much worse than either of
us had expected him to. We’d known there would be
pushback, but not at this level. Bailey was always the
congenial one. The lover, not the fighter.
“So now what?”
“Boudreaux said he’d call. I guess he’s going to try to
help us.”
“Really?” I cocked my head to the side. “He didn’t
threaten to kick your ass?”
“Shocking, right?”
“Very.” I’d figured Henri would have a great time holding
this over Sean’s head. “Well, I guess we wait and see what
Henri suggests. If anyone knows Bailey’s mind right now,
it’d be him.”
Sean nodded and squeezed my arm. “Funny, before all of
this, I would’ve said you knew Bailey the best.”
I would’ve too. But things had changed, and I wasn’t sure
they’d ever be the same again. “Henri will know what to do.”
“Agreed.” Sean stepped around me and toward the door,
but at the last second stopped and looked back at me. “Oh,
who was on the phone? Everything okay?”
 I looked down at the phone still in my hand and was about
to tell him, but changed my mind. Best to tackle one thing at
a time, and since Mom wasn’t sure if they were definitely
coming, I’d let Sean worry about that at a later date.
“Everything’s fine.”
Sean’s eyes narrowed on me. “You sure?”
“Mhmm.” I slipped my phone into my pocket and walked
over to him. “Why don’t you throw those in the laundry and
then come and help me pick out a movie to watch? It’s the
perfect weather for it.”
“You’re right.” Sean slipped an arm around my shoulders
and pulled me into his side. “And pizza?”
I chuckled. “Why not? With this new exercise program
you have roped me in to next week, I’m going to need the
carbs.”
Sean slid his hand down my back to my ass. “Then you
better think of a meal to eat tomorrow night, because I plan
to make you work off these carbs today. In a very private and
personal workout.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Uh huh. One-on-one training.”
I grinned and shoved him away from me. “Go and put
your clothes in the laundry, and I’ll start searching for a
movie.”
“Something with some action.”
“Okay. But also a little romance.”
Sean’s mouth parted as though he were going to have an
opinion on that, but then he nodded and disappeared into
the laundry room.
Sometimes opposites could attract—they just had to
compromise and meet somewhere in the middle. We both
knew and believed that. Now if only everyone else in our life
could get on board, that would be amazing.
 5

SEAN

A RAP OF knuckles on my passenger window Monday

morning made me unlock the car door, and Boudreaux pulled
it open.
Late last night he’d reached out and asked if I was free
first thing to meet, which I’d agreed to—although now I was
starting to have my doubts. This was all feeling a little
devious, and wasn’t that what had pissed Bailey off in the
first place? If he knew about this, he would not be happy.
“Morning, Dick. How goes it?”
As Boudreaux climbed inside and shut the door behind
him, I twisted in my seat to take the tray of coffees and
brown paper bag he held.
“It goes.” I sniffed at the lid covering the cup, and
Boudreaux laughed.
“It’s caffeine, I promise. If I was gonna to poison you, I
would’ve done it back in the day, not now.” He settled in and
smoothed his hands along his jean-clad thighs. “Although
this does feel eerily familiar, no? Meetings in secret in your
car? Just keep your hands to yourself. I’ve heard you’re into
the men these days, but sadly for you, I’m taken.”
“Shut the hell up before I make you.”
 “See, we can’t do that either. Sorry. I have a no-kissing
policy, especially my boyfriend’s brother…”
I couldn’t tell if the dig was at me or Xander. But it was
enough to make me curl my fingers around the steering
wheel in a death grip so I wouldn’t strangle the mouthy
fucker. He was, after all, the only person on the planet right
now who had any hope of getting Xander and myself a face-
to-face with my stubborn brother.
“You done?”
“Oh, I haven’t even started.” He snatched the bag back
and opened it to fish out a chocolate chip muffin. “I got you
a lemon bar.”
I raised an eyebrow, and Boudreaux shrugged.
“What? I’m observant.”
He was that, and that was why he’d been such a valuable
CI. He was also smarter than most, which had made him
more dangerous. Boudreaux had always been difficult to
wrangle and hard to control. I was close to positive he’d been
using me just as much as I had him, for reasons I still didn’t
know about and, quite frankly, didn’t want to.
“You used to inhale those things when we’d meet up, and
it’s what Bailey always gets you for dessert.”
Taking the bag from him, I pulled out my pastry and took
a bite. As the tangy curd hit my tongue, I thought about the
last time I’d eaten one of these. It’d been back with Xander
when I first realized how much he was coming to mean to
me. That felt like forever ago. How was it only weeks?
“Speaking of Bailey, did you talk to him?”
Boudreaux reached for one of the coffees, and after I took
the other one, I tossed the tray in the back. He took a sip and
then placed his cup in the holder closest to him.
“I felt him out a little.”
“And?”
 “And it’s obvious he’s still carrying this around with him.
He’s quick to snap at things. He’s not sleeping really well,
and anytime yours or Xander’s name comes up, he looks like
he’s caught between wanting to vomit and wanting to
commit murder.”
Great. None of that sounded like the Bailey I knew. He was
always the happy, easygoing brother out of the three of us.
“What about Kieran? Has he been around?”
Boudreaux gave me the side-eye. “No. But he’s spoken to
Bailey on the phone.”
“About me?”
“Yeah.”
“And Xander?”
“Yeah.”
“Together?” As Boudreaux hemmed and hawed over his
answer, my frustration bubbled up and out of me. “Stop
fucking around with me, Boudreaux.”
He took a bite out of his muffin and shrugged. “Maybe
you should’ve said that when you and Xander were alone
together.”
Okay, I was about done with this bullshit. “Did you come
here just to bust my balls?”
“Nah, but you’ve got to start looking at this from Bailey’s
point of view. Last month you and Xander hated each other.”
“We didn’t hate each other.”
“So maybe hate’s a little harsh, but you certainly weren’t
kissing or fucking each other.”
“Hey, watch your mouth.”
“Am I wrong?”
“No, but so what? Things change.”
“This many things?” Boudreaux scoffed. “Not only have
you switched sides, but you decided to do it with your little
brother’s ex-boyfriend. How would you feel?”
 “Oh, come on. I get that it’s a shock, but we’re all adults
here, and it’s not like we planned it.”
“And that’s the only reason I’m here now. I know you two
didn’t do this on purpose. Hell, Xander looked like he wanted
to throw up the first time I suggested you two were hooking
up.”
“That’s real fucking nice to hear, Boudreaux. Get to the
point.”
“All I’m saying is, it’s obvious Xander had no idea how he
was feeling. So what’d you do? Get him drunk and move in
when he was all vulnerable?”
“Fuck you, it’s not like that.”
“No?” Boudreaux reached for his coffee and took a long
swallow. “You have to admit, that’s how it looks.”
“Well, it’s not what happened.” I gritted my teeth. “Not
that I have to explain that to you.”
“See, that’s where we disagree. You do need to explain it
to me, because right now, I’m your only hope with Bailey,
and you better be fucking serious about this, Sean, or I’ll kill
you for hurting him this way.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. It’s also the first time you’ve ever
said my name. Wasn’t sure you actually knew it.”
“If I’m threatening to kill you then I’m gonna make sure
to use your name. That way you know I’m dead fucking
serious.”
And I believed him. There was this underlying current
that vibrated around Boudreaux. It always felt as though
there was something hidden a little deeper that I wasn’t
aware of, and never would be.
“So I’m gonna ask you again. How did this happen? You
and Xander.”
After finishing off my lemon bar, I wiped my hands and
then rested them on the bottom of the steering wheel. “I
don’t know, it just…did. There was no drunken night, no
sleazy seduction. We were just—”
I cut my words off and looked his way, and instead of the
smirk I figured Boudreaux would be sporting, there was an
understanding in his eyes that I hadn’t expected.
“We were in an intense situation that made it difficult to
keep our distance from one another. We learned more about
each other in those first two weeks than we had over two
decades. And the longer we were together, the closer we
got.”
I thought back to the night at Xander’s place when we’d
discovered his stalker had been inside his home. That was
the first time I’d kissed Xander. The first time I’d
acknowledged the feelings growing between us weren’t some
strange delusion. I hadn’t gone to his room with the intent of
ending up in his bed. But even now when I looked back on
the way that night went down, nothing had ever felt more
natural than holding him in my arms.
I ran a hand through my hair. “We didn’t plan it. It just
happened. And it’s very important to me, okay? Xander, he’s
special…”
I wasn’t sure if it was the defeat in my voice or the fact
we’d spent more time talking than we ever had in the past,
but Boudreaux nodded and said, “Okay. Leave it with me.”
He pushed the door open, and I grabbed his arm. “Leave it
with you? What does that mean?”
“It means exactly that. I’ll talk to Bailey, see if I can get
him to call you. But you and Xander need to let him make the
move, okay?”
“Okay. When do you think that’ll happen?”
“Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“I have no idea. This whole thing has pretty much turned
his world on its ass. Everything he thought he knew and
understood makes zero sense right now. But I’ll talk to him.”
I gave a clipped nod, and as Boudreaux climbed out, I
called his name.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
A light gleamed in those dark eyes and he inclined his
head. “No problem. I’m actually rooting for this. But just
remember, you break his heart, I’ll break you.”
Boudreaux slammed the door shut, and as he headed back
to his car, I watched him in the rearview mirror. At least
Bailey had Boudreaux to watch over him if he decided to
write me off forever. But that wouldn’t happen. Bailey would
come around, would see how crazy I was about Xander, and
understand that sometimes love finds you when you least
expect it.
After all, he’d fallen for an ex-con. If anyone should be
able to understand that opposites could attract it would be
Bailey…right?
 6

XANDER

MY FIRST DAY back at work went off without a hitch, and

considering this was my second attempt in a month, I was
glad for it.
The broadcast tonight had been pretty run-of-the-mill.
There were a couple of hurricanes brewing out in the
Caribbean that would no doubt give us trouble soon enough,
but for now they were just angry tropical storms that we
were keeping an eye on.
Sean had texted earlier to let me know he’d meet me for
dinner downtown, and as I headed out of the studio and into
the newsroom, the sight that greeted me made me smile.
Sean was leaning against Ryan’s desk with his arms and
ankles crossed. In dark jeans and a black button-up shirt he
looked sinful and sexy. His eyes locked on mine and didn’t
let go. My pulse sped up as I crossed the room, and damn, he
looked good. Strong, masculine, and all mine.
“Good evening.”
Sean looked me over and nodded. “It is now.”
I chuckled and wondered how Sean could make me feel so
good with such a simple sentence. I felt like a damn teenager
going on my first date ever.
 I glanced over my shoulder to see how many eyes were on
us, but there was no one in the room, the switchover for the
night well underway.
“Looking for someone, anchorman?”
I turned back and stepped up to him, and Sean
immediately uncrossed his legs. I moved in between them
and placed my hands on his chest. “The only person I’m
looking for is right in front of me.”
“Oh yeah?” Sean wrapped his arms around my waist
under my suit jacket.
“Yes. You look very handsome tonight.”
“Well, I have a hot date.”
“Do you?”
“I do.”
I looped my arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss
him gently. “Then I should probably let you go so you can
meet up with him, huh?”
“If you intend to keep grinding all over me, you should
probably take me to your office and—”
“Sean? Hi!”
I looked over my shoulder to see Ryan weaving his way
through the desks toward us and released my hold on Sean.
“Don’t run away just yet, anchorman.” Sean put a hand on
my waist, keeping me in place. “Otherwise Ryan is going to
think I’m very excited to see him.”
I whipped my head back to Sean, who mouthed, It’s your
own fault, just as Ryan reached us.
“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you.” I turned to face
Ryan, and he quickly added, “You know, up and about
instead of…”
“Yeah, I get it,” Sean said as he reached around me to
shake Ryan’s hand. “It’s good to see you too, man.”
Ryan beamed at him, and then turned his attention to me.
“Great show tonight. Do you need me to get that suit to the
cleaners?”
I was about to answer when Sean moved to his full height
and stepped in close behind me. “Nope. He doesn’t have
time. I’m stealing him for dinner.”
“Ahh.” Ryan nodded, then looked to me. “Lucky. Well, if
that’s it?”
“That’s it,” I said as Sean squeezed my waist, and
suddenly I couldn’t wait to get out of there.
“I’m going to head home. You two have a good night.”
“Thank you, we will. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ryan.”
“See you then. It really is great to see you, Sean.” He
waved, grabbed his bag off the back of his chair, and headed
out of the newsroom.
I turned to face Sean and ran a hand down his chest. “Let
me grab my briefcase and I’ll be right out.”
“Don’t be too long or I’ll have to come in there and get
you.”
“And that would be bad because…?”
Sean gave me a thorough once-over that made my cock
throb. “Because we have dinner reservations and we’d miss
them.”
The heat swirling in his eyes almost made me invite him
inside, dinner be damned. But I took a step back. I wanted to
go to dinner with Sean. I wanted to hold his hand in public
and connect with him as the couple we now were.
“What’s that smile all about?”
I made myself step into my office before I gave in to
temptation. “Take me to dinner and I just might tell you.”

TWO GLASSES OF Merlot in, and I was feeling nice and

relaxed. I’d never been to Luigi’s before, but the small Italian
restaurant that was tucked into a narrow side road
downtown was an absolute delight.
 The interior was like something out of a movie, low-lit
with candles flickering on each table, and the romantic
swells of violins in the air made the mind wander to intimate
dinners and passionate affairs. Add in some authentic
homemade pasta, marinara sauce, and wine flowing glass
after glass, and I was in heaven.
Sean couldn’t have picked a more perfect place to bring
me, and the fact that we were hidden away in the back corner
gave us a sense of privacy to enjoy one another without
being interrupted by people when they recognized me from
their nightly newscast.
“How’s your food?”
I swallowed the bite I’d just taken and reached for my
wine. “Delicious.”
Sean took a sip of his water and nodded. “I love Luigi’s. I
used to come here all the time for their pizza when I was a
rookie.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Worked out of the precinct a couple blocks down.”
“Did you like working patrol?”
“Yes and no.” Sean twirled his fork in his pasta. “It was
good experience. Those first years are formative in a cop’s
life. That’s where you learn what to watch for, how to handle
yourself in stressful situations and how to deal with
criminals in a way that is both legal and controlled. It’s
where you earn your stripes and experience.”
“That makes sense. It’s similar in the broadcast world.
We start local and work our way up. Grunt work to research
to minor assignments, then, if you’re lucky, you get your big
break.”
Sean settled back in his seat and grinned. “Oh, so it’s got
nothing to do with the fact that you’re really fucking easy on
the eyes?”
 I smiled at him over the rim of my glass. “Not that I’m
aware of. I believe they were more interested in my
journalism skills than what I look like in a suit.”
Sean’s eyes roved over me as though the suit under
discussion was nowhere in sight.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
My cock jerked and I shifted in my seat. “Sean…”
“Right here, anchorman.”
Didn’t I know it. With the wine swirling through my veins
and the heated look Sean was aiming my way, it was a
miracle I hadn’t climbed across the table and attacked him.
“Are you going to tell me about your meeting with Henri
or just tease me all night?” I asked.
“Is that what I’m doing?”
“You know it is.”
Sean took a piece of bread from the basket on the table
and spread a liberal amount of butter on it. “He basically
grilled me about how serious we were and then threatened
my life.”
I coughed around the sip of wine I’d just taken.
“Threatened your life?”
Sean finished his mouthful and nodded. “Yeah. Basically
said if we were breaking Bailey’s heart for a quick fuck, he’d
kill me.”
Wow, Henri didn’t mess around, did he? I picked up my
napkin and dabbed at my lips, trying to think of something
to say to that.
“I told him it was none of his business, but he was pretty
adamant.”
I licked at my lips, suddenly nervous to ask this next
question even though I was almost positive of the answer.
“What did you say?”
 Sean sat forward in his seat and reached for my hand. He
wrapped his fingers around mine and grazed his thumb
across the back of my knuckles.
“I told him that what we had was important to me, that
you’re something special. Neither of us planned this, Xander,
but I can’t help but feel like it was meant to be.”
My panic receded at the soft expression in Sean’s eyes.
“And what did he say to all of that?”
Sean took in a deep breath and then let it out, sitting back
in his seat. “He said he’d talk to Bailey. Try to help us out. He
also said he knew this was coming even before we did.”
“He did?”
“Yeah, apparently you were acting a little strange at one
of the Saturday dinners.”
I remembered. Henri had been grilling me about Sean and
asking how things were going. Then he’d flat-out asked me
if the two of us were sleeping together. Back then, the idea
had seemed so absurd that I’d almost spat out my drink. It
was amazing how much could change in a handful of weeks.
“Anyway, he said to leave it with him and he’d work on
Bailey. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but it looks like
we need to put our trust in Boudreaux.”
My lips twitched at his resigned tone. “You know, you’re
going to have to tell me about that one day.”
“What?”
“How you two ended up working together.”
“Eh, you don’t want to hear about that.”
“Yes, I do.” I grinned at him. “Chalk it up to my journalist
curiosity, but I find your relationship with him very
interesting.”
“I don’t have a relationship with him. It was business. He
brought me information and I paid him for it. End of story.”
“Except it’s not. Here he is helping you out with your
brother.”
 “Helping us out.”
“Okay, helping us out.” Sean’s eyes narrowed, and I
couldn’t help but chuckle. “What? It’s true. He even lives in
your childhood house.”
“Are you trying to put me in a bad mood?”
“No, I’m just trying to make you realize that, despite all
your bluster, I think Henri might’ve grown on you a bit.”
Sean screwed his nose up. “Can we change the subject,
please?”
I nodded and thought about my conversation with my
mother this weekend. She’d texted me earlier this morning
to say they still wanted to come to town for my birthday, and
now that it was set in stone, I needed to tell Sean about it.
“I actually have something I need to discuss with you.”
Sean sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Okay…”
“It’s nothing bad,” I said when it was clear that was
where his mind had gone. “It’s just—” Damn it, why was I
suddenly so nervous?
“It’s just what?”
I traced my finger around the base of my wine glass and
then said, “My parents are coming to town.”
Sean frowned. “They are? When?”
“Next weekend.” When Sean merely looked at me,
waiting for more of an explanation, I took in a deep breath
and then let it out. It was now or never. “It’s my birthday,
and they thought they’d—”
“Wait, it’s your birthday? Shit, did I miss it?”
It was hard to believe that in all the years we’d known
each other, we had no clue about these kinds of details. I
couldn’t have said when Sean’s birthday was, and the fact
that we knew each other so well in some ways, and hardly at
all in others, made me smile. It was an interesting and
wonderful mix, this familiarity and discovery.
 “No, you didn’t miss it. It’s August twenty-second.” The
sheer relief on his face made me ask, “When’s yours?”
“December second.” He rubbed at his forehead. “Thank
God I’m not the only one who didn’t know.”
That made me laugh. “Why would you?”
“I don’t know, seems like something I probably should’ve
known. Anyway, sorry, so your parents are coming to town.”
“Yes. Mom wanted to stay with me, but obviously I’m not
staying there and had to explain that to her.”
Sean eyed me, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I told her about us—together. I hope that’s okay.”
Sean didn’t say anything at first, then he sat forward and
reached across the table for my glass of wine. He took a long
swallow and then placed it on the table before nodding.
“Yeah, that’s cool.”
I arched an eyebrow. “That’s cool?”
“It’s okay. I just—” When Sean cut his words off, my
stomach sank. He wasn’t okay with this. I could tell by the
look on his face, the tone of his voice. “What if they don’t
like me?”
“Don’t like you? Sean, they’ve known you your entire
life.”
Sean leaned across the table and said in a low voice, “As
Bailey’s older, pain-in-the-ass, no-good brother. Not as
your boyfriend.”
All of my worries about him not being okay with this
disappeared in that moment. He wasn’t concerned about
them knowing we were together, but that they wouldn’t
think he was good enough for me.
“They’re going to love you,” I said, lacing my fingers
with his. “How could they not?”
Sean still looked unconvinced, but he nodded. “I’ll take
your word for it.”
 “Good. I told them they could stay at my place, since it’s
empty. Mom seemed happy with that, since she wants to
throw a party.”
“A party, huh?”
“That’s what she said, but I wanted to check with you
first. I wasn’t sure you’d be comfortable enough about us for
that just yet.”
“If I was any more comfortable, it would be indecent. I
don’t care who knows I’m with you, Xander. Not one little
bit.”
Sean brought my hand to his lips and kissed my palm,
and my breath got caught somewhere in the back of my
throat.
“Tell them I’m looking forward to seeing them.”
I nodded, my words disappearing completely at the
affection in Sean’s eyes.
“You want dessert?”
“Yes. But nothing on that menu. Take me home?”
Sean raised his hand and called, “Check, please.”
 7

SEAN

“READY TO SWEAT, anchorman?”

I grabbed my front door key off the entry table and
slipped it into the zip pocket inside my shorts, as Xander
finished tying his running shoes. The sun was barely up, but
with the heat and humidity lingering from the day before,
this morning’s run would still be a tough one.
“Ready to sweat and kick your ass,” Xander said,
straightening and cracking his neck from side to side.
I winced, never understanding how that made anything
feel better. “Kick my ass, huh? That’s a pretty arrogant
claim, considering we’ve broken even over the last couple of
days.”
Yeah, these workouts had turned into a game of physical
one-upmanship.
“Broken even?” Xander scoffed. “I don’t think so. I’ve
beaten you every single time.”
“Uh ah,” I said as we walked toward the front door.
“That’s not how I remember it.”
“No? Then how do you remember it?”
Once the front door was shut and locked, I took a nice,
long look at Xander, who was waiting by the SUV in his loose
grey running shorts and blue Nike workout shirt. He looked
fit, sexy, and ready to—just like he said— kick my ass.
Bring it on.
“The way I remember it”—I sauntered over to him,
making him back up until he was against the side of the
vehicle—“you ran and I caught you. That means I won.”
Xander bit down on his lower lip, and my cock twitched.
“That was the whole point of this new running program, was
it not?”
“It was at the beginning.” I couldn’t help my smug grin.
“Now I just fall behind to watch your ass in those running
shorts.”
Xander laughed and pushed me away from him, then
started to back down the drive.
“So now you’re trying to tell me you let me run ahead so
you can watch me?” He shook his head. “Okay, then,
detective. Come get me.”
Without another word, Xander turned and took off on the
route we’d mapped out over the weekend. We’d decided
morning runs were the best for us, since Xander was an early
bird and I headed out to work not too long after we got back.
Plus, during August, the only time to exercise outside and
not die from heatstroke was either before the sun came up or
after it went down, and I liked to get that shit over and done
with ASAP.
As Xander headed down the usual streets, I followed at a
good clip, enjoying the sight of him up ahead, as I always
did. At first, I really had suggested we work out to get my
fitness level back up to par. But after one session watching
his powerful legs eat up the pavement like it was no trouble
at all, falling back so I could watch his form had become
something of a guilty pleasure. One that often left me as
aroused as it did tired.
 My feet slapped against the pavement as I kept a steady
pace, my eyes locked on the fluid form of the man up ahead.
I could see his shoulder blades through the tight stretch of
his shirt as his arms swung with just the right momentum.
He was a thing of beauty to watch. Sheer masculine beauty,
which I’d never even noticed before. But something about
the flexing of his calf muscles, the tight curve of his ass and
trim waist, made my heart pound almost as hard from lust as
it did from the exertion of running.
Xander made this look easy and effortless, and as he
rounded one of the street corners to come up on a long
straight stretch, I picked up my pace until I was beside him.
“What was that you were saying about beating me?” I
flashed a shit-eating grin and then took off, my legs
pumping, my chest heaving as I powered up the road.
I could hear Xander’s footfalls directly behind me, his
pace never faltering, and as we turned on to my street, the
race to the finish line was on. The adrenaline took over and
my competitive side asserted itself, and I reached deep down
for those final vestiges of endurance to bring it on home.
So, apparently, did Xander.
About halfway up my street, he zipped by me like it was
no effort at all, his discipline earlier clearly helping him out
here on the final stretch, as he cranked it up a gear and really
let loose.
I dug deep, searching for some kind of final gear that I
might have hidden away, but there was no catching him.
Xander was fucking fast, and the challenge of chasing his
sexy ass was making me stronger every day, which was the
real reason we were out here to begin with.
As he reached the top of my drive, Xander stopped and
put his hands behind his head as he watched me come to a
standstill. His breathing was coming in hard pants now.
 When it was finally under control, he aimed a smirk my
way. “Beat you.”
He looked pretty damned pleased with himself. “Nah, I
was taking it easy on you.”
“You wish. I kicked your ass. You can admit it.”
I eyed him as he ran a hand through his hair, the damp
strands neatly falling into a sexy style that looked
preplanned as opposed to post workout chic.
“I already told you, I let you run ahead so I can watch…”
Xander chuckled and headed toward the front door, his
shirt and shorts molding to his body now in a way that left
little to the imagination, and when it came to Xander, my
imagination was impressive.
I took out my key, and when he held his hand out, I shook
my head and kept walking until his back was up against the
door.
“You know, I used to hate losing,” I said, and rubbed my
thumb over Xander’s lower lip. “But I gotta say, I don’t mind
coming in behind you.”
“Why do I get the feeling we aren’t talking about running
anymore?”
“I have no idea. Maybe you have a dirty mind.”
“Maybe you’re full of it.”
“I’m talking about running.”
Xander reached for me and gathered my shirt in his
fingers, tugging me close so he could bump his very hard
erection up against mine. Then he kissed his way up my jaw
to my ear. “Liar.”
As he began to suck on my lobe, right there on my front
porch, I growled and rolled my body into his. God, he felt
good. So damn good that I placed my hands on the front door
to hold myself steady, so I could grind against him a little
harder.
 Xander moaned and smoothed his hands around to my
ass, and as he pulled me harder to him, he wound a leg
around the back of mine.
Fucking hell, things had just gone from zero to sixty in
the blink of an eye, and if I didn’t get the door open and the
two of us inside sometime in the next five seconds, Xander’s
shorts would be around his ankles right here on the
doorstep.
“Jesus,” I said. “You gotta let me open the door, or my
neighbors are about to get one hell of a show.”
With his leg still wound around the back of mine, Xander
jutted his hips forward and licked a slick path along his top
lip, and it was a miracle I didn’t come right there.
“Then open the door.”
I swallowed, and when it was clear he wasn’t about to let
me go—or stop rubbing his hard dick on me—I reached
around him and inserted the key. Once it was unlocked,
Xander sank his teeth into my jaw line, and my entire body
thrust forward against him.
“Now how about you take me inside, detective, and show
me just how much you love coming in behind me.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. Not a second later we were
inside behind a locked door, and I had a feeling we wouldn’t
make it much further than there.
 8

XANDER

BANG! THE SOUND of the front door slamming shut behind

me was all the warning I got before Sean’s hand was on my
wrist and I was spun around to face him.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Nowhere, judging by the lust flickering in his eyes.
Sean slowly parted his legs, bracing his back against the
door, and in his black shirt and running shorts, he was sexy
as hell. The fine sheen of sweat I’d tasted on his skin outside
had me stepping between his legs, and his arms immediately
wound around my waist. He squeezed and tested the
roundness of my ass, and without another thought, my
mouth was on his.
The second our lips met, it was like a lit match on
gasoline. The fire that’d been simmering between us
throughout our run exploded, and the flames began to
consume us.
His mouth parted under mine, and when I slipped my
tongue inside, the sinful sound that rumbled out of him
made every nerve ending in my body react. My pulse raced
and my cock throbbed, as I ran my palms down his chest to
his waist.
“Damn, anchorman, get your hands on my skin.”
 I grinned against his lips and then slid my fingers under
the hem of Sean’s shirt. His skin was hot to the touch, and
when I trailed my fingertips along the waistband of his
shorts, Sean let out a groan and dropped his head back
against the door.
Unable to resist, I nipped my way along his jaw as I
shoved his shirt up his torso, and the salty sweat from his
run was like an aphrodisiac on my tongue. I hummed at the
potent taste then licked over the stubble I’d just bitten. Sean
punched his hips forward against mine.
I looked him in the eye, and the wild look in Sean’s gaze
made me shove his shirt even further up his tall frame. When
I reached his chest, I dragged the front over the top of his
head until the shirt was framing his bulging biceps and wide
shoulders, and then took a step back to inspect my
handiwork.
Sean reached down to adjust his hard-on, and holy shit, if
he didn’t look like an invitation to sin, I don’t know what
did. His abs were tense with built-up desire, and his arm
flexed as he decided the pressure from his hand was exactly
what he needed and kept at it. The scar on his lower
abdomen was an imperfection on an otherwise fit body, but
instead of seeing it as a reminder of the night I’d almost
gotten him killed, I’d learned to look at it as the lengths this
man had gone to to save me, and that made him impossibly
sexier.
“Come back here.” Sean stroked himself a little harder.
“No… I think I want to watch for a minute or two.”
Sean’s eyes narrowed, his lids heavy with desire as he
licked his lower lip and curled his fingers around the cotton
of his shorts.
“And what is it you want to see, anchorman?”
I smirked at Sean’s arrogance, because instead of pissing
me off like it might’ve back in the day, it now made me hot
as hell.
These past weeks, Sean had been an eager student, but
lately he’d really been coming into his own, his usual
confidence and assertive nature surfacing in the bedroom in
a way that made my cock ache and my blood run hot. But I
still sensed there was more, and this morning I planned to
pull it out of him.
I lowered my eyes to his busy hand. “I want to watch you
get yourself off.”
Sean’s hand moved a little faster, and I shook my head.
“Minus the shorts.”
His eyes sparked at the request, then he slipped his
thumbs into the sides of his shorts and dragged them down.
With every new inch of skin he revealed, my mouth watered
a little more. The distinct V lines and his dark treasure trail
led the way to the holy grail, until he finally freed his thick
shaft to my hungry gaze.
“Damn, Sean.” My voice sounded ragged as I reached for
myself and squeezed, my own dick now begging for release.
But I didn’t want to come just yet, so that meant it needed to
stay exactly where it was…for now.
Sean wrapped his fingers around his leaking cock, and I
let out a hum of approval.
“You like watching?”
“Yes, I really do.”
Sean’s eyes flared. “You never said so before.”
“You never asked.”
Sean scoffed and swiped his thumb across the swollen
head. “Ah, so this is an ‘ask and thou shalt receive’ kind of
deal?”
Hell yes it was. Something Sean clearly understood.
“Then get over here and on your knees. I want to watch
you suck my dick.”
 I took a step forward until we were once again toe to toe,
and without another word, I lowered to my knees.
When I was at his feet, I glanced up Sean’s body, and the
sight was unreal. With his shorts mid-thigh, the elastic sat
just beneath his balls and pushed his shaft up toward me like
an offering. His tense abs and features relayed just how on
edge he was, and the blazing eyes locked on mine made my
blood hum.
Moving up on my knees, I reached for his engorged length
and wrapped my fingers around him. A grunt of pleasure left
him and his hips punched forward. I closed my eyes and
rubbed my cheek along the side of his shaft.
I took in a deep inhale, the masculine scent of him mixed
with arousal so intoxicating that it was like a drug. Then I
turned my head and flicked my tongue across the head of his
cock.
“Fuck.” Sean tore his shirt off and tossed it aside. The
harsh line of his mouth and twitching jaw urged me to push
him further, to drive him over the edge. I tightened my grip
around the base of his shaft and sucked the tip between my
lips. Sean’s hands found the back of my head, his fingers
weaving through the damp strands, and when I swirled my
tongue around his hot flesh, a groan of guttural pleasure
filled the air.
“Xander…shit. Come on.”
I glanced up as I continued to tease the tip of him, daring
him to take over here and be in charge, and as though he
could read my mind, Sean shoved his hips forward.
His shaft slid along the center of my tongue, and the
rough glide made me open wider. I tightened my hold around
him and drew my lips up his length, before closing my eyes
and swallowing him back down. I did it over and over again,
each time taking him deeper, until Sean’s hips began to
move and he shoved between my lips.
 A curse ripped throughout the house as I relaxed my
throat and took him all the way back, and when I reached for
his balls and gave a gentle squeeze, the fingers in my hair
flexed.
“Christ,” he growled. “You’re asking for it…”
Yes, I was. I wanted him to lose it. I wanted to see what
Sean was like when he stopped thinking and really owned his
actions.
I drew my mouth off his length, swiped my thumb along
my lower lip, and sucked on it. “So give it to me.”
 9

SEAN

THE CHALLENGE IN Xander’s words called to something

primal inside me, as I stared down at the man at my feet
with the swollen mouth and lust-filled eyes.
He was pushing me. I could sense it in every move he
made, every word he said, and with that final challenge, I
decided to take him up on it.
I twisted my fingers around those thick strands of hair
and angled his head so he was looking up at me. The sight of
his stunning face hovering precariously close to my slicked-
up dick was so fucking hot that I almost lost it right then.
But it was clear Xander wanted more, and lucky for him, I
was in the exact right mood to give it to him.
A flush stained his cheekbones—from the run or the
foreplay was anyone’s guess. But when coupled with a well-
fucked mouth and come-get-me eyes, he looked so damn
sexy that I could barely think straight.
“Get on your feet,” I said, and if I’d been worried at all
about Xander’s reaction to taking orders, that quickly
vanished when a wicked smirk crossed those pouty lips.
Up until this very second, I’d always been very conscious
of my sexual behavior and performance when it came to
Xander, knowing he was more experienced and probably had
preferences I had no idea about.
But something inside me was telling me to forget all of
that bullshit right now. We’d spent the past few weeks
exploring and getting to know each other intimately, and
right now Xander was looking for me to step up and take
control. I sure as shit wasn’t about to let him down.
As Xander got to his feet, I grabbed his chin and leaned in
to nip at his lower lip. “You said if I wanted to know
something I should just ask, right?”
Xander sucked in a breath, and his body swayed into
mine, his gym shorts brushing up against my bare cock.
“Right.”
“Hmm.” I teased my lips back and forth across his,
making sure to move out of contact whenever he tried for
something more substantial. Then I turned his head and
licked a path up to his ear. “Do you like it a little…rough
sometimes, anchorman?”
Xander moaned as his fingers dug into my chest.
“A little hard and dirty?” He tried to nod, but I was
holding his chin firm as I sucked on his earlobe. “Because I
want to fuck you really hard right now.”
This time when he tried to move, I let him, and when his
gaze met mine, I had my answer. Xander’s eyes were so dark
they were almost black, he was that turned on, and before he
could say a damn word, I captured his lips in a savage kiss.
My tongue entered his mouth as though it belonged there,
sweeping the inside and making sure to taste every single
spot as Xander smoothed his hands down my ribs to my
cock.
Damn, he was driving me crazy, teasing and tormenting
me, testing every vestige of restraint I had. But when he got
his fingers around me and tugged, I bit down on his lip and
heard a groan that was so hot, all my restraint vanished.
 I tore my mouth free and grabbed at his hands, halting
him. Then I stepped out of my shorts and walked forward,
making him retreat. When his back hit the wall of my
hallway, I raised an eyebrow and kept coming. I had the
sudden urge to devour and destroy every inch of this man.
“You’re looking a little overdressed there.”
I could see Xander’s erection thick and hard behind his
shorts, and when he took hold of the hem of his shirt, I
shook my head and reached for his wrist. He glanced down,
then I grazed my thumb over his pulse point. It was racing a
mile a minute, and I knew exactly how and what he was
feeling. I was so damn hot for him that my heart was
pounding almost as hard as my cock.
“Don’t think for a second you’re going to deprive me of
stripping you naked the way you just did me,” I said.
Xander’s lips parted on a swift inhale. Yeah, let’s see how
you like being teased, Mr. Thorne.
“Now turn around and face the wall.”
When Xander’s cheeks flushed, I wondered for a second if
I’d accidentally stumbled onto some kind of fantasy of his,
and decided that even if it wasn’t, by the end of this
encounter, it would be at the top of his fucking list.
When his back was to me, I raised a hand above his head,
placing his palm against the flat surface.
Xander hung his head like he was praying for patience,
then I took his other hand and repeated the move. I took the
final step; my cock nestled in against his soft cotton shorts,
and the delicious friction was too much to pass up.
I placed my hands over the top of his and ground my
lower half against him, rubbing my leaking dick between his
cheeks, shoving those shorts in the crack of his ass. Xander
thrust back on me, and I muscled him forward until he was
plastered up against the wall.
 I scraped my teeth down to the curve of his shoulder,
lowered my hands from the wall, and grabbed the hem of his
shirt.
“Let’s get you out of these clothes,” I said, and then
moved back just enough that I could draw the material up his
torso. When I reached his head and removed it, I was happy
to see Xander’s hands automatically found their place back
on the wall.
I tossed his shirt to the ground and took in the tense arms
and shoulders, the long line of Xander’s back, and the high,
tight ass his shorts were still covering. Unable to resist the
lure of all the naked skin, I moved in and splayed my hands
on his hips. Then I placed a kiss at the top of his spine.
“Ah, Sean.”
Xander’s moan was so satisfying that I did it again, and
when his salty skin hit my taste buds, I flicked my tongue
out and he moaned, louder this time.
“You like that?”
“Yes…” The breathy confession made me smile. Xander
sounded as though his mind were shutting down and he was
floating high, and I was the drug that got him there.
I smoothed my hands around to where his cock was
outlined in his shorts and cupped him in my palm as I kissed
and licked my way down his spine. Xander’s arousal had
soaked through his shorts to make a mess of my hand, and
knowing he was this hot for me just cranked my wheel even
harder.
When I reached his lower back, I let go of him to drag his
shorts free of his hips, and when they hit the floor, he
immediately stepped out of them. Eye level now with his
spectacular ass, I pressed a kiss there, followed with a sharp
little bite.
Xander’s head whipped around, his eyes searching out
mine, and when they connected, I cupped his ass in both
hands and nipped him again.
“Sean…?”
“Hmm.” I flicked my tongue over the red spot now
marring his right cheek.
“Oh God.” Xander shoved back into my hands, clearly
wanting my mouth again, and I complied, this time licking a
path right across it. “I…”
“Yeah? I thought we already decided this morning’s
theme.” I plumped his ass in my hands. “If you want
something, ask. Remember?”
Xander’s eyes flared as he nodded, and it looked for a
second like he might be trying to decide between killing me
or fucking me—I was banking on the latter.
“Good. And what is it you want, Xander?”
Xander lowered a hand off the wall to wrap his fingers
around his dick, and as he gave it a nice, hard tug, he bit
down into his lower lip and slammed his eyes shut.
“Widen your legs,” I ordered him, wanting a better view
of what he was doing, and for a couple of minutes I was
content to sit at his feet with my own dick in hand and watch
him pleasure himself.
But soon, watching was no longer enough.
Letting go of myself, I climbed to my feet, crowded in
behind him, and wedged my hard-on between his ass
cheeks.
“Xander?” I said, my voice gravel rough as he started to
rub against me like a cat in heat. “Tell me what you want.”
Xander leaned his head back on my shoulder, his eyes so
heavy with lust now that the lids were barely open. His lips
were red, wet, and swollen from his teeth and my cock. He
was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen, and the fact I’d made
him this out of his mind made me feel like a prince among
men.
I’d done that to him, was still doing it to him.
 “Whaddya want, anchorman?”
“You…in me. Right here…right now, Sean. I can’t wait
anymore.”
His words were desperate, strung out, and I knew the
feeling. I nipped at his ear.
“Wait here and don’t move a muscle. You look perfect.” I
reluctantly stepped away from him and backed into the
living room. “Absolutely fucking perfect…”
10
 XANDER

MY LEGS SHOOK as Sean disappeared into the living room,

and I remained standing with my hands up, bare-ass naked,
and legs spread wide. Up until a few minutes ago, I’d never
realized the “cop strip-searching me naked” fantasy was
one that would get me off. But according to my throbbing
dick, being frisked by a specific detective who was equally
naked was pushing my buttons in ways I’d never imagined.
With the taste of Sean still lingering on my tongue, I
closed my eyes and made myself count back from one
hundred, hoping to quell my desire to reach down and get
myself off before he came back.
It’d been a long time since I’d felt this needy, felt this
insatiable desire to be taken in a raw, unrestrained way. But
when I got like this, I didn’t care where I was or how I got it,
and right now, I wanted Sean’s thick cock to drive me out of
my fucking mind.
Sean re-entered the hall just as that thought hit, and my
ass tightened as he brought a condom packet to his lips and
tore it open. I groaned. Shit. This was about to get out of
control.
Sean stopped beside me, his eyes roaming all over my
body as he rolled the condom on, then he slowly slid his
tongue over his lower lip.
“How you doing, anchorman?” He opened a packet of
lube next and squeezed half in his hand. “Gotta say, I’ve
never seen you this strung out. I kinda like it.”
He knew exactly how I was feeling, judging by that
arrogant smirk, and then he slipped his hand between the
wall and my body to give me a nice, long stroke and
whispered across my lips, “You look like you’re in the mood
to fuck.”
There was no point in denying it. My decorum had left the
second we’d gotten in his house and behind a locked door. I
let out a shaky breath. “To be fucked, yes.”
A husky chuckle left him. Then I bit his bottom lip hard
and he grabbed my chin.
“You want to be fucked?”
Yes, I did. I really, really did. I nodded.
“Mmm,” Sean said, as he stepped behind me and placed a
kiss to one of my shoulders. “I can give you that.”
The next thing, his slippery fingers were sliding down
between my ass cheeks, the tips massaging over my eager
hole.
“Ahh,” I panted, shoving back, wanting something to
desperately penetrate me.
“Yeah?” Sean scraped his teeth along my shoulder and
then sank them in, as he pushed his two fingers inside and
went knuckle deep.
A harsh groan left me as I moved up to my toes, and when
my body relaxed and throbbed around the intrusion, I shifted
back to the balls of my feet, taking them just a little deeper.
“Jesus, Xander.” Sean’s voice was rough as sandpaper,
making my knees go weak, and he reached up with his free
hand to place it over the top of mine.
Now anchored to the wall, I turned my head to lay my
cheek flat on the cool surface, and my eyes caught on the
wild expression in Sean’s eyes. He looked about two seconds
away from losing his shit, and when he caught my eyes, a
depraved smile curled his lip, and he slowly drew his fingers
free before pushing them back inside.
I cursed as he brushed over my prostate, and he knew
when he hit the jackpot because he chuckled and did it again,
and again.
“Sean…” I managed as he continued to stretch my hole
and massage that perfect spot. “Sean,” I said, a little more
harshly.
He lifted his head and licked a path along my jaw to my
mouth. “What? Ask me for it.”
My breathing was coming in rapid bursts now, my chest
heaving against the wall even as my dick made a mess of it.
“Get your cock in me.”
Sean grinned. “Ask…nicely.”
Fucker. He was enjoying this. “Please, get your cock in
me.”
Sean laughed, and the vibration made my entire body
tremble. He dragged his fingers free and lined up his cock. I
turned my head so I could rest my forehead against the wall,
and Sean placed a hand on my ass cheek and spread me open
a little.
Wanting to give him as much access as possible, I shifted
my legs apart and heard him growl in appreciation. The head
of his erection nudged up against me, then he was tunneling
inside.
Smooth and strong, Sean powered in me with a force that
was both needed and appreciated. It was intense and exactly
what I wanted. My shout echoed throughout the whole damn
house.
“Fuck me,” Sean growled as he grabbed my other hand
and pinned it to the wall, plastering himself along my back
in a way that made it difficult to know where he began and I
ended. “I was wrong earlier…”
I squeezed my eyes shut as my body adjusted to his, my
excitement and adrenaline a hair trigger away from
detonation as Sean throbbed inside me.
“Wrong?”
“Yeah.” He kissed the crook of my neck and shoulder, his
fingers entwined with mine. “You look perfect now. With me
inside you.”
“Yes. Feels perfect, too.” I shoved back on him. “Meant to
be.”
Sean kissed my temple. “Don’t ever fucking forget it.”
Then he slowly withdrew and tunneled back inside with such
strength that my eyes slammed shut.
“Again,” I demanded, done with the talking. I wanted to
feel this mind-blowing connection in action.
Sean curled his fingers around mine as he pulled out and
thrust back inside again, and the pleasure was so intense
that my vision began to blur. Jesus, he felt good. Strong,
powerful, and one hundred percent in control, as he finally
let go and really took me.
His warm breath on my neck and hot skin against mine
created a fever-like energy that made the flames burn even
hotter. Then Sean let go of one of my hands to reach for my
cock, and I turned my head. The second our lips met, the fire
went from a flame to a burning inferno. Then I fucked back
onto him, using his body as desperately as he was using
mine. The flames licked over us and the potent scent of sex
filled the air.
I could feel my mind shutting down as my body took over.
Sean consuming me in ways I hadn’t experienced in years—
if ever. It was as though he were in my mind, body, and soul,
and I could feel myself teetering on the precipice.
“Sean, I…”
 Sean was biting and sucking at my neck, and I knew
there’d be marks there well after this was over.
“God, Xander.” His heavy breathing in my ear told me he
was close to losing it. “You feel fucking unbelievable.”
He powered back inside me, hitting all the right spots,
and as my body clamped around his erection, our orgasms
hit.
I gripped his fingers as I began to shake, and when he bit
into the crook of my neck and jerked behind me, I came all
over his hand and wall with no thoughts in my head other
than how damn good I felt in his arms.
Holy shit… With the flames now extinguished, it was
shocking we weren’t a pile of ash on the floor. Instead, we
were slumped forward using the wall as a prop to keep us
both up.
“Fuckin’ hell.” Sean’s raspy chuckle in my ear brought
me back to earth. He finally pulled out of me and turned me
around. “You made a mess of my wall.”
“Should I apologize?”
“Not on your life.”
Sean stepped in and took my face between his hands.
Then he pressed a kiss to my lips and whispered, “I love
you.”
I grinned, ran my hands down his sweaty abs to his hips,
and smacked his ass. “I love you too.”
“Hmm. I think it’s safe to say we burned a few extra
calories this morning.”
“You think? If we burned any more, I might not be able to
walk into work today. It’s gonna be a challenge as it is.”
Looking awfully pleased with himself, Sean backed up and
reached down to roll the condom free. “Sooo, I’m showering
alone?”
I gave his phenomenal body a thorough once-over. “Not
on your life. Just don’t ask me to race you to it.”
 He chuckled and headed off in the direction of the
bathroom, and I didn’t much care about coming in last,
because watching his firm ass was a sight I’d never grow
tired of seeing.
11
 SEAN

“YOU BELIEVE THIS shit about Huntley getting out on bail

yesterday? Can’t believe anyone would fork over cash to get
his ass out of lockup.”
I rocked back in my chair to eye Nichols looking at his
computer screen. It was Friday morning, and I was already
thinking about making a second coffee as I twirled my pen
through my fingers.
“Eh, you know it was his bigwig father. The Huntleys
have more money than God. They aren’t about to let their
precious little boy sit in our holding cell as a plaything for
more than a couple hours. Honestly, I’m surprised they
didn’t have him out sooner. What was that, forty-eight
hours?”
“Yeah, not bad for a suspected rapist.”
“I hear you. From what I understand, the victim’s going
to have a real hard time fighting this one. She’s from a
lower-income family. They’ll probably end up settling.”
Nichols shook his head. “Kind of cynical, no?”
Yeah, I guess it was. But when you’d been on the job as
long as I had, it came with the territory. “You know I’m
right.”
 Nichols slowly nodded and then rolled his chair around to
face me. “So listen, captain didn’t want you to think he was
checking up on you, since you passed your physical and all.
But he wanted me to—”
“Do it for him?”
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
I thought back to the foot chase the week before and
threw my pen on the desk. “Is this about Martinelli? ’Cause,
in all fairness, it was hot as fuck that day.”
“I know. I was sweating it out in the car with you. And
he’s not questioning your ability. I mean, you caught the
fucker. He just wants to make sure you’re comfortable out
there.”
“And that you are too, being my partner.”
Nichols shrugged. “I ain’t worried about that. I just don’t
want to watch you bleed out a second time, if you catch my
drift.”
“Yeah, I got it. And I feel fine. I actually stepped up my
exercise routine after that motherfucker dared me to a
running match. I won’t be caught winded again, don’t you
worry.”
“Again,” Nichols said, holding his palms up. “I wasn’t
worried.”
“Uh huh.” I was about to ask him if he wanted a coffee
when my cell vibrated on the desk. I sat forward to see who it
was texting me, and when I saw Bailey’s name flashing on
my screen, I quickly scooped it up and got to my feet. “Uh,
hey? You want a coffee? I’m going to go make some.”
“Yeah, sure, I could go another cup.” Nichols held out his
World’s Best Dad mug. I grabbed up mine and then headed to
the break room.
Once I was inside, I loaded up the coffee maker with a
new filter and some ground coffee, then I added the water
and hit go, before I leaned back against the counter and
finally opened Bailey’s message.
As ridiculous as it was, my hand shook. I was nervous.
Nervous to read a goddamn message from my younger
brother.
Bailey: Hi. Henri said you want to talk to me.
It wasn’t exactly the Hey, I’ve missed you. We really should
talk I’d been expecting, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
And at least it was progress. He was reaching out to us.
Yeah. Is there a time and place that suits you? We could
come there tomorrow, like usual.
I hit send and stared at the phone as though it were going
to blow up in my hand. My stomach was churning, a weird
mix of nerves and guilt as the three little dots appeared on
my screen. A couple seconds later, Bailey’s next message
came through with the force of a sucker punch to my already
aching gut.
Bailey: Tomorrow is fine. I don’t care what time. Just
you. Not Xander.
Okay…that didn’t sound like progress. This was not good,
not good at all.
Bay, I think the three of us should all sit down. Don’t
you?
I already knew what his answer would be. At least, I
thought I did, until he replied: No, I don’t. You can come by
whenever. I have nothing to say to Xander.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Why was Bailey being so damn
stubborn about this?
Well, it looked like I was going to have to talk some sense
into him. He’d given me a “come to Jesus” talk when I’d
been acting like an ass. So maybe it was time to return the
favor. To remind him how much Xander meant to him.
Fine. I’ll be there tomorrow around noon.
Bailey: Fine. Tomorrow.
 That was it. That was all he wrote. I stared at the message
and read the whole thing back three times over, and still
couldn’t believe this was a correspondence with Bailey. How
had this happened?
The coffee machine beeped, but I was too caught up in
what had just taken place to care. Instead, I hit call on
Xander’s number and waited for him to pick up.
“It’s not even nine o’clock yet. Don’t tell me you miss me
already.”
A smile automatically hit my lips. “I missed you the
second I left you in bed. But that’s not why I’m calling.”
“No?”
I could hear the grin in Xander’s voice and almost
changed my mind about telling him the real reason. But he’d
want to know what was going on, and we’d promised not to
keep things from each other. No matter how much it might
hurt.
“No.” I let out a sigh and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Bailey just texted me.”
Silence greeted me, and for a few seconds all I could hear
was the blood ringing in my ears.
“That’s great.” I could hear the forced happiness in
Xander’s voice, but knew it was killing him that Bailey still
hadn’t reached out to him. “What did he want?”
God, I really didn’t want to tell Xander this. I didn’t want
to smash the hope I could hear in his voice. But again, I’d
promised the truth and wasn’t about to start lying now.
“He wants to see me tomorrow.”
One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three…
“Just you?”
And there it was.
“Yeah. Just me. Fuck.” I closed my eyes and gritted my
teeth. “I’m sorry, Xander.”
 “It’s okay,” he said, his voice laced with disappointment,
and in that moment I wanted to track Bailey down and shake
the shit out of him. How could he be doing this to Xander? To
his best friend?
It wasn’t okay, and no matter how many times Xander
told me it was, I knew he was lying.
“Look, I’ve got to run. But I’m really glad he reached out
to you, Sean.”
I eyed the clock and realized Xander would be in his car
right now heading to his weekly therapy session with Dr.
Lewis.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, even though it felt completely
and utterly inadequate.
“Don’t be. You have nothing to be sorry for.” There was a
pause, and then, “Sean?”
“Hmm?”
“Promise me you’ll go and see him tomorrow. That’s
important to me. That you both work this out. You’re
brothers, family. Don’t even think about me.”
My heart broke at the request, because it showed just how
unselfish Xander truly was. He wanted me to mend my
relationship, even at the expense of his own. But I wouldn’t
let that happen, if it was the last thing I did.
“Hey, anchorman?”
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Have a good day. Be safe out there.”
“Will do,” I promised. As we ended the call, I knew that
was one thing I could do for him, because ever since we’d
started dating I now had a reason to be safe and get home,
and his name was Alexander Thorne.
12
 XANDER

“YOU SEEM DISTRACTED this morning.”

Dr. Lewis’s voice cut through all the white noise as I
watched a handful of children play outside her office. She
probably had a point. If she’d asked me about any of the
things we’d talked about during this session, I wouldn’t have
been able to say. My mind was too focused on the
conversation I’d had with Sean nearly forty minutes ago. A
conversation I’d replayed over and over again.
“I’d say that’s a good assessment.”
“Do you feel like telling me why?”
I turned to face the good doctor, who was watching me
with curious eyes. “Not really. But I’m assuming that was a
rhetorical question?”
“Not at all. This is your time, your money. We can talk
about whatever you like. If not that, how about your sleeping
habits? Are they any better since the last time we spoke?”
I eyed her from where I sat on the plush high-back chair
by the window, and wondered what angle she was playing.
Dr. Lewis had the uncanny knack of making you believe you
were doing things in your own time of your own accord,
when really, deep down, you were doing exactly what she
had planned all along.
 I knew that was part and parcel of her job, and I had to
give her credit—she was really good at it.
“Yes, I’m sleeping much better. I was finally able to get
off the Ambien and go back to the melatonin.”
“That’s great.” She opened her leather binder and
uncapped her pen. “And any interruption once you fall
asleep? Any dreams? Nightmares?”
“No. For the last week, I’ve slept all night. No
interruptions.” Unless Sean counted.
“Good.” She smiled at me, and when I returned it, her
eyes narrowed. “That’s not good?”
I frowned. “Of course it’s good. Why wouldn’t it be?”
She crossed her legs and placed her pen down in the
center of the binder. “You know one of the downsides about
being a public figure, Alexander?”
“Off the top of my head? Lack of anonymity, privacy, the
occasional stalker…” When she didn’t respond, I turned to
look back out the window. “But I’m guessing none of those
are the answer you were looking for.”
“One of the downsides is that I know a genuine smile
when I see one. What you just gave me was forced. You’ve
been struggling to get a good night’s sleep for weeks now,
been having the most horrific nightmares about Sean dying
in your arms, and now that they’re over, instead of jumping
up and down with joy, you look like someone ran over your
puppy.”
I rubbed a hand over my face. “I don’t own a puppy.”
“Maybe you should. They’re good for the soul.”
I nodded but said nothing. Instead, I concentrated on the
children again. A couple of them had broken off and were
playing catch with one another, while another sat by himself
under the tree playing with his baseball cards.
“Alexander?”
“Huh?” I turned my attention back to Dr. Lewis.
 “I said maybe you should get a puppy.”
“I’m living at someone else’s house. I doubt he’d
appreciate me bringing home a dog.”
Dr. Lewis picked her pen back up and jotted something
down. “Why haven’t you moved back into your place yet?”
“You know why.”
“Because it reminds you of Kyle, of where this all started.
But it’s not really where it started, is it? You first met him at
the news station, and yet you’re back there working now.
Aren’t you?”
I swallowed, trying to see where she was leading me.
Trying to see what trap she was laying for me to step into.
“Yes, but that’s different. In my house he was snooping
around taking selfies. He was in my private space, my
bedroom, my bed. I don’t want to go back there.”
“Ever?”
I blinked at her and thought that over. “Yet.”
Again, she nodded and wrote something down.
“What did you just write?”
“Exactly what you said.”
Somehow, I doubted that.
“And what about the situation with Bailey? Have you
spoken to him? Seen him?”
“No.” My answer was short and succinct, and as soon as
it was out of my mouth, I knew Dr. Lewis wasn’t buying it.
“Really?”
“Yes. I haven’t spoken to, or seen, him.” That wasn’t a
lie.
“Then what has changed?”
“Excuse me?”
She shut the binder and shifted in her chair, recrossing
her long legs in the opposite direction. “I asked you what has
changed.”
 “Nothing. I told you I haven’t seen him or spoken to
him.”
“Yes, but something else has happened. For weeks you’ve
been trying to sleep, and now you can, which should make
you more amiable, not distracted and curt. You’re happy to
be living with Sean, and nothing there has changed. Then
you say the situation with the best friend is the same, yet
your mood drastically declined when I asked you about him.
So, why don’t you tell me what’s changed with your friend?”
I rubbed at my forehead and shoved to my feet. “He
reached out to Sean today and wants to talk.”
“I see.” She paused long enough that I looked over my
shoulder at her. “Does that upset you?”
“No, I want them to talk.”
“But you also want him to talk to you.”
I turned back to the window. “Of course, but that’s not up
to me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m the one who messed things up.”
“Are you? According to what you told me, Sean did too,
right? Yet Bailey wants to talk to him.”
“Well, they’re brothers, blood. It makes sense that they’ll
work things out. I want them to.”
“And if that happens, where does that leave you?”
My eyes strayed back to the boy with his baseball cards,
and I quickly turned my back on the scene, the image hitting
too close to home.
My eyes flicked to the clock, and I’d never been more
grateful to see that my time was up.
“I have to get going.” I picked up my briefcase from
where I’d placed it by my chair.
Dr. Lewis looked at her watch and nodded. She got to her
feet and crossed the room to her desk. “A word of advice,
Alexander.”
 “Yes?”
“Be honest with yourself. That’s the only way this is
going to work. Dig deep and see what it is that’s really
bothering you, and maybe the next time you’re here, we can
work on it together.”
I buttoned my jacket and gave a clipped nod, then headed
out the door. As I climbed inside my car, I turned the AC on
blast and sat there for a minute, letting her words replay in
my head as my attention shifted to the children chasing each
other around the yard.
I closed my eyes, leaned back in the seat, and thought
about all of those summers spent growing up with Bailey. All
of the memories I shared with him. There was a lifetime of
them, and my heart ached at the thought that there would be
no more.
No. It couldn’t end like this. We couldn’t end like this.
We’d made a promise to one another that nothing would
ever tear our friendship apart, and while I knew I’d done
some major damage to it, I had to believe that in the end we
could repair it…

OF ALL THE times I’d stood out here on the Baileys’ front porch, I
could only ever remember being this nervous once before. That’d
been the night I realized my feelings for the middle Bailey brother
were a lot strong than friendship. It was ironic that tonight I was
here to see if we could go back to that—our friendship.
I took in a deep breath and wiped my palms on my pants. God,
I couldn’t tell if it was nerves or worry causing the knot in my gut.
But either way, what I was about to do needed to be done. That
was the only hope in salvaging the friendship we’d had long
before we’d decided to take things to the next level and almost
lose ourselves in the process.
 I stared at the front door and was just about knock when it was
pulled open by Mrs. B.
“Xander.” She chuckled and flashed a brilliant smile my way.
“You scared me half to death.”
“Likewise, Mrs. B. You caught me right as I was going to
knock.”
“Well, I was just heading out. Bailey’s inside, in the kitchen.
Will I see you for dinner?”
“Uh…” Probably not after what I was here to say, but I wasn’t
about to tell her that. “Probably not. I have to head into work.”
“Oh, that’s right, congratulations. Bailey told me all about the
head field reporter job. That’s exciting.”
“It is. A little nerve-racking too, but it’s what I’ve been
working for.”
Mrs. B reached out and squeezed my arm. “You’re going to do
great and see so many things. Just be careful out there.”
“Well, it’s just local to start with.”
“Yes, but we all know you aren’t going to stop there. As long as
I’ve known you, all you’ve ever wanted was to be a journalist.”
It really was. Bob Willis at ENN was my number one idol. My
dream was to end up behind an anchor desk at a national level
one day, but I knew I had to pay my dues first.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
Mrs. B smiled and stepped around me. “Of course. I see big
things in your future, mister.”
I chuckled and waved as she headed off down the drive to her
car, and then made my way inside. This house was as familiar to
me as my own, and when I stepped into the kitchen to see Bailey
sitting at the breakfast nook reading over some papers, my gut did
that thing where it twisted around on itself.
Bailey glanced up, and when he spotted me standing just
inside the doorway, that warm smile brightened his features, and
all I could think was: Please let us be okay after this.
 “Hey there.” Bailey went to slide out of the bench seat, but I
shook my head.
“No, don’t get up.” I crossed the tiled floor and leaned down to
press a kiss to his lips. As I took the seat opposite him, I nodded to
the papers. “What do you have there?”
“Um…” Bailey flipped them over, immediately piquing my
curiosity. “Nothing.”
“Yes, that’s obvious by the way you’re hiding them.”
He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Seriously, it’s nothing. Just
something I’ve been thinking about lately.”
“Oh yeah? Care to elaborate?”
Bailey looked down at the papers and frowned. “I…I’m still
thinking about it.” Then he returned his attention to me. “But I’ll
tell you as soon as I know.”
I nodded and sat back in the seat, trying to work out how to
start this conversation. When it became clear I was struggling to
find the right words, Bailey took my hand in his.
“I wasn’t expecting you this morning. Is everything okay?”
Shit, why did he have to be sweet? So caring? And why was I so
stupid that I was about to ruin everything?
“Yes, but I…I wanted to talk to you.”
Bailey squeezed my fingers and licked his lips, the same lips I’d
kissed a hundred times over. It was a nervous habit of his, and it
was clear he was picking up on my own unease now.
“Okay, so what’s up?”
Just say it, I told myself. Stop being a coward and spit it
out.
“Look, there’s no easy way to say this, Bay. But with this new
job and the hours, they’re going to want to send me on
assignment, and I really want to—”
“Go?”
As that one word floated in the kitchen between us, I nodded.
“Yes.”
 Bailey looked me dead in the eye and then gave me the saddest
of smiles, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. It broke my heart in
a way words never could.
“I figured.”
Wait… “You figured?”
“Yeah.” Bailey let out a soft chuckle that was at odds with the
sad smile. “It didn’t take a genius to work it out. We’ve been going
in different directions lately. I get it. When you’re getting home,
I’m already asleep, and vice versa. We never have time for one
another, and when we do, it’s…it’s just not what it should be.”
I was so shocked that all I could do was sit there and stare at
him.
“I’m right, aren’t I? You feel it too, the disconnect?”
I did, but hearing the words from his mouth was like a
sledgehammer to the solar plexus. Here I’d been, all ready to snuff
the light out of my boyfriend, and Bailey was getting the words
out first.
“I do.”
“Yeah.” Bailey tugged on my hand. “Come over here.”
I got to my feet then slid in beside him, and he turned over the
papers in front of him. At the top it read, Police Academy
Application Form. I swallowed in a gulp of air and pressed my
fingers to my lips.
Bailey had talked about joining the force for years, most of his
life. His father and brother Sean were both part of the CPD, and
selfishly, I’d always been thankful he hadn’t followed in their
footsteps. Apparently he’d changed his mind about that, or was at
least thinking about it. Somehow, I had a feeling I’d just made the
final decision for him.
“I know you always hated the idea of me on the force, but—”
“It’s not so much that as…” I paused and turned to look him in
the eye. I couldn’t imagine Bailey—my sweet Bailey—out there on
the streets dealing with the worst of the worst. And I was terrified
of what it would do to him, mentally. “I worry about you, Bay.
That won’t stop just because we aren’t dating.”
“I know.” He bumped shoulders with me. “But how do you
think I feel when you head into dangerous situations for your job?
And now as head field reporter, it’s not just going to be bad
weather—eventually it’ll be bad people and wars and…God knows
what else.”
He had a point, but still, Bailey as a cop? I wasn’t sure what
was more worrisome to me. The idea of him being injured on the
job or the idea of him losing that pure positivity he exuded. Either
way, it wasn’t my choice to make. I just needed to be there and
support him, the way he always was for me. The way he was now,
even though it meant we were putting an end to something we’d
both figured would be forever.
“It’s weird that we both came to the same conclusion at the
same time, huh?”
“Not really.” Bailey entwined our fingers. “We were best
friends before we were more. We know what the other is
thinking.”
“True.” My eyes blurred as I looked into his perfect face.
“That’ll never change, right?”
“What?”
“Being best friends?”
“Never,” Bailey whispered, and laid his head on my shoulder.
“No matter what. We always promised, friends to the end. I love
you.”
“I love you too.” I kissed the top of his buzzed head and felt a
tear roll down my cheek. “Friends to the end.”
And while it most certainly felt like the end of an era sitting
there with the boy I loved and knew I always would, I had the
fleeting thought that if I couldn’t make things work with someone
as wonderful as Bailey, did that mean I was destined to be alone…
for good?
Only time would tell.
13
 SEAN

APPLES AND CINNAMON…

That was the one memory that always hit first whenever I
set foot in my childhood house. It was the scent that had
lingered in the air when my mother had been alive, whether
it had been from the fall candles she burned all year round or
the pies she liked to bake. It was the smell of comfort, the
smell of home, and I remembered the first time I walked into
this house and that smell had vanished.
That was the day it really sank in that she was never
coming back. The day I had to let her go all over again and
remind myself what she would want from the three boys
she’d left behind—unity, loyalty, love—and right now, I was
failing her.
The creak of the hardwood floors made me turn from the
living room window to see Bailey standing behind me, his
arms crossed and with a grim expression that told me he’d
rather be anywhere else but here.
God, I couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked so
angry and disappointed in me. Actually, that was a lie. The
last time had been a few months back. I’d been in a bad spot
after a particularly long and horrible case and had been
doing my best to forget about it—with the help of any
alcohol I could get my hands on.
Bailey had pulled me out of that. Sat me down and given
me a “come to Jesus” talk that had basically ended up with
the ultimatum: clean up or stop coming around to see us.
Now here I was, better than ever before, largely thanks to
him.
It was anyone’s guess how long we stood there staring at
one another. Seconds, minutes, hours? But all the words I’d
carefully rehearsed, the ones that explained how and why
what happened had happened? Well, they’d up and vanished.
I felt like a pauper finally getting a showing with the king,
only to lose all ability to form coherent sentences now that I
was finally here.
“Bailey.”
“Sean.”
Yeah, we were off to a fantastic start. On the plus side, he
hadn’t forgotten my name. I slid my hands into the pockets
of my shorts, and when he merely stood there, I let out a
sigh. “Is this why you asked me over? For a silent standoff?”
“No. I asked you because I knew you wouldn’t leave me
alone until I did.”
“And what did you expect me to do? Just stop calling
you?”
“I was hoping.”
Right. Bailey was like a time bomb, and if I’d been smart,
I would’ve gotten the hell out of the blast zone. But I was not
so smart.
“What the hell, Bay? You’re acting like a damn stranger.”
“I’m acting like a stranger?” Bailey dropped his arms to
his sides and strode over to me. “You’re the one, who after
three decades, has burst out of the closet to start sleeping
with my best friend.”
 I opened my mouth to refute that but didn’t have a great
response, considering he was right.
“Never in a million years could I have guessed that one,
Sean. So you want to talk about strangers and not being able
to recognize people? Why don’t we start with you? Where the
hell did my oldest brother go and who is this coward in his
place?”
Okay, that finally got my tongue working. “Coward? How
the hell do you figure that?”
Bailey took another step forward and jabbed me in the
chest. “Only a coward would go behind someone’s back the
way you two did. You must’ve had a great laugh at the
hospital when Xander convinced me he wanted to stay with
you out of the goodness of his heart. I should’ve known
better, that it was his dick he was thinking about.”
“Hey, hold up a second. This is Xander you’re talking
about. You know, your best friend?”
“I know exactly who I’m talking about. I also know he
isn’t a saint. Neither of you are, for that matter. So, tell me,
was fucking him worth ruining the relationship between all
three of us?”
I couldn’t believe the shit flying out of Bailey’s mouth. In
fact, if I wasn’t seeing him with my own two eyes, I would’ve
believed this was someone else altogether. Reminding myself
I was there to talk this out with my brother—not get into a
fistfight with him—I did my best to swallow my impulse to
go on the defense. Instead, I took in a deep breath and tried
to think rationally.
“First off, the only one ruining relationships around here
is you. You’ve cut off me, Xander, and I’m assuming Kieran,
unless you two have been getting together on your own.”
When Bailey remained stubbornly silent, I continued on.
“And second, we are not just fucking. This is serious. What
is happening here is not some fling we thought might be fun.
We realize we might’ve gone about this the wrong way by
keeping it from you—”
“Oh, how kind of you.”
“But it was none of your fucking business. We were going
through something traumatic, something that brought us
closer than most will ever understand, and we wanted to
make sure it was real and true before anyone else had an
opinion. I’m sorry that hurts you, but it’s the truth.”
“So I’m just supposed to be happy and accept that my
straight brother and ex-boyfriend lied and went behind my
back because they wanted to work out how deep this thing
really went?” Bailey shook his head. “You hid it because you
knew how much damage this would cause. You knew, and
didn’t want to deal with it, just like everything else in your
life.”
Wow, low fucking blow. “Look, I know you’re angry, and
you have every right to be. But is acting like an asshole really
helping? You’re killing Xander with this bullshit silent act.”
“Then maybe he should’ve thought about that before he
decided to trip over your dick.”
I cursed and shoved a hand through my hair, turning
away from him before I did something stupid, like punch
him in the face.
“When did you become so cruel?” I whispered, before I
even knew I was going to say it.
“I’m not being cruel. I’m being human, Sean. This is what
happens when you screw someone over. They get pissed off.
They get hurt.”
I shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. This
was getting us nowhere, absolutely fucking nowhere. He was
too angry and I was too defensive. That wasn’t a recipe for
forgiveness; it was a recipe for trouble.
“Is there anything I can say to make this better, that can
get us back on track? Or am I just wasting my time here?”
 “You can tell me that you and Xander decided this was the
dumbest thing you’ve ever done and that it’s over.”
My stomach revolted at the thought. “And that would
make it all better? Just like that?”
“No. But it would be a start.”
He was serious, too. I could see it in his eyes. “You’d
really do that to him? After everything he’s been through
over the last few weeks, you’d make him choose between his
best friend and his boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend? Not sure if he’s told you this, but Xander, he
likes variety.”
I knew he was trying to hurt me as much as I’d hurt him.
But somewhere along the way, Bailey must’ve forgotten who
he was fighting with—because I was the king of fighting
dirty.
“Maybe that was the case when he was with you, but as
far as I know, he’s not looking anywhere else.”
“Fuck you, Sean.”
“Hey, you started it.”
Color flooded Bailey’s cheeks as he marched past me,
slamming his shoulder into mine as he walked over to the
window. My blow had hit hard.
As we stood there in stony silence, the tension that had
been at an all-time high finally began to fizzle out, and what
was left was an overwhelming sadness. A feeling of loss
similar to that of a loved one, and we both knew how that
felt.
“Bay,” I started again, this time lowering my voice.
“Come on. This is getting us nowhere. We have to talk about
this sooner or later.”
“I…I can’t, Sean. I—” Bailey bit off his words as though
trying to control the flood of emotions taking over. “I don’t
know if I’ll ever be able to talk about this, and that’s all I can
give you right now.”
 Well, that was honest. “Okay.”
I shoved my hands in my pockets and headed for the
door, then stopped to look back at Bailey. His shoulders were
slumped as though he’d just gone three rounds with a
heavyweight champ and lost spectacularly.
But the truth of the matter was no one had really won,
had they?
“Bailey?”
Bailey glanced over his shoulder, and the heartbreak in
his eyes was so gut-wrenching that it almost brought me to
my knees.
“I’m sorry we hurt you. That’s the last thing we ever
wanted.”
He said nothing, just stared at me with those bleak, glassy
eyes, and before I changed my mind and did something rash,
I turned on my heel and walked out the door.
14
 XANDER

WHEN I KISSED Sean goodbye earlier and sent him off to

meet Bailey, I’d felt as though I was sending him to the
gallows, and he’d looked similarly grim.
That had been about an hour ago, and as I sat here
wondering what was worse—being the one in the middle of
the fight or the one waiting at home on the outcome—the
one thing that kept repeating in my head was that at least
Sean was getting the opportunity to say his piece. As it stood
right now, Bailey wouldn’t even return my texts.
I’d tried not to fixate or stress over the wall Bailey had
erected between us. But with every day that passed, the
distance and strain between us was weighing heavier and
heavier on my heart. I missed my best friend, my confidant,
and though I knew it was selfish to even wish for, in the back
of my mind I wanted to celebrate this moment of my life
with him—falling in love.
That wasn’t going to happen anytime soon, though. Not
when the person I’d fallen for was Bailey’s brother.
I glanced at my watch for the millionth time, and when I
heard Sean’s SUV come up the drive, I jumped to my feet and
ran to the door. My heart was pounding, and I couldn’t
decide what I was more nervous about: how the discussion
went or how Sean was feeling after it.
Either way, I braced myself for whatever kind of mood
was about to walk through the door. Moments later, Sean
came in, and when he spotted me, he offered a grimace that
made my stomach clench.
Shit. Whatever had gone down between the brothers
hadn’t been anything good. There was no hopeful smile, no
confident smirk, indicating that this was all cleared up.
“Hey,” he said as he shut the door and tossed his keys on
the entry table, and that one word confirmed my suspicions.
Whatever had happened at Bailey’s hadn’t involved mending
fences and broken hearts.
In fact, Sean sounded more dejected than ever before, and
considering I’d seen Sean at his worst, that was saying
something.
“Hi.”
When he slipped his hands in his pockets, a clear
indicator he was putting up a barrier of some sort, I
respected his choice and kept my hands to myself.
He walked down the hall, and I followed in silence,
sensing he would talk when he was ready. But when he
headed straight to the kitchen and opened the cabinet I knew
housed the hard liquor, I finally spoke up.
“Well, this doesn’t bode well.”
Sean grabbed a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. “Trust
me, you’re going to want one of these.”
I nodded, and as he poured a glass, I took a seat at the
dining table and waited. Sean brought over both drinks and
the bottle and took the seat opposite me, and for a minute he
just sat there staring at the bottle as though it held all the
answers. Hell, maybe it did.
“I’m guessing things didn’t get resolved?”
 Sean reached for his glass and traced the rim with his
fingertip. “You could say that. I can’t remember ever seeing
him like this, Xander.”
“Angry?”
Sean scoffed. “Angry, hurt, mean. If I hadn’t been
standing in the room with him, I would’ve thought I was
talking to a stranger. It’s like he’s possessed.”
I reached across the table and laid my hand over the top
of Sean’s. When he slowly drew it free, my chest tightened.
Not wanting to admit how much that act of withdrawal
hurt, I focused on the topic at hand. “What did he say? Does
he want to sit down and talk about it?”
“That’s literally the last thing he wants to do. I’m
thinking he would’ve been happiest ramming his fist in my
face.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.”
Sean looked at me over the top of his glass. “Trust me,
it’s true. This is more than anger. It’s like we’ve broken
some sacred fucking code and, along with it, killed the sweet
side of Bailey we knew.” He tipped the glass up and
swallowed the alcohol in one gulp.
“Maybe it’s just more time he needs? Then we can talk.”
“Xander, you’re not listening.”
“I am, but…what else can we do?”
Sean cut his eyes to mine, and that was when I saw it, the
answer I’d been dreading all day—ever since Bailey had
texted him.
End things. That was what that look said. End things now
and let them go back to the way they were. Or maybe not
even that. End things now and hope they would go back to
the way they were.
“Did he ask you to break up with me?”
Sean blinked, and the look from a second ago vanished.
 “Sean? Did Bailey ask you to end things with me?” Sean
lowered his eyes to the empty glass, and when he went to
refill it, I snatched the bottle out of his hand and got to my
feet. “Answer me.”
Sean looked up at me, and no words were needed.
“He did, didn’t he? Wow…” I turned my back on him so
he wouldn’t see the pain I could no longer hide. Not only was
I going to lose Bailey because of this, I was also going to lose
Sean. This was the one thing I’d feared most.
“What did you tell him?” I whispered, and when silence
was all that met me, I closed my eyes and asked again, a
little louder this time. “What did you tell him?”
“I told him that wasn’t going to happen.”
I slowly pivoted to face him. He was staring down at the
table, his eyes trained anywhere but on me.
“But maybe it should.”
If I hadn’t been looking directly at him, I might not have
believed the words I’d just heard. As it was, it took a couple
of seconds for me to digest. “Excuse me?”
Sean finally looked up, his dark blue eyes full of conflict
and pain. “Maybe it would be smarter to, I don’t know, put a
halt on this thing before it ruins something you can never
replace.”
Each new word out of Sean’s mouth was like a physical
blow to my body.
“This thing? I’m confused, Sean, because I thought this
thing was a relationship you wanted to fight for. Isn’t that
what you told me? That you didn’t want to lose me?”
“It is. It was. I just—” Sean shoved to his feet and took a
step toward me, and I took a giant one back. “I don’t want to
be the reason you and Bailey don’t talk anymore. What if this
desire, this moment with us, cools? What if I fuck it up
somehow? It just might be better to end it before it really
begins, you know? Are you really going to throw a lifetime of
friendship away for this?”
My stomach dropped as I stared at the man I’d stupidly
fallen in love with, and I swallowed back the bile rising in my
throat. I would not fall apart. Not here, not now. Falling apart
in Sean’s arms was what had landed me in this mess to begin
with.
“If you don’t know the answer to that, then I can’t help
you.” Sean took another step toward me and reached for my
hand. But I quickly drew it back. “Don’t.”
He looked off toward the hall that led to the front door,
then back to me. “I think I’m going to go out for a bit.”
It took everything I had not to beg him to stay. “Fine.”
Sean nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay.”
Then, without another word, he disappeared down the
hall. The last thing I heard was the sound of the key in the
deadbolt, and that was when it sank in that I was well and
truly…alone.
15
 SEAN

I’M AN IDIOT. Such a fucking idiot that it was difficult to

think of a time where I’d been more of one. I stood at the
foot of my drive and stared up at my house, and wondered if
Xander had put the chain on the door to keep me the hell out.
After the dumbass things I’d said to him today, I wouldn’t
blame him.
I scrubbed a hand over my face and shut my eyes. Jesus,
how had I managed to fuck this up so badly? Not only did my
brother hate my guts, now Xander was probably in there
packing his bags. But that was what I’d told him to do,
wasn’t it?
My chest tightened, and I rubbed the heel of my hand
over the ache. So this is what it was like to fall in love, huh?
Moments of blissed-out happiness coupled with moments of
pure torture? Apparently so. But sometime during my hours-
long tour of my neighborhood, I’d come to the conclusion
that I wouldn’t trade it in for a second.
“So what the hell are you doing standing out here,
moron?”
Good question, and the fact that I was now talking to
myself was probably a clear indicator that I wasn’t really in
the right frame of mind to make any monumental decisions
tonight—or any decisions, for that matter.
I made my way up the drive and tried the front door, fully
expecting the chain, but when it opened with no issue, I
stepped inside. All of the lights had been turned off, but as I
made my way past the living room, I noted the bottle of
bourbon and two glasses exactly where we’d left them.
The house was silent as I continued toward my bedroom,
and somewhere in the back of my mind I was sure I’d find
Xander with his bags packed, ready to leave. Instead, I found
the bedroom lights off, the curtains drawn, and Xander
curled up under the covers. The sheer relief that flooded me
was overwhelming.
I removed my clothes and climbed beneath the sheets,
and as I lay there staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but
wonder what he would do if I reached out and touched him.
As it turned out, I didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Are you ready to talk now?” Xander switched on the
bedside lamp and stared down at me, and his no-nonsense
expression coupled with his usually perfect hair sticking up
all over the place made me smile.
“I, uh, think so?”
Xander shoved me in the arm—hard. “You think so?”
Then he tossed the covers back and got to his feet. “Well,
you know what? I know so.”
His hands were on his hips now, and while I knew he was
dead serious and this was no time to get distracted, I was
finding it difficult to keep my eyes off the tiny scrap of
material covering…not that much.
“You don’t argue with someone, tell them you should
break up, and then walk out the damn door, Sean.”
Sensing that now probably wasn’t the right time to tell
him how spectacular he looked all pissed off, I kept those
thoughts to myself and dragged my eyes up to his face.
 “I know, I handled that—”
“Horribly?”
Yeah, that sounded about right. “I just… I didn’t know
what to do, okay? I still don’t.”
“So your solution is to just end things with me? Is that
what you really want?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it fucking matters.”
My eyes widened. I couldn’t remember ever seeing him so
worked up, so irate.
“You matter, Sean. When are you going to realize that?”
Xander’s words lingered in the air as I slowly pushed back
the covers and shifted to his side of the bed. When my feet
touched the ground, I took his hand and tugged him between
my legs.
His jaw was bunched and his lips were drawn into a thin,
tight line. He looked frustrated, irritated, and one hundred
percent ready to argue with me, and never in all my life had I
seen someone so damn appealing.
“I don’t want to end things.”
Xander looked off over my shoulder, and I shook his hand
to get his attention.
“I mean it.”
He bit down into his lower lip, the frustration turning to
hurt as his eyes roamed over my face. “Then why did you say
it?”
“Because I’m an idiot?”
Xander shook his head. “Try again.”
I thought back to the sadness in Bailey’s eyes, and now
the worry in Xander’s, and sighed. “Because I hate seeing
the people I love hurting.”
“Then why would you think leaving me was the right
thing to do?”
 “Because you were his first.” The words were out of my
mouth before I could even think them through.
Xander blinked, and his confusion was obvious. “So what
does that mean? That I never get to fall in love again?”
“No,” I said, and then finally voiced the one thing that
had been swirling around my head all afternoon: “You do.
Just maybe not with me.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.” Xander cradled my cheeks and tipped my face up
in his direction. “I can’t pick and choose who I fall in love
with. No more than you can.”
“But Bailey—”
“Is my friend. He’s someone I love dearly and respect. But
he doesn’t get to dictate my personal life, Sean, and he
shouldn’t be dictating yours, either.”
I let out a deep breath and shut my eyes, resting my
forehead on Xander’s stomach. “I hate this.”
“Me too.”
I took his hips in my hands and rubbed my cheek up
against his warm skin. “But I don’t want to lose you.”
Xander trailed his fingers down to my chin. “Then stop
pushing me away.”
“You’re right, I know that. It’s just—” I bit off my words,
not sure how to express what I was feeling.
“It’s just what?”
Xander’s eyes implored me to open up, to lay it all out
there and be vulnerable with him in ways I’d never been with
anyone else. I’d already given him my heart, but now it was
time to give him my soul.
“It’s easier to make someone leave than to be the one left
behind.”
“That’s true, but you seem to be forgetting. I’m not the
one who left. I’m the one standing here, begging you to
stay.”
16
 XANDER

THE ABSOLUTE TRUST radiating from Sean was something

I’d never seen from him before. But as he sat there at the
edge of his bed, I could sense the enormity of the moment.
Here was a man who, for as long as I could remember,
had held everyone in his life at arm’s length. Sure, he was
always there for them, was a big brother in the sense that he
gave his two little ones a hard time on every possible
occasion. But Sean was an absolute professional when it
came to hiding his feelings.
Hell, in these past few weeks, I’d learned more about Sean
Bailey than I had in over three decades, and what I’d
discovered had endeared him to me in ways I had never
imagined possible.
Not only had Sean endured years of backhanded insults
from a father who had more to be ashamed of than his son
ever would or could, but he’d also had the horrible burden of
informing his brothers of the secrets their father had been
keeping.
This man standing in front of me was so used to being
alone, so used to sacrificing himself to make those around
him happy, that here he was trying to do it again. But he had
another thing coming if he thought I was going to let him
fall on his sword for anyone this time around.
Yes, we could’ve handled the way Bailey found out about
us better. But did that mean we had to throw away what we’d
found together in an attempt to make peace?
“I love you,” I said, and swept my thumb across the
stubble on his cheek. “I appreciate what it is you thought you
were doing by telling me we should end this. But my answer
is no. I’m not letting you do it, Sean.”
Sean opened his mouth, about to argue his point, but I
shook my head.
“No. I understand you think this is the only way to fix
this. But you’re wrong.”
“But Bailey—”
“Has nothing to do with this decision.” I moved down to
my knees between his and settled there. “This relationship is
between you and me. Not Bailey. He’s happy and in love with
Henri. Don’t you deserve something like that? Don’t I? We’re
all adults here. Surely we can act like it.”
Sean’s jaw bunched under my palm, and he looked off
over my shoulder. But I gently brought him back to face me.
“What do you want?”
Sean looked into my eyes with a desperate kind of
longing, and I finally understood the reason he did it. Why
he threw himself down to protect those around him. Because
if he was about to send me away, I was willing to fall on that
sword for just another hour in his arms.
“Sean? If you want me, then I’m right here ready to fight
for this with you. But if you plan to end this for brotherly
love, then make sure it’s your decision. Not someone else’s.”
Sean’s eyes shimmered as he drew me up between his
legs, and my breath caught. His lips ghosted gently across
mine, and as a tear escaped and rolled down my cheek, he
brushed it away with his thumb.
 “I’m not ending anything with you, anchorman. I love
you.”
His lips at my temple made the tears fall a little faster.
“Hey, stop that. We’ll work this out. I promise.”
Sean stroked my back, and then I pulled away to look him
in the eye. “If you ever do that to me again…”
Sean slowly smiled and shrugged. “What can I say? I’m an
idiot.”
“You’re not an idiot. You’re a strong, self-sacrificing man
who thinks about everyone’s feelings, sometimes to the
detriment of his own. But this time, Sean, I need you to think
about what you want.”
“I’m looking at it.”
My smile was instant, and Sean took my hand and tugged
me to my feet.
“Come back to bed,” he said as he scooted across the
mattress and drew me down by his side.
I slipped my hands under the pillow.
“When did you become my favorite thing to look at?”
Damn, there went my heart. “About the same time you
became a serious smooth talker.”
Sean traced his fingers down the side of my face to my
chin. “I mean it. This face of yours, it’s not only stunning to
look at, it gives me purpose. You give me purpose. You make
me want to be the one who fixes things, and is all brave and
strong. You give me a reason to want to come home at
night.”
I shifted the final few inches closer to him, then I closed
my eyes and pressed a fierce but tender kiss to his lips.
“Exactly. A reason to come home…to me. You don’t need to
be the brave one who sacrifices himself this time. You just
need to be here. That’s what I need. I’ll work this out with
Bailey. But not at the expense of you. I need you in my life,
Sean. Right here beside me. Because without you, nothing
makes sense anymore.”
Sean rolled over until his arms were by my head and
settled between my legs. “I’m not going anywhere.”
I wound my arms around him, holding him in place.
“Promise?”
“Promise. I kind of love where I am right now.”
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. I could feel his heart
thumping in time with mine and knew we would be okay as
long as we stuck together.
“Sean?”
Sean looked down at me and brushed his fingers through
the strands of hair lying across my forehead. “Hmm?”
“I think I’m going to reach out to Bailey tomorrow. Invite
him to my birthday.” Silence fell between us, and I couldn’t
decide if Sean thought my idea was good or completely
pointless.
“It’s kind of a tradition we used to have,” I added. “We
never miss a birthday, ever. And I know he doesn’t want to
talk to me, but that doesn’t mean I should give up, right?”
Sean flashed his crooked smile that always made my
world make sense. “I think it’s a great idea. Maybe it’ll
help.”
“Maybe. We’ll see.”
Sean pulled me into his arms. “Sleep. I’ve kept you up late
enough as it is.”
“True. But at least we can sleep in tomorrow.”
“Now there’s an idea.” Sean kissed my temple and
smoothed his hand down my side. “How about we spend
tomorrow right here in bed?”
I tugged his arms around me tight and nodded. He didn’t
need to convince me—in his arms was exactly where I
wanted to stay.
17
 SEAN

AS I PULLED into my spot down at the precinct Tuesday

morning, I caught sight of Nichols climbing out of a sweet
new ride and let out a loud whistle.
For as long as I’d known him, Nichols had been driving
around the same beat-up Ford Escort that had a door that
wouldn’t open and three windows that were permanently up.
We’d always given him shit and taken his car on stakeouts
because it was the only one we were willing to lose.
But as I came around the hood of my SUV to stop by the
sleek black Dodge Charger he was locking up, I had to admit
to feeling slightly envious.
“So what’d you have to promise the missus to get her
permission to buy this bad boy?”
Nichols smirked as we headed toward the station. “What
makes you think I had to promise her anything?”
“Because you’ve been driving around the same piece-of-
shit car since I’ve known you.”
“True. But her car was in the shop this weekend, and
when she got stuck at the mall in said piece-of-shit car, the
wife decided it was time to upgrade. Apparently the ninety-
five-degree heat and no windows didn’t agree with her.”
 I chuckled as I reached for the door and pulled it wide.
“So she let you go out and buy the first muscle car you laid
eyes on?”
“A minivan was the plan. Then she saw me in that and
decided we should work on filling the minivan instead.”
Nichols winked at me, and I winced. “Okay, TMI, man,
but good for you. Never thought I’d see the day you were
driving something made in this decade.”
I waved to the desk sergeant as we continued on to the
bullpen, where several other detectives were changing out
shifts and arriving for the morning.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m just happy to have AC back in
my life. I was seriously thinking of renting that old thing out
as a sweatbox during the summer for extra income.”
“Hey, with what they pay us around here, I don’t blame
you.”
When we reached our desks, I tossed my keys down and
powered up my computer. I pulled my chair out, about to
plant my ass in it, when Wagner—my least favorite person
on the fucking planet—leaned back in his and caught my
eye.
“Funny that you’re bitching about pay. Would’ve thought
you’d be set up nice and good after protecting the golden boy
of national news.”
The speculation over my paycheck from the job with
Xander had run wild throughout the precinct, since most of
us picked up secondary jobs when we wanted to earn some
extra cash. Wagner, however, had been particularly vocal
about it. Hardly surprising, since the guy was a fucking
parasite who complained monthly about paying child
support.
But I wasn’t in the mood for his bullshit this morning.
“Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but I didn’t do
it for the paycheck. I did it because he was in trouble and
asked for help.”
“Is that right?” Wagner shoved back from his desk and
got to his feet, and not about to get into this with him, I
turned my back on him. “Because according to this, you did
it for a piece of ass.”
When a magazine landed on the desk in front of me, I
looked down to see a double-spread article with the headline
UNDERCOVER BODYGUARD TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW
MEANING. JUST HOW CLOSELY DID HE GUARD THORNE’S
BODY? splashed across the top.
Beneath that were photographs of Xander and yours truly
holding hands outside of Luigi’s, and then inside in the back
corner enjoying each other almost as much as our meal.
I managed to get about three sentences into the article
before the words began to blur. But I read enough to put
together the fact that someone over at Entertainment Now!
had discovered my name, real job as a detective, and decided
that, somewhere during their little narrative, I had taken my
job as Xander’s bodyguard to a whole other level by getting
extra close with him under the covers.
It was actually pretty spot-on, but it wouldn’t have been
my first choice to come out of the closet to the men now
gathering behind me.
I picked up the magazine and flipped it shut like I wasn’t
bothered by it in the least. Then I swiveled in my chair to
face Wagner. “Didn’t picture you as the type to keep up with
the Kardashians.”
He snatched the magazine out of my hand and sneered at
me. “Yeah, well, I didn’t picture you as the type to stick your
dick in another guy for some extra cash. Guess you never
really know someone, huh?”
I was on my feet and toe to toe with the asshole before he
had a chance to blink. “What did you just say?”
 “You heard me.” Wagner angled his chin up, and I shoved
him back a step, needing him out of my face before I broke
his.
“You need to walk away from me right fucking now.”
Nichols got in between us then. I couldn’t tell what he
was thinking, but as I took in the surprise on my other
workmates’ faces a red haze started to color my vision.
Wagner straightened his shoulders and then held the
magazine up for everyone to see.
“It’s all right here, guys. Feel free to have a read during
your downtime today.” His lip curled in a way that made his
face even uglier. “No wonder Thorne picked you to watch
over him. Figured he’d get his money’s worth. Someone to
protect his ass and fuck it.”
That was it. I shoved forward with all my might, trying
my best to muscle past Nichols, but damn, the man must’ve
been lifting some serious weights. I couldn’t get past him. Or
maybe it was an inner survival instinct holding me back,
because if I got my hands on Wagner, I was going to kill the
motherfucker.
“He’s not worth it,” Nichols muttered, as Wagner
sauntered back toward his desk, and the nosy assholes who’d
come to check out the commotion began to disperse.
When it was clear I finally had my shit back under
control, Nichols grabbed my coffee mug and said, “Not sure
this is wise, but let’s go get you some caffeine.”
I followed him, acutely aware of the eyes still on me as we
made our way toward the break room. Once we were inside, I
took a seat at the table and watched in silence as Nichols
went about making the coffee. I was still trying to wrap my
head around what had happened. One minute we’d been
joking about his hot new ride, and the next Wagner had
decided to out me in front of all my peers.
 Fuck. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of Xander and what we
had, but the way he’d come after Xander, degraded him in
that way…fuck that. I wasn’t about to let some asshole talk
about him that way, and if I had to shut Wagner’s mouth
with my fist, then so be it.
“You okay over there?”
I turned to look Nichols’ way. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
Nichols gestured to the newspaper on the table that I’d
crumpled into a fist. “You seem a little tense.”
“Can you blame me? Wagner’s a piece of shit. He’s lucky
his teeth are all still in his mouth.”
“Agreed. He was pushing it.”
“Pushing it?” I sat back in the seat and kicked my legs out
in front of me, crossing my arms and legs. “That fucker was
asking for it. He’s a homophobic dickwad who couldn’t find
someone to sleep with him even if he paid them.”
Nichols slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned
back against the kitchen counter. “Agreed again. But he’s not
worth your job.”
“I know.”
Nichols slowly nodded. “Good, and I’m sure that’s the
last thing Xander would want. You to lose your job because of
him.”
“You’re not wrong there. He’d kick my ass.”
“And I’d pay to see it.”
“I bet you would.” The room fell silent for a second, and
then I said, “Aren’t you going to ask?”
“No.”
“No?”
He shook his head. “It’s none of my business.”
Huh. I got to my feet, and when I reached his side, Nichols
bumped shoulders with me.
“Plus, I’ve known about you two since you asked me to
come and help that night of the awards. I think it’s great.
Xander makes you a nicer person to be around, and that in
my books makes him A-okay.”
I smirked and shook my head. “I don’t know how it
happened—it just did.”
“That’s how you know it’s real. Who the hell knows why
we fall in love? We just do. Count yourself lucky, man, and
hold on to him with both hands. But if he asks you to buy a
minivan…”
“Yeah?”
“Make sure he sees you sitting in a Dodge Charger first.
It’s a game changer.”
18
 XANDER

“I SWEAR, IF your ass isn’t in my makeup chair in the next

thirty seconds, I’m going to send Marcus to your office to
personally escort you over.”
I grinned at Cynthia’s put-out tone as she reprimanded
me over the phone. I was usually in her seat forty-five
minutes before I went on air. I always complained she could
do it in less, but as she constantly liked to point out, the time
block had nothing to do with her skill and competence, but
with all of the interruptions, pop-up emergencies, and last-
minute changes to my write-up.
Twenty minutes for makeup, and twenty-five minutes to
avoid disaster. Right now, I was eating into her time block.
“I’ll be over there in—”
“Ten seconds or less if you want to live to get on air
tonight.”
I pushed to my feet. “I’m on my way.”
She’d already hung up before I could attempt the word
goodbye, and I clicked on my email inbox one last time to
refresh it. When no new mail popped up, I sighed, grabbed
my phone, and headed for the door.
All day today—and yesterday—I’d been refreshing and
checking my emails like I was paid to do so. But as I headed
across the newsroom toward the dressing rooms, I knew I
needed to chill out and focus on the job I was actually there
to do.
That was easier said than done, though. Yesterday
morning I’d reached out to Bailey regarding my birthday this
coming weekend, and even though I knew he wanted nothing
to do with me right now, I’d blindly hoped that this would be
the one thing he wouldn’t be able to ignore.
Birthdays were our thing. They always had been, ever
since we were boys. No matter how old we were turning, who
we were dating, or what was going on in our work lives, we
always showed up for the other’s birthday. We hadn’t missed
one in all the years we’d been friends.
I was just about to pull the door to the dressing room
open when my phone vibrated. But instead of the text I was
hoping for, it was my mother letting me know that they
would be arriving in Chicago Friday. I sent her a quick
message asking if she needed me to send a car or pick them
up, but she assured me they would be fine and she’d be in
touch. Then, because I’m a pathetic human being, I
refreshed my email one more time—
“Alexander Thorne, get in here now!”
—no new messages.
I sighed, shut the damn thing off, and then pushed
through the dressing room door to see not only Cynthia, but
Ryan, who was currently sitting in my makeup chair.
“I’m sorry, but did you get lost?” I said, as Ryan spun
around and closed the magazine he was reading. “Your desk
is out in front of mine.”
Cynthia was leaning back against the bench that housed
her makeup and hair-styling products. I looked between the
two of them, and the curious expressions on their faces
made me frown.
 Something was going on, something more than me
running late. “Okay, what’s happening here?”
“Huh? What do you mean?” Cynthia smiled a little too
brightly as I walked in. Then I eyed Ryan.
“What?”
“You look guilty. Or…like you’re hiding something. Like
you’re both hiding something. So, I’ll ask again. What’s
going on?”
Ryan turned his attention to Cynthia, who shrugged, then
he held out the magazine to me and said, “Page twenty-
five.”
I frowned, took the magazine, and flipped it open to
where I’d been told. There, staring back at me in bright
colors, were images of Sean and me outside of Luigi’s. In one
we were holding hands, in another, Sean was kissing my
cheek, and across the top was the headline UNDERCOVER
BODYGUARD TAKES ON A WHOLE NEW MEANING. JUST
HOW CLOSELY DID HE GUARD THORNE’S BODY?
Oh. My. God. I took in the two-page spread again and then
skimmed over the article, and as the words began to sink in,
I knew exactly why Ryan and Cynthia looked so scandalized.
There, laid out in clear detail, was Sean’s name, his real
job as a detective with the Chicago Police Department, and
the fact he’d been undercover as my boyfriend the whole
time to protect me from my crazed stalker. A fact that
neither Cynthia or Ryan had known until—I was guessing—
right this second.
I opened my mouth, trying to think of what I was going to
say to them, but for once in my life, I had nothing. How had
this happened? Who had talked to them? Shit. I needed to call
Sean.
I held up a finger, about to tell Cynthia to give me a sec,
but she said, “Don’t even think about going anywhere until
you sit your ass in that chair and tell us in very explicit detail
how you made your sexy undercover boyfriend fall in love
with you for real. Because, honey, we want to know.”
I let out a chuckle and nodded. “I will, I promise. But I
need to go and call Sean really quick. If he hasn’t seen this
already, he’s going to be shocked, to say the least.”
“Uh, the very least. Did you read this part?” Ryan
snatched the magazine back. “‘Chicago Police Detective Sean
Bailey was brought in undercover to play the role of
Alexander Thorne’s boyfriend in an effort to apprehend Mr.
Thorne’s stalker back at the beginning of this month. I think
we can all agree he excelled at this particular job, and it
seems that this role is one that the detective has decided to
step into in real life. Don’t they make a handsome couple?’”
Ryan held the magazine to his chest and nodded at me. “Very
handsome.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And you are a big, bad liar.”
“So is he…Bailey’s brother?” Cynthia grimaced as though
she already knew the answer to that.
“Yes. His oldest brother. I’ve known Sean most of my
life.”
“And you never dated?”
“Uh, no. Sean is—was always straight.”
Ryan’s jaw all but hit the floor. “I can’t believe this. You
ended up with a hot cop who not only saved your life, but fell
in love with you and switched sides? What am I saying, of
course you did. You’re Alexander Thorne.”
“Yes, my life is a real walk in the park.”
“Wow. We have a lot to talk about.” Cynthia pointed her
comb at me. “Go make your call, but hurry. I still need to
make you gorgeous, and you still need to give us the dirty
details.”
I nodded and fished my phone from my pocket as I backed
out the door. As it swung closed behind me, I sent off a quick
text to Sean warning him about the article. I was about to
head back inside when my cell vibrated in my hand. I glanced
down at it, and the name on screen took the wind out of my
sails.
I leaned against the wall and stared at the message
bubble: BAILEY. For a moment I’d almost forgotten I’d been
waiting to hear back from him. But now that he’d responded,
I almost didn’t want to open it. Just seeing his name there
was more than I’d gotten from him in weeks, and I didn’t
want that ruined if the message inside was anything less
than positive.
I took a deep breath in and then told myself to stop being
such a coward, then clicked on the message and waited for it
to open. What I saw staring back at me made my eyes blur.
Tell me what time and where. We never miss birthdays.
I closed my eyes and fell back against the wall, my knees
threatening to give out. I’d been wondering if he would
remember, and now I had my answer. He might be angry
with me, and hurt by what had happened, but he wasn’t
ready to give up on us any more than I was, and that gave me
a glimmer of hope.
19
 SEAN

“SEAN?”
XANDER’S VOICE carried up the hallway as he shut the
front door, and I was struck by the power he had to calm me
by merely calling out my name.
All day I’d been dealing with curious looks, whispers
behind my back, and more phone calls than I’d ever received
in my life. That one article in Entertainment Now! had set off
a chain reaction I’d had no hope of stopping.
I’d dealt with it, one fire after another, but as I sat in my
living room, where there was nothing but all this loud noise
in my head, I’d never been more thankful to see Xander walk
through the door.
“Sean? Are you in here?”
“I’m here,” I said, and Xander stepped into the room.
“Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“I needed some peace and quiet.”
Xander shrugged out of his jacket, then tossed it over the
arm of the love seat. “It was a long day.”
No shit. It wasn’t every day that your face and love life
ended up in the gossip magazines. By six o’clock it had been
all over the entertainment news shows too. “Yeah, it was.”
 Xander loosened his tie and was about to move to the love
seat when I reached for his wrist.
“Sit with me.”
He looked down at my lap and then sat across it. I pushed
my toes to the floor, making the recliner rock.
“You okay? I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call. I only
found out about the article before hair and makeup.” Xander
searched my face for some kind of response, and if he’d
asked me an hour or so ago, my answer would’ve been a
definite no.
But as I sat with him in my arms, I realized I didn’t care
who knew we were together. The genie was out of the bottle
—or the closet—and I wasn’t about to stuff it back in.
“Sean?”
“Yeah, sorry. What?”
“I asked if you were okay.”
I stroked my hand up and down his thigh and nodded. “I
am now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Things were a little hectic today, but this is exactly
what I needed.”
“Me in your lap?”
“Always.”
Xander frowned. “Did you read the article?”
After Wagner had all but shoved it down my throat, I’d
gone back and found it online. So by the time Xander had
sent the text warning me about it, I’d well and truly had that
sucker memorized.
“Yeah, I read it.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know where they got all their
information from. But rest assured I’m going to track that
person down and give them hell.”
Although he was being dead serious, I couldn’t help but
smile. “Hell, huh?”
 “Yes. That was a huge violation of our privacy. They had
no right to tell people what they did, and there was only a
handful of people who knew.”
“It’s okay—”
“It’s not okay.”
“Well, no, but…” I took in a deep breath and then let it
out. “Everything that was in there was true. Who I am, why I
was there, that I’ve fallen in love with you. It’s all true,
Xander. I don’t give a fuck who knows that. I just wish I’d
had a bit of a heads-up so that dipshit Wagner didn’t have
the chance to get under my skin the he way he did.”
Xander’s lips twitched. “Does he still have all his teeth?”
“Yeah, thanks to Nichols. But it was close.”
“I don’t doubt it. I remember the way you used to, um,
discuss your differences with people.”
I kissed the side of Xander’s head and grinned. “That was
a long time ago. I don’t get into random fistfights anymore.
I’ve grown up, become more levelheaded.”
Xander turned to look at me, a skeptical expression on his
face. “Since when?”
“Since a couple months ago.”
“Ahh, that’s interesting.”
“It is, isn’t it?” I kissed his lips. “I started dating this
classy, sophisticated guy who makes me want to be…”
“Makes you want to be what?”
“The man he sees when he looks at me.”
“You are that man. You’ve always been that man, Sean.”
Unable to help myself, I lowered my head and stole the
sweetest kiss I’d ever had in my life. It was gentle but
passionate, and spoke of the connection that neither of us
had expected but now both craved.
“I love you.” Xander cradled my cheek and looked me
directly in the eye. “All of you. The rough-and-tumble side
that I grew up with, and this sweet, sexy side that I’m just
now discovering. I love it all. And I wouldn’t change a thing.”
I kissed the palm of his hand and then drew it down to
cover my heart. We sat there in comfortable silence, letting
the moment settle around us.
My entire life I’d always felt alone in some capacity, even
though I was part of a large family. Two brothers, a loving
mother, and a father who was always there, even though at
times I wished he hadn’t been.
But unlike Bailey, who had made friends wherever he
went, and Kieran, who had found his place in the fire
department and made “friends” with any woman who
looked his way, I’d always had a difficult time connecting
with others, preferring to keep them at arm’s length rather
than invite them in.
It wasn’t a mystery as to why. My relationship with my
father was nothing but a wall I’d built over time to
eventually keep him out. I just hadn’t realized that that
barrier also stood between me and everyone else as well.
I’d always felt excluded from the mix, and I’d done a
really good job of pretending I was okay with that—until
now. Until this moment right here. I’d never felt more
present or more connected with someone as I did Xander.
“Sean?”
“Hmm.”
Xander straightened up so he could look at me. “I know a
lot has happened today already, but there’s something else I
need to talk to you about.”
The seriousness of his tone made my pulse thump a little
faster. I tried to think of what else could’ve possibly
happened—but then it hit me. I’d been so caught up in this
magazine and the article that I’d almost forgotten the other
issue when it came to the two of us: Bailey.
20
 XANDER

“IT’S ABOUT BAILEY, isn’t it?”

One thing I’d come to learn during the time that I’d spent
with Sean was that not much got by him. He was smart,
intuitive, and perceptive as hell. He was also a professional
at reading me, apparently.
“Yes.”
Sean took my hand, weaving our fingers together as
though he was afraid I was about to leave. “He reached out to
you?”
I couldn’t help my smile. “Tonight, just before I went on
air.”
“I assume it was good, judging by the look on your face.”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m just happy he wrote me
back.”
Sean squeezed my fingers. “What’d he say?”
“Well, you know how I asked him about my birthday?”
“Yeah.”
I shifted on Sean’s lap to pull my phone from my pocket.
Then I opened the messages and handed it over. I held my
breath as Sean read the first response I’d gotten in weeks
from Bailey. Then he handed the phone back and nodded.
“That definitely seems like a step in the right direction.”
 I looked down at the words I’d been over analyzing all
night: Tell me what time and where. We never miss
birthdays. Then I looked back to Sean. “You really think so?”
“I mean, it’s more than I expected after talking to him
this past weekend. So maybe he’s had time to think things
through. Maybe Henri finally talked some sense into him.”
I wanted to believe that, and had tried to convince myself
of it. But I wasn’t naive enough to believe that just because
my birthday was coming up, everything would magically
right itself and Bailey would forget why he was ignoring me
in the first place. Especially when faced with Sean and me
together.
“I don’t know.” I shut the phone and slipped it onto the
side table. “It seems a little too good to be true.”
“No.” Sean pulled me into him and wrapped his arms
around me. “It seems like Bailey, the old Bailey. You’re
important to him, Xander. He’s not going to let years of
friendship go down the drain because of who you’re dating.”
“Even if it’s his brother?”
“Even then. He’s not that stupid. Now, if it was Kieran—”
I shoved him in the arm, and Sean chuckled.
“I’m just kidding. But in all seriousness, Bay isn’t the
kind to hold a grudge. I’m actually surprised he’s carried this
on for as long as he has.”
“He’s hurting.”
“Yeah. But so are you, and the sooner you two can get
together and talk about it, the better.”
I agreed but then had a horrible thought. “Maybe my
birthday isn’t the best place for us to reunite. Do you think I
should try to see if he wants to meet up before then?”
“I mean, it’s not a terrible idea. But it’s not like you two
are going to have a drag-out fistfight in front of friends and
family.”
 True, Bailey and I weren’t the type to settle things with a
wrestling match. But still, I didn’t want things to be
awkward. Maybe I should call him? See if he wanted to meet
up. But then I thought about his message again. If he wanted
to meet up in advance, he would’ve said so. But he’d been
pretty specific in what he was willing to do at this stage. I
shouldn’t push my luck.
“You’re right. I’m sure it’ll be fine. He wouldn’t have
agreed if he felt uncomfortable.”
“Exactly. Plus, Boudreaux will be there to keep an eye on
Bailey. He wants the two of you to make up also. He’s going
to do everything he can to get you two talking.”
I pressed a kiss to Sean’s jaw. “Okay, I’ll leave it alone.
I’m just happy he got back to me.”
“Me too. But I think this is the perfect way to restart
things.”
I nodded and then shifted off Sean’s lap so I could get to
my feet. “You want a nightcap before bed?”
Sean stood and took my hands in his, drawing me in close
and wrapping my arms around behind his back.
“Nah, I realized tonight, while waiting here for you, that I
don’t need that anymore. Not to calm me down or to get me
through a shit day at work.”
“No?”
“No. I just need you.”
My stomach flipped, and I took a step back. But, not
wanting to end this moment we were sharing, I took his
hand in mine.
“I really am sorry about the magazine. I know it couldn’t
have been easy dealing with the guys at work.”
Sean shrugged. “I don’t give a shit about the guys at
work. The only person I was slightly concerned with was
Nichols, since I have to sit in a car with him. But you know
what?”
 “What?”
“He already knew. Told me that you make me more
tolerable, so you’re all right in his books.”
“More tolerable?”
“Yeah, something about being more human and less of a
grumpy shit.”
“Hmm, sweet maybe?”
Sean snorted. “I’m pretty sure that’s the last fucking
thing Nichols would think of me. But since I’m not sleeping
with him, I don’t really care.”
“Good to know.”
“Yeah, I figured you were worried.”
“So worried.” I laughed as I headed off down the hall,
tugging Sean along behind me. “But I bet I can think of
something that will help keep me on your mind, even when
I’m not around.”
Sean pulled me into his arms, then lowered his mouth by
my ear. “I don’t ever need help thinking about you,
anchorman. Not ever. And if that makes me sweet, then I
guess you’re going to get a fucking toothache, because that’s
not about to stop, ever.”
I turned my face until we were nose to nose and gently
kissed his lips. “Well, how about you take me to bed and
show me how sweet you are ‘under the covers.’”
Sean frowned, and then started to laugh. “Okay, that was
bad, especially for you.”
Not bothered in the least, I headed off toward his
bedroom and called out over my shoulder, “That’s because it
wasn’t my work. But if you hurry up and get naked, I’ll do
my very best to research the story under discussion and
come up with a much better headline.”
Clearly Sean was all about the work, because in the blink
of an eye he was naked and pulling me into bed, determined
to help me research my next big—very big—story.
21
 SEAN

THE VIBRATING OF a phone on the bedside table made my

eyes open Friday morning before my alarm had a chance to
go off. It was still dark outside, but as the phone lit up the
room and continued its relentless wake-up call, Xander
groaned and stretched in my arms.
“It’s yours,” I grumbled as his ass nestled against my
morning erection, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the
sensation before he scooted out of my arms, reaching for the
still-vibrating cell.
I yawned and rolled to my back before looking to the clock
to see it was five forty-five, and figured whoever was calling
must have something to do with work.
The last thing I expected when he flicked on the bedside
light was to hear, “Hi, Mom, how are you?”
I winced at the bright light, and when my eyes adjusted
and I rolled over to face him, Xander looked down and
mouthed, Sorry.
“No, no, you didn’t wake me. Just lying around in bed.
You know I’m always up early.”
I eyed Xander’s lap where the sheet was doing a horrible
job of concealing his hard-on, and then chuckled when he
shoved me to my back.
 “You just arrived? That was an early flight.” Xander
paused, listened, and then nodded. “The front desk at my
place is expecting you and have put two keys aside. I also had
the place cleaned and aired out, since I haven’t been back
there for a while.”
Xander gave me a half-smile, and I knew without him
even saying it that he was thinking he’d overstayed his
welcome here. But just to be clear that that was not the case,
I reached for his hand, squeezed it, and whispered, “Not
letting you ever go back.”
His eyes softened as I kissed his knuckles, then he went
back to chatting with his mom. I settled back on the
mattress, content to lie there and relax to the soothing
sound of his smooth voice. Not a difficult task at all—just
ask his millions of viewers each night. But when you added
in the sleep-mussed hair, the easy smile curving his lips,
and the pure joy lighting his eyes as he conversed with his
mom, Xander was real easy to sit and watch—or lie and
watch, as it was.
After a few minutes of small talk about the flight and
their plans for their week in Chicago, the talk switched to
Sunday and Xander’s birthday. I heard him discuss a time
and if she wanted him to do anything, and when they started
to argue over her response—which had clearly been no—
Xander finally gave in with a sigh.
“Well, don’t go to crazy, okay? You’re supposed to be up
here relaxing, not planning some extravagant get-together
for me.”
There were a few more words and then Xander glanced
down at me with an odd look on his face. “Tonight?”
I arched an eyebrow, and Xander smirked.
“Mhmm,” he said into the phone, then nodded. “That
works. Okay, sounds good. You and Dad go settle in and get
some rest. I will, promise. Love you. Bye.”
 Xander ended the call and placed his phone back on the
bedside table, then he scooted down under the covers and
turned on his side to face me.
“Mom says hi.”
My eyes widened, and he chuckled.
“You look positively horrified. What’s bothering you
more? The idea that my mother is saying hello to you, or the
fact she knows you were lying in bed next to me?”
“The second one.”
Xander laughed louder.
“And that’s funny why?”
“Because you look like she’s about to walk through that
door and chase you out with a broom or something.”
“I wouldn’t put it past her. Your mom is kind of scary.”
“No she’s not.” Xander grinned. “She’s lovely.”
“She once threatened to tell my mom I was sneaking out
at night when she caught me climbing your back fence.”
Xander bit down on his lip, his shoulders shaking as he
tried to hold back his laugh. “Well, in her defense, you were
kind of a delinquent.”
“I was a seventeen-year-old boy.”
“And she was a high school teacher. Trust me, she had
your number.”
“And yet here you are wondering why I’m worried she
knows I’m in your bed.”
“Technically”—Xander moved under the covers until he
was lying over the top of me, and then he winked—“I’m in
your bed.”
“Same thing.” I grabbed his ass and arched up into him,
grinding my stiff dick against his. “I hardly think I’m what
she had in mind for her golden boy.”
“Maybe…maybe not.” Xander kissed his way up to my ear
and whispered, “That’s why she wants us to all have dinner
tonight.”
 My entire body froze. He raised his head to look down at
me, eyes twinkling with mischief.
“You’re serious right now?”
“Do I look serious?”
Yeah, he did. He also looked seriously hot. His cheeks were
flushed, his lips were swollen, and the hopeful look in his
eyes told me this was something he really wanted—me to
meet his parents.
“Are you sure?” I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy people
lined up to take home to their parents.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Xander laughed and leaned down to kiss
me. “But only if you want to. I realize it’s a big step, and she
kind of sprang it on us—”
“I want to,” I said before he could finish, and no one was
more shocked than me that I actually meant it. “I’ve just
never gone home to meet the parents before.”
“Will you settle for a restaurant?”
“Hmm. I think I can remember which knife and fork to
eat my appetizer and entree with.”
“I wouldn’t care if you didn’t. I just want you there.”
Any shock or panic I’d felt at the idea of a sit-down
dinner with Xander’s parents vanished. He seemed so
genuinely pleased at the idea that his excitement was
difficult to ignore.
“You look way too happy right now.”
“What? I shouldn’t be happy to introduce my boyfriend to
my parents?”
“You should, but considering your parents already know
me and probably think I’m a heathen—”
“They know the teenage Sean.”
“That’s even worse,” I said, making Xander laugh.
“Stop worrying.”
“Easier said than done.”
 Xander lowered his head and began to kiss his way down
my neck. “Well, maybe I can help distract you.”
My dick stood up and paid attention to that. Xander threw
the covers back and began to kiss and lick his way across my
chest. I shut my eyes and ran my fingers through his hair,
and when Xander circled my nipple with his tongue, I thrust
my hips up against him.
He scraped his teeth over the spot he’d just licked, and
when I twisted my hands in his hair and jerked his head up,
Xander’s eyes met mine and he grinned.
“Distracted yet?”
I rubbed my cock up against his and licked my lips.
“Getting there.”
With his eyes on mine, Xander lowered his head and
licked a path up the center of my sternum. “I wonder what
else I could do to take your mind off things?”
I had plenty of ideas, and they all revolved around his
mouth on a very specific part of me. Something Xander
agreed with, clearly, because he went back to kissing his way
down my torso, where he traced all the ridges and grooves
with that wicked tongue.
Goddamn, he was driving me crazy. Then he opened his
mouth and sucked the tip of my cock between his lips.
“Fuckin’ hell,” I said, and slammed my eyes shut.
Xander shifted further down the bed until he was on his
stomach between my thighs. He lowered his lips down my
throbbing shaft, and I arched up into it.
All thoughts other than his hands, mouth, and the sexy
sucking sounds left my mind. I was too busy now thinking
about how I could prolong the pleasure he was giving, so I
could stay lodged in his talented mouth.
“Xander,” I growled, fisting my hands in his hair.
He drew his lips up my length, and when his lust-hazed
eyes found mine, I shook. Christ, he was so damn hot, and
with those sinful lips all sticky and swollen from my dick, he
looked like sex personified.
Unable to stop myself, I reached down and swiped my
thumb across his full lower lip. He sucked it inside.
“Distracted?”
“So fucking distracted, I can’t even remember my own
goddamn name.”
Xander’s smile was downright devilish as he lowered his
head back between my thighs. By the time six a.m. rolled
around, the only thing I could remember was that Xander
had a really talented mouth—and I thanked God it was mine.
22
 XANDER

“SO JUST HOW fancy is this place?”

I smiled at Sean’s question as I leaned back in my chair
and stared out at the city lights of Chicago. I’d just finished
up with my broadcast for the night and was waiting for him
to arrive so we could head out to meet my parents.
I was looking forward to tonight, but I had to admit, I was
a little nervous about my mother’s initial reaction to me
dating Bailey’s brother. I hoped it wouldn’t be an issue, and
my mother wasn’t the type to intentionally start trouble. But
with everything as touchy as it was right now, the last thing
I needed was any doubt in Sean’s mind when it came to the
two of us. Mine either, for that matter.
She had texted and asked if we’d be free to meet them at
JULIEN at around nine. Thrilled at the opportunity to visit
one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago, I’d sent a
confirmation and then let Sean know what time to meet me.
“Uh…define fancy?”
Sean’s groan made me smirk as I got to my feet and
headed to the window. I’d missed this view. The buildings,
the lights, the hustle and bustle of a city that never really
slept. But at the same time, I wouldn’t give up the peaceful
nights I had in Sean’s arms. For the first time in my life, I
truly had some balance between work and life, and I
wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.
“Let’s see…” I grinned, and when I spotted my ridiculous
smile in the reflection, I shook my head. I was in so deep
with Sean that I wouldn’t care if he turned up wearing a
burlap sack. But I wasn’t about to let him know that. “Are
you wearing a tie?”
There was a pause, and then Sean cursed. “No. Do I need
to wear a tie?”
I almost laughed at the panic in his voice. Sean was
usually so blasé about things, not caring what people
thought one way or another. But the second he’d found out
my parents wanted to have dinner, he’d been…spinning out.
“You didn’t tell me I needed to wear a tie.”
Of course I hadn’t. There wasn’t a dress code for the
place. But Sean didn’t know that, and I was going to file this
little moment under the “payback” column…for the frog.
“I didn’t?”
“No. You didn’t.”
My lips twitched. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure
whatever you’re wearing is fine, and if you want a tie, I have
plenty to spare here.”
There was a pause, and it took everything I had not to put
him out of his misery, but then Sean sighed.
“I mean, I suppose that’d work. Especially if you don’t
think I look the part.”
I was about to tell him I was just playing around with him
when a sound at my office door had me turning around to
see—Sean.
Standing in my doorway with his shoulder resting against
the frame, Sean held his phone to his ear and wore a smile
just this side of arrogant. He was dressed in all black from
his shiny shoes to the pressed pants and button-up shirt.
He’d left his collar open a couple of buttons at the neck, and
the jacket he’d paired with the outfit molded to his broad
shoulders and arms like it was designed specifically for him.
He looked smoking hot, and knew it. Like the kind of man
you wanted to take home and to your bed. The kind of man
your mother warned you to stay away from, not bring to
dinner.
“Evening, anchorman.”
If I’d thought Sean looked devastating, the deep, velvety
sound of him saying my name just about melted me to the
ground.
“Hello.”
Sean slowly lowered his phone, ended the call, and
slipped it into his pocket, then pushed off the doorframe and
started my way.
Like a panther stalking its prey, he was sleek and smooth,
and when it was clear he wasn’t about to stop when he
reached me, I backed up until I was pinned against the glass
window.
“Still think I need that tie?”
I didn’t think he needed anything at all. Not one damn
thing. “I think you look fine.”
Sean’s eyes roved over my face to my mouth, and the
commanding sexual energy pouring off him made me lick
my lips. Jesus, I was about two seconds away from calling my
mom and dad and cancelling just so I could lock my office
door and get Sean’s hands on me.
“Fine, huh?”
I took in a shaky breath and then tongued my top lip.
“You know you look seriously hot right now. Stop it.”
“Stop what? I’m not doing anything.” He lowered his
head and placed his mouth by my ear. “I’m not even
touching you.”
“That’s half the problem.”
 “Hmm, don’t I know it.” Sean winked at me and then,
unfortunately, took a step back. “So, do I pass inspection?”
“Considering I’m close to canceling dinner just so I can
take a closer look, that would be a yes.”
Sean chuckled, and I had to close my eyes for a moment
and count back from twenty.
“I got to say, you’re doing wonders for my ego right now.
And to think you were worried I’d embarrass you.”
My eyes flew open, and I placed a hand on his chest.
“That’s the last thing I was thinking, and you need to stop
thinking like that too. I wouldn’t have cared what you turned
up in tonight, as long as you turned up.”
“For you, always.”
“Good. Now let me get myself together so I’m decent
enough to walk out of here.”
I headed around my desk to grab my briefcase, and when I
looked up to see Sean watching me, my heart thumped a
little harder. Wow, I was one lucky guy to have him as my
date tonight.

JULIEN WAS A relatively new restaurant in Chicago, and had

fast become one of my favorites. Named after its owner and
manager—the world-renowned chef Julien Thornton—the
place had become an instant hit and was known for its
exquisite cuisine, wines, service, and charm.
The place was more difficult to get a reservation at than it
was to get a personally delivered Mont Blanc from
Angelina’s…in France. But luckily for me, Henri had an in
with the owner, and after my first night here and an
introduction with the famous chef, I’d been given similar
privileges.
Sean and I stepped out of the revolving door and into the
front entrance of the place, where we were greeted by an
elegant woman dressed in a pristine uniform of black and
white. She flashed us a brilliant smile.
“Good evening, gentlemen. Do you have a reservation
with us tonight?”
“We do,” I said. Sean remained silent, looking over our
hostess’s shoulder to the main dining room. “I believe the
other guests in our party are already here. It’s under
Xander.”
She scanned the reservation book and then nodded. “Ah
yes, there you are. If you’ll follow me.”
I glanced at Sean who was still busy soaking in the
stunning architecture of the dining room, and reached for
his hand. We were led past several round tables with pristine
white linens set to perfection; the small wall sconces in little
alcoves gave off an intimate glow that made the place feel
sensual and romantic.
If it had just been Sean and myself out for dinner tonight,
I might’ve slipped our hostess some cash to find us the most
private booth out here. As it was, she was weaving us past
the bar and toward a table, where my mother spotted us and
immediately got to her feet.
“Alexander!”
As the hostess left us, my mother stepped out from her
chair and rushed over, then cradled one of my cheeks and
placed a kiss on the other.
“Oh, honey.” She took a step back and gave me a
thorough once-over. “You look so well. So very, very well.”
I took her hands in mine and returned the kiss. “Thanks,
Mom, I feel well. You look fantastic, as always.”
She was wearing an elegant black dress for the evening,
her silver hair cut pixie short, and highlighting eyes the
same color as mine. She was a beautiful lady, even now as
she entered her late sixties.
 “Flattery will get you everywhere, even off the hook after
taking so long to invite us out here after your…incident.”
I shook my head and stepped aside for Sean, and her eyes
widened.
“Sean Bailey? My, my, is that really you?”
Sean, who’d been silent up until now, cleared his throat
and leaned forward to offer his hand in greeting. But my
mother wasn’t having any of that. She walked forward and
drew him into the same embrace I’d just received.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Sean’s shocked expression,
but after the somewhat awkward exchange, Mom let him go
and ran a hand down the lapel of his jacket.
“As I live and breathe, I would not have recognized you,
mister. He sure does clean up nice, doesn’t he?”
Way to be subtle, Mom. “You know he’s right there. He can
hear you.”
“Oh, I know. I just can’t believe I’m looking at Bailey’s
oldest brother. What a strapping, fine man you grew into.
Well, come on, then, Sean. Sit down over there by Ray and
we’ll order some drinks.”
Sean nodded and then grabbed my hand, halting me. I
turned back to see him glancing past my shoulder. “Don’t
you dare leave me alone with them tonight.”
I lowered my gaze to his mouth. “Or else…what?”
“Xander…”
“Hmm.”
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?” I smoothed my hand down his lapel, much
like my mother had. But his reaction to me was much
different. His eyes darkened and fell to my mouth. Oh yes,
payback could be so much fun. “I’m not doing anything.”
Sean’s jaw twitched as I licked my lower lip, then I winked
and said, “I’m really hungry. Better feed me.”
 I smirked and turned on my heel, and was more than a
little pleased at Sean’s tortured sound in my wake.
23
 SEAN

TORTURE, THAT WAS what tonight was all about. Torture. I

could see right through Xander’s little plan, and if he hadn’t
looked so hot in his light grey suit and navy-blue shirt and
tie, I might’ve had some chance of coming out the victor of
this little game.
But he did look that hot, and now that he had me where
he wanted me—sitting between him and his father—I was
being tortured by the wandering hand sliding up my thigh.
If it’d been anyone else seated at the table with us, I
probably wouldn’t have cared. But these were Xander’s
parents, people I’d known since I was an unruly teen. I
wanted to make an impression, a good impression. But if
Xander kept sliding his hand up my leg, the only impression
I was going to make would be the outline of my dick
punching through the table.
“So, Sean, I hear we have you to thank for saving Xander
from that crazy man last month.” Ray had ordered the
poached Louisiana shrimp and a round of drinks to get
things started tonight. As Xander continued to test my
resolve, I reached for my bourbon and managed to nod.
“That’s right. But I was just in the right place at the right
time.”
 Ray took a sip of his beer and looked to his son. “That’s
not how Xander tells the story. From what we hear, you
stepped in as his bodyguard while you were looking for this
creep. That’s not your usual line of work, is it?”
“No, I’m a detective with the Chicago Police
Department.”
“Oh, like Bailey.” Laura, Xander’s mom, looked between
the two of us, and Xander’s hand froze.
“Bailey doesn’t work for the police department anymore,
Mom.”
“That’s right. You said he was some kind of private
detective now, didn’t you? How is he liking that?””
It was an innocent enough question, but for some reason
it made Xander sit a little straighter in his chair and reach
for his Manhattan. Not wanting him thinking about Bailey or
anything other than having a good time, however, I decided
to answer for him.
“Bailey is a PI now, yeah, and he was an officer on the
force before that. My youngest brother Kieran—”
“Oh yes, I remember him. Cute little kid.”
I scoffed. “He’s a lieutenant with the fire department now
at Station 73.”
Laura beamed as she took a sip of her Chardonnay. “It’s
so wonderful catching up with you. It was always so lovely to
see Bailey after your parents passed, but—”
“Bailey’s not here, Mom. Sean is.” Xander’s voice was
polite but firm, and I could tell by the silence that swept
around the table that I wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“I am well aware of that—”
“Then can we stop talking about him, please?”
Laura looked to her husband as I leaned in to Xander and
said, “Hey.”
Xander turned, and the worry swirling in his eyes made
me reach for his leg under the table.
 “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. But I’m here with you tonight. I don’t want
them talking about your brother all evening.”
Ahh, okay. So that’s what was going on. Xander was
worried about me. Worried I would be upset by the reminder
of his past. Jesus, he was so fucking sweet.
“It’s all good, anchorman. I’m fine.” I pressed a kiss by
his temple and whispered, “I know who you’re going home
with tonight.”
When I shifted back to my seat, I could see a look of
concern furrowing Laura’s brow. “He’s all good, aren’t you,
Xander? Just ate some bad shrimp.”
Xander scoffed, and when I looked at him, he shook his
head. But his smile had returned.
“I’m sorry,” he said to his mother, and this time when he
placed his hand on my thigh, I reached down under the table
to squeeze it.
The message was clear: I’m right here with you and I
wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

DINNER. WAS. DELICIOUS.

I’d never eaten that good in my life, and after the rocky
start to the evening, things had been going along fairly
smoothly—for the most part. The only time things had
gotten a little iffy was when Laura suggested Xander come
stay with them in Florida for an extended vacation. But that
had soon been settled by the quiet and unassuming Ray, who
seemed to have both his wife and son’s number.
I was also starting to believe he had mine. Because while
Xander and Laura had been discussing the finer details of
Sunday’s party, I’d noticed Ray watching me with a serious
look of contemplation in his eyes.
 Now, I wasn’t exactly the type to be scared off easily by
confrontation, but considering this guy had borne witness to
my misspent youth, I found myself shifting uncomfortably
under his inspection. He had something on his mind,
something he’d been dying to ask ever since Xander had
steered all conversation toward the non-personal after the
shrimp and happy-hour mishap. But I had a feeling my luck
was about to run out, because while the other two were
distracted, that left me wide open for—
“So Xander’s living with you now.”
—the probing personal questions. “He is, yeah. It was
difficult for him to go back to his place after everything that
happened.”
Ray settled back in his seat. “That was over a month ago.”
“It was. But there’s no time limit. He’s welcome as long
as he wants to stay.”
“So he hasn’t moved in with you? This thing is…
temporary.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he meant our living
situation or our dating situation. But not wanting there to be
any confusion, I turned to face him, making sure to keep my
back to Xander and Laura.
“Let me be crystal clear here so there’s no
misunderstandings. I know this all seems fast and strange to
anyone on the outside looking in. But what we have, it’s
real.”
Ray opened his mouth to interrupt, but I wasn’t done.
Chalk it up to bad timing, I guess, because if Bailey hadn’t
been such a stubborn ass these past few weeks, I might’ve
had more patience for the suspicious undercurrents in Ray’s
words.
“We shouldn’t work, trust me, we both know that. We’re
the last two people who thought something between us
would spark when I took this job on—but it did. Something
clicked, something really special. I’m in love with Xander,
and nothing about that is temporary.”
Ray slowly nodded, then his eyes flicked over my shoulder
and I turned to see Xander and Laura looking at me.
Shit. Okay, so maybe I’d gotten a little overzealous in my
explanation. I was about to apologize when Xander leaned
over, took my face between his hands, and kissed the ever-
loving hell out of me.
Caught off guard, I reached for his wrists and held on, and
when he finally released me, the smile on his face was worth
whatever hell old Ray was going to give me.
“I have to admit,” Laura said, picking up where her
husband left off, “I was a little taken aback when Alexander
first told me the two of you were dating. Not only because
you’re Bailey’s brother. But we also thought you were—”
“Into the ladies.”
Xander glared at his father. “Dad.”
“What? We all know it’s the elephant in the room,
Xander. You’ve been steering us clear of it all night. But I
think your man here can handle a little bit of truth. He sure
knows how to dish it out.”
I held a hand up and then looked to Xander. “It’s okay. We
knew this was coming. We’re out of our bubble now,
remember?”
“Yes, but I don’t want you to feel pressured,” he said.
“I don’t feel pressured.” I looked between Ray and Laura
and smiled. “I feel extremely lucky that I finally got a chance
to know your son.” I took Xander’s hand and brought his
knuckles to my lips. “I only wish I’d gotten the chance
sooner.”
“Well,” Ray said, inclining his head in our direction,
“that’s good enough for me.”
I was about to respond when the waiter stopped by the
table with the check. I reached for it, and Xander protested.
 “Uh ah,” I said, shaking my head. “Tonight’s my treat.”
“Nonsense,” Laura said, and tapped Xander on the arm.
“You pass me that right now.”
Xander went for the check again, and I held it out of his
reach. “Sean, you don’t have to do this.”
“I want to do this.”
Xander frowned and sighed. “Okay.”
As the three of them went back to talking, I opened up the
leather fold to put my credit card inside, and the price at the
bottom of the slip almost made me revisit my dinner.
Fucking hell. This meal had cost more than most people
paid for rent. But, trying to play it cool, I slid my credit card
inside and prayed to God I had enough left on there that shit
didn’t get embarrassing.
Ten minutes later, as we stood out on the curb waving to
the back of the Uber we’d just put Xander’s parents in, he
leaned into me and said, “You’re going to let me pay you for
that meal.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sean, that dinner had to be well over—”
“Shh.” I wrapped an arm around Xander’s shoulders, and
tugged him into my side. “It’s all taken care of.”
“No. No. They invited us for dinner. I’m not letting you
—”
“I already worked it out with the kitchen staff,” I said as I
walked us toward our Uber. “They said I should have it
worked off by the end of next month.” Xander stopped and
glared at me. I grinned, opened the car door, and gestured
inside. “Your chariot awaits.”
“Sean, I’m not letting you pay for dinner,” he said as he
walked to the open door.
“Pity there’s nothing you can do about it.” I took his chin
in my hand and pressed a kiss to his lips. “And just so you
know, I’d work ten years in a kitchen washing dishes if it
meant winning over your parents.”
Xander stared at me with disbelief in his eyes. “You’re
about to get really lucky tonight.”
He slid inside the car, and I followed him. “Then my plan
was a complete success. Let’s go home.”
24
 XANDER

“HEADS UP, HENRI and Bay are on the elevator.” Sean’s

words were for my ears only as he kissed my temple and
passed me a scotch on the rocks.
It was Sunday night, and my birthday was well underway.
It always amazed me what fantastic organizational skills my
mother possessed, because how she’d managed to put
together a party in only a couple of days was mind-blowing.
The food was delicious, the drinks never-ending, and the
smooth sounds of jazz complemented the low hum of chatter
throughout the apartment. This was the kind of get-together
I usually thrived at. But no matter how hard I tried to relax
into tonight and enjoy it, I was on edge.
It was weird enough being back at my place for the first
time in forever. But add in the anticipation of Bailey
appearing in my hallway at any moment, and the nerves and
apprehension I’d managed to keep at bay for the past couple
of days came rushing back with blinding force.
This was ridiculous—it was just Bailey, for heaven’s sake.
I’d known the guy nearly my entire life. But the problem was
that all of the good memories had since been replaced by one
I couldn’t seem to shake—the last time I’d seen him, and the
devastation on his face.
 “Hey.” Sean bumped his shoulder into mine. “Don’t look
so worried. It’s your birthday. Everything’s going to be
great.”
“You’re right.” I took a sip of my drink and nodded,
trying to shove aside any negative thoughts. My mom had
gone to a lot of trouble tonight with a gold and silver theme
throughout. She’d turned my apartment into a classy,
elegant palace, and I refused to ruin that by having a horrible
panic attack like at work a few weeks back.
“Of course I’m right. We’ve got enough food here to feed
half of Chicago, and enough alcohol to wash it all down with.
Your friends and family are happy to see you up and about,
and you are looking really fucking hot.”
I smiled and glanced over at the chocolate fondue
fountain, where Ryan and his date were trying to decide
between the fruits or sweets to cover in the good stuff. I had
to agree with Sean: tonight really was going great, and it was
nice to see everyone away from work for a change. We were
always so busy down at the newsroom, and the only time we
ever really got to relax was at a work event.
So this was nice. It was informal, feel-good, and stress-
free.
“So, this is where the birthday boy is hiding out.”
Henri Boudreaux, I’d recognize that easygoing, relaxed
drawl anywhere. It was distinctive in the way that you didn’t
expect it from him. A badass by nature, and bad boy due to
his upbringing, it still shocked me that the good boy—Bailey
—had ended up with him. But now more than ever, I
understood that opposites really could attract.
Sean and I turned to see Henri standing behind us with
Bailey by his side, and a breath that I hadn’t even realized I
was holding left me in a rush. Bailey looked good. His hair
was buzzed short, and in dark jeans and one of the light blue
button-downs he favored, he looked like my best friend—the
Bailey I knew.
“You found me. Hey, Bailey.”
Bailey’s hand tightened around Henri’s, and then he
looked between Sean and me and nodded. “Hey.”
Well, that was better than nothing.
“Boudreaux,” Sean said, and then, shocker of all
shockers, held his hand out toward Henri. Whether it was a
conscious move or not, the peacemaking gesture wasn’t lost
on his brother. Bailey was looking at Sean like he’d grown a
second head.
“Hey, man.” Henri took Sean’s hand and gave him a nod.
“Glad you two made it.”
“It’s Xander’s birthday,” Bailey said, his eyes moving
between the two of us, and then finally landing on me. “I
wouldn’t have missed it.”
Those words meant the world to me after everything that
had happened, and I couldn’t help but smile. “I’m so happy
you’re here.”
Bailey returned the smile, and while it might’ve looked
genuine to those around us, I knew better. Oh, the mechanics
were all there, but the expression didn’t quite reach his eyes,
and that just wouldn’t do.
“Why don’t you come with me?” I suggested. “Let me
make you a drink.”
I knew it was unfair to put him on the spot like that—who
would say no to the birthday boy?—but too bad. I’d waited
too long to have a chance to talk with him, and I wasn’t
about to let my best chance pass me by.
Bailey looked to Henri—to see if he was okay hanging
with Sean, or maybe to gauge his reaction to my request—
and when Henri nodded and released Bailey’s hand, I
could’ve kissed him.
 We weaved our way through the clusters of people
gathered around the room, and as we headed into the
kitchen, I glanced at Bailey. Quiet and contemplative, he was
careful not to get too close, but instead kept a calculated
distance, something we’d never needed as long as we’d
known each other.
Trying to focus on the fact he was here above all else, I
stopped at the counter that housed every alcohol and mixer
known to man and gestured to the vast array of choices.
“What’s your poison tonight?” I said, trying to lighten
the mood. “Something mixed? Or are you looking for
something straighter?”
“A vodka cranberry, thanks. Straight’s never really been
my thing.”
The dig made me pause.
“What? It’s the truth.”
It was, but it didn’t take a genius to know exactly what
he’d been getting at, and it had zero to do with drinks. But
deciding to take the high road, I ignored my impulse to
confront things head-on and went about making his drink.
A little later, I handed over the glass with a lime wedge
inside and grabbed myself another scotch on the rocks.
Bailey moved to stand at the kitchen island and look at the
people chatting amongst themselves. I came up beside him,
closed my eyes, and took in the moment.
For years Bailey and I had been such an essential part of
each other’s lives that not having any communication lately
had felt as though I’d lost a part of myself. I wondered if he
felt that way too.
“I really meant what I said back there, Bay. I’m so glad
you came tonight. It means a lot to me.”
Bailey nodded, but didn’t look at me, just continued to
stare out at everyone talking amongst themselves. So I took a
step closer and turned toward him, wanting to finally say the
one thing I had yet to have the opportunity to tell him.
“I’m so sorry for everything that happened.” The second
the words left my mouth, Bailey visibly stiffened. But I
continued, determined to convey how horrible I felt about
the entire situation. “I never meant to hurt you so badly. To
—”
“Xander?” Bailey said, his jaw set, his eyes glassy. “I
don’t want to talk about that tonight.”
I bit back my response and nodded. “Okay.”
“I came here because it’s your birthday, and we don’t
miss birthdays.”
I tightened my fingers around my tumbler and looked
away, automatically searching out Sean where he was still
talking to Henri. I held out hope that if those two could be
cordial with one another, anything could happen. “Well,
thank you. It really means a lot to me.”
Bailey nodded, picked up his drink, and took a sip. “Me
too.” Then he headed off and made his way toward Henri
and Sean.
As I watched him go, I told myself to be satisfied with
what I’d just been given. But deep down I knew I wouldn’t be
happy until things were back to normal between us.
I downed the rest of my drink and kept my eyes on the
three across the room. When Bailey finally reached them,
Sean looked at me. A frown crossed his brow and he shook
his head, then he excused himself and headed in my
direction.
Not wanting to see Bailey’s reaction to that, I turned and
leaned against the kitchen island, trying to think of a good
reason to duck out on my own birthday party.
When Sean entered the kitchen, I gave him the best smile
I could muster. But he wasn’t fooled, not for a second.
“Okay, spill. What happened?”
 “Pretty much nothing.”
He arched an eyebrow and looked down at my empty
glass. Then he grabbed the bottle off the bench and refilled
my drink. “What do you mean, nothing? You two haven’t
talked in weeks, and after ten minutes together, you both
look like you want to throw yourselves off the balcony.”
That’s how it felt too, and all because I’d destroyed
something perfect and pure—our friendship. “He wasn’t
really in the mood to talk.”
“At all?”
“About anything that wasn’t my birthday, and what he
said with you and Henri was pretty much the extent of that.”
Sean pulled me into his arms and hugged me. “I’m sorry,
anchorman.”
I sighed. “Me too.”
“I mean, you should be. I had to make small talk with
Boudreaux.”
I chuckled and slipped out of his arms. “You two seemed
to be doing better than we were.”
“Eh, I figured it was the best way to keep the guard dog at
bay while you two talked.”
“Well, I appreciate the thought.”
Sean winked at me. “You can thank me later. But right
now, how about we go and find the food table before all this
alcohol goes to your head.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Bailey looking at the
two of us. Knowing I wasn’t going to get anywhere else right
now, I turned back to Sean and nodded.
Maybe I could track Bailey down again later after
everyone else left for the night.

“ALEXANDER, SEAN.”
 WE turned to see my boss, Marcus, standing behind us
with a glass of wine in one hand and an envelope in the
other. It was about an hour or so into the evening, and
despite my misgivings about being back here and the rocky
reunion with Bailey, I’d managed to find my smile and good
nature, determined not to disappoint my mother and show
everyone who was nice enough to be here tonight a good
time.
“I apologize for running late. I got held up at work. Happy
birthday.” Marcus held out the envelope. I took it, and he
clapped me on the shoulder.
“No need to apologize. I’m just happy you made it.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it.” Marcus looked out the open
doors that led to the terrace. “I’ve heard stories about this
place.”
“Stories?” Sean said, looking between me and my boss.
“Yes. Rumors about a certain room that revolves have
floated around the office for a while now.”
Sean chuckled, wrapped an arm around my shoulders,
and said by my ear, “You’re so lucky it’s not your bedroom,
or I might be really fucking jealous about now.”
I smirked and was reminded of the first time he’d set foot
in the great room and freaked out over the spinning floor. I
turned my attention back to Marcus. “Let me guess, Ryan?”
“I think it’s safe to say that’s an accurate assumption. But
since I got the information a few rows down the grapevine, I
can’t be positive.”
“Uh huh.” I chuckled and then started opening the
envelope. “Remind me to check my security footage later to
see what exactly he got up to when he was coming up here to
get my things for me.”
Marcus nodded and took a sip of his wine. I pulled out a
birthday card and opened it. Two tickets fell free, and when I
picked them up, I saw they were box seats to the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra.
“Have you ever been before?”
“To the symphony? No, I haven’t.”
Marcus looked to Sean. “Have you?”
There was no way Sean had ever been to the symphony. I
would’ve bet money on it.
“Do I really strike you as the type who’d go see an
orchestra?”
Marcus eyed him over the rim of his wine glass as he took
a sip, and the smile that slowly crossed his lips was just this
side of devious. “No, you don’t, which is why I’m so
delighted to ask you and Alexander to join me next month.”
I bit down on my lower lip, trying to hold back my laugh,
because I could tell this was Marcus’s way of paying back
Sean for every time they’d butted heads over the past month
or so.
“We’d love to,” I said before Sean had a chance to speak.
“Thank you.”
Marcus raised his empty glass and nodded. “Perfect. I’ll
see you both there.”
“Can’t wait,” Sean mumbled, making Marcus smile even
wider, then his phone began to ring and he excused himself,
heading off toward the French doors.
“The fucking symphony?”
Poor Sean. “Aww, it won’t be that bad.” I ran my hand
down his chest and swayed in closer to him. The scotch I’d
been sipping on all night had made me feel nice and relaxed.
“And I’d love another chance to peel you out of a tuxedo.”
“Oh yeah?” Sean wrapped an arm around my waist and
tugged me in close to him, and I tipped my head up to brush
my mouth across his.
“Definitely…” I sighed against his lips. When his tongue
slipped out to tease me, I angled my head, and my eyes
caught on Bailey across the room.
He was standing beside Henri, who was also looking in
our direction. When Sean’s hand slid down to my ass,
Bailey’s eyes narrowed, and he spun on his heel, about to
book it out of there.
Shit. I put my hands on Sean’s chest and gently pushed
him back. When he frowned, I held up a finger and then
darted off in Bailey’s direction.
25
 SEAN

“BAILEY!”
THE SOUND of my brother’s name from Xander’s lips was
enough to snap my brain into gear. Xander pulled away from
me and started making his way through the crowd.
After their little chat earlier in the night, I’d thought it
best to put some distance between the two of them before a
second go-around. But somewhere after my third—okay,
maybe fourth—drink, my watchful eye had turned into an
appreciative one, and instead of making sure to keep my
hands to myself, I’d given in to the temptation that was
Xander.
Fuck. People moved aside as the birthday boy shoved his
way through the groups of people. That was when I spotted
Boudreaux exiting the room Xander was now halfway across,
and headed in that direction.
I stepped into the hall and saw the three of them booking
it toward the elevator, and I knew without a doubt what
Bailey must’ve seen. There was only one reason he’d cut and
run the way he was right now, and that was if he’d witnessed
more than he was willing to see.
As I closed in on Xander’s heels, it didn’t escape me that
people had stopped what they were doing and were watching
what was unfolding, and I knew if I didn’t get to Xander in
the next couple of seconds, they would be in for one hell of a
show.
“Xander!” I called out, hoping to snag his attention, but it
was well and truly fixated on Bailey.
“Bailey. Wait up a second, would you?” Xander’s request
fell on deaf ears. Bailey kept on, clearly determined to get the
hell out of Dodge. The problem was that leaving Xander’s
fancy high-rise when people were coming and going via his
private elevator wasn’t as easy as walking out the door.
Unless, of course, you felt like taking a hell of a lot of
stairs down to the ground level.
When Bailey reached the elevator bank, he jabbed the
button like he was mad at it, which might’ve actually been
the case, now that he realized he was stuck.
But Xander wasn’t about to let him go quietly, and since I
was still trailing behind, I had no hope of stopping the train
wreck I knew I was about to bear witness to.
“Bailey, come on. Would you stop for a minute and let me
talk to you?”
As if he only just now heard Xander calling out to him,
Bailey looked in his direction and shoved past Boudreaux.
He stormed over to Xander and got right up in his face.
“You know, it was hard enough to come here tonight
knowing that I’d have to smile and pretend that I was okay
with this when I’m not. But for you to just act like it’s all fine
and there’s nothing fucking weird about you suddenly
making out with my brother, who you barely tolerated two
months ago? That’s not okay, Xander. None of this is okay.”
“I know.” Xander shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking, I
just—”
“See, that’s the problem. For the past couple of months
you’ve stopped thinking about anyone else, stopped using
your brain. It’s like it just up and left your head.” Bailey’s
voice was rife with judgment—and a whole lot of alcohol, by
the sound of it. “I mean, why else would you be with Sean?”
The muted chatter of the people who’d gathered around
us ceased, until all that could be heard was the soft jazz
floating through the air.
“What did you just say?”
Oh shit. Xander’s voice was quiet, so quiet that you
wouldn’t have heard it if everyone in the near vicinity hadn’t
tuned in to the night’s entertainment.
I stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his back.
But instead of calming him, the gesture seemed to initiate a
kind of fight inside of him that I never would’ve expected.
“How dare you.” Xander took a step forward, and as my
inner big-brother role warred with that of the boyfriend, I
decided to hang back. This wasn’t my fight, and though I
knew whatever was about to go down next would be ugly and
painful, it needed to happen if Bailey and Xander ever had a
hope of regaining their friendship.
“How dare you stand in my house and pass judgment on a
relationship you know nothing about. Not once have you
bothered to ask me how this thing with Sean started, or why.
Because if you had, then maybe you’d realized that the man
you’re so quick to write off as someone who’s not worthy of
a relationship is actually really fucking good at them.”
Okay, I hadn’t expected that. Xander and Bailey’s past
was so rich with history that hearing Xander defend me was
almost like an out-of-body experience. A really fucking good
one. It made my heart beat a little faster and my chest fill
with pride, to think that someone as amazing as him was
standing here in front of everyone he knew, fighting for me
—fighting for us.
Bailey cut his eyes to me, and for a second I thought I
caught a flash of shame. But before I could say anything,
Xander took another step forward, clearly determined to
make his point now that he had Bailey’s attention.
“Your brother is one of the best men I have ever met in
my life.”
Bailey scoffed, and Xander shook his head.
“Don’t do that. Don’t make light of what I’m telling you
because it’s easier than hearing the truth. He’s kind and
caring, and behind all the rough edges is a man who loves
you and would do anything for you, even break up with me.
But I’m not going to let him do that, not even for you.”
Bailey took a step back as though the wind had been
knocked right out of his sails, and Boudreaux moved in
behind him. Xander looked his way, and whatever Boudreaux
saw there stopped him in his tracks.
The message was apparently clear: don’t interfere.
“You’re willing to throw away three decades of friendship
for this thing with Sean?” Bailey’s eyes teared as he looked
at me, the confusion, betrayal, and heartbreak all coming to
the surface as he shook his head. “Are you happy now? He
picked, and you won.”
“No, Bay. Come on,” I said, and moved forward to stand
alongside Xander. “I don’t want this. I want you to be happy
for us. I want us to all be able to get along.”
Xander took my hand and entwined our fingers. “We love
you, Bailey. But you need to open your eyes and see what,
and who, you’re letting go before we disappear altogether.”
A tear fell down Bailey’s cheek as he took a step back and
ran into Boudreaux, who tucked him into his side and glared
at the two of us.
He was pissed at how that had just gone down, but he
didn’t say anything. Instead, he punched the elevator button
again and ushered Bailey inside, and a couple of seconds
later, the two of them were gone.
26
 XANDER

SOMETIME LATER—MUCH, much later—I made my way out

onto the terrace that overlooked downtown Chicago. The
night was finally winding down and there was only a handful
of people left. But as soon as I’d been able to, I’d excused
myself and escaped.
Ever since Bailey had left, I’d been running over our
showdown in my head. Was I too harsh? Should I have just
let him go? But every time I convinced myself that maybe I’d
been unreasonable, I’d seen Sean across the room laughing
with my workmates or chatting it up with my parents and
was reminded of the exact reason I’d done what I’d done.
I was in love with Sean. There were no ifs, ands, or buts
about it. I was one hundred percent in, and I knew without a
doubt that he felt the same way. That meant the people in
my life—and his—needed to get on board with it, because it
wasn’t about to be over anytime soon.
But for the first time ever, Bailey and Sean had swapped
roles. All throughout our lives, Sean had always been the
stubborn, hardheaded one, who blustered through the
difficult moments of life with more attitude than caution.
But this time around it was Bailey. He was being stubborn to
the end, and I could only hope that tonight hadn’t been that
end.
“I thought I might find you out here.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the sound of Sean’s voice.
He stepped outside and shut the doors behind him.
“I just needed a moment to myself, that’s all.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Sean braced his hands on the thick stone
railing that surrounded the terrace. “The last of the guests
just left, said to tell you they had an amazing night.”
I aimed my best smile in his direction, but I clearly didn’t
do a great job of it, because Sean’s lips pulled into a thin line.
“It wasn’t so amazing for you, though, was it?”
I shrugged and looked back out to the buildings
surrounding us. “It went pretty much how I expected it to.”
Sean nodded and turned around to lean back against the
rail. “Hey.”
I looked at him.
“I didn’t want to get into it all right after it went down,
but I wanted to thank you for what you said to Bailey
tonight.”
I frowned at him, wondering what he meant.
“I know it couldn’t have been easy. Especially with how
upset he was.” Sean reached out to run his thumb over the
furrow in my brow. “It meant a lot to me. No one’s ever been
in my corner that way before.”
I pushed off the railing, turned, and placed a hand on his
arm. “I love you. I want to be with you. And while I know
that’s a hard thing for Bailey to hear right now, it doesn’t
change the facts. I’m not ashamed of this, Sean. Not you, me,
or what we have together, and I’m done lying to him.”
“Me too.” Sean let out a sigh and put his hand over the
top of mine. “Your mom’s worried about you. She came in on
the tail end of the whole thing and saw Bailey leaving. I told
her you’d fill her in when you felt up to it. But for now, her
and your dad have headed off to bed for the night.”
“Thanks for that,” I said, turning back to face the
twinkling lights. “I just… I can’t go over it all again right
now.”
“Totally understood.” Sean moved behind me and
wrapped his arms around my waist. “You miss this place?”
I looked down to the cars on the street and the buildings
rising from the concrete below, then I listened to the sounds
echoing throughout the busy metropolis.
“I miss parts of it.” I looked back at him. “But not as
much as I expected.”
Sean’s eyes widened. “Wow. I thought for sure you’d be
chomping at the bit to move back in after being here tonight.
All week I’ve been trying to think of creative ways to change
your mind.”
As a warm breeze ruffled Sean’s hair, I thought he’d
never looked more handsome. “Nothing creative is needed.”
“No?” Sean chuckled, and the sound was like music to my
ears. “Your revolving rotunda tells a different story.”
How he could make me grin after such a disastrous night,
I had no clue. But that was one of the things I loved best
about Sean. He knew the exact right thing to say to distract
me.
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve discovered I’m more easily
pleased these days.” I thought about that for a second and
then added, “Or maybe I no longer need all of this fancy stuff
because I finally found something real that makes me
happy.”
Sean nuzzled in against my ear. “You better be talking
about me right now.”
I tipped my head back to look up into the sky. There were
a handful of stars twinkling overhead tonight, and the sight
made me smile.
 “I’m talking about the man who took me out into the
middle of nowhere and showed me there’s plenty of glitter
beyond the city. You just have to look up. I used to love this
apartment, everything about it. I never felt anything other
than happy when I was here. But this isn’t my place
anymore.”
Sean turned me around so I was looking him in the eye.
“I can’t imagine being here on my own anymore, Sean. I
can’t imagine being somewhere that you aren’t.”
I sighed, and when a piece of hair fell down across my
forehead, Sean reached out to brush it aside.
“Then don’t leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t leave. Move in with me.” Sean’s words were sure
and steady as a wide smile stretched across his face. “Not
temporarily, not just out of your suitcase. Move in with me
for good.”
27
 SEAN

THE JOY THAT lit Xander’s eyes made me feel like the
richest man in the world. They all but twinkled as he stared
at me with a look full of hope and…excitement.
“You’re serious?”
“I’ve never been more serious in my life.” Or crazy,
apparently, because only a crazy-in-love fool would ask
someone like Xander to give up this castle to come live in my
two-bedroom disaster.
“I know it’s fast—supersonic, really. But when you know,
you know, and Xander? There are three things I know
without a doubt. One, I love you. Two, I don’t want to watch
you pack your suitcase and leave unless I’m coming with
you. And three, I don’t want to wait another however many
years for us to take this to the next step. I want it now. I want
you.”
Xander took in a shaky breath, and when he let it out, I
took his face between my hands and kissed his lips.
“Tell me I’m not crazy here. That you feel the same way.”
Xander grinned. “If you’re crazy, then so am I.”
“Yeah?”
Xander nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh my God.”
 “I know.”
“Oh my fucking God.” I swiped my thumbs across his
cheeks and blinked, making sure I wasn’t imagining this
moment and the way he was looking at me like I’d just hung
the moon. “You really mean it? You want to move in with
me?”
Xander reached for my wrists and drew them down so he
could take my hands in his. “I really do.”
“Wow.” I looked around the huge terrace at the massive
windows that flanked the entire side of Xander’s ultra-
expensive penthouse apartment, and then turned back to
him. “Are you drunk?”
Xander let out a loud burst of laughter, and it was so free
and full of happiness that I couldn’t help but join in. “No,
I’m not drunk.”
“I mean, you just said you want to move in with me. That
means leaving all of this behind.”
Xander looked around my shoulder, then back to me. “I
know.”
“Uh, maybe you should sleep on it for the night.”
“Are you changing your mind already?”
“Hell no, but I’m not stupid, Xander. You’re used to a lot
more than my place has to offer.”
“Do I seem worried about it?”
Surprisingly, no. He seemed incredibly chill about it. “No,
you don’t.”
“Then why are you?”
Good question. But maybe it was because it felt like he
was giving up everything and I was giving up nothing. Not
that it would be a hardship to leave my place.
Which got me thinking… “What if we look for a place
together?”
Xander’s brows rose. “You want to move?”
 “Hadn’t really thought about it until right now. But, then
again, I’d never really had a reason.”
“But you do now?”
“Yeah, I do. Plus, why should you have to give up
everything and start over and I get to stay where I am? It’s
not like I’m overly attached to the place. As you know, it
hasn’t seen a fresh coat of paint in years.”
“That’s true.”
“Sooo, what do you think?” I couldn’t believe we were
standing here on Xander’s terrace talking about getting a
place together. It was insane, reckless, and totally out of
character for the both of us.
“I think it sounds perfect.” Xander looped his arms
around my neck and moved up to his toes. “Perfect.”
He kissed me.
“Crazy.”
He kissed me again.
“And exactly right for us.”
I closed my eyes and captured his mouth in a kiss I felt
throughout my entire body. I slipped my tongue between his
lips to tease and tangle with his, and the delicious taste that
was all Xander flooded my senses.
When I finally released him, I took his hand in mine,
more than ready to get out of here. “What do you say we
head home, and I’ll give you your real birthday present
there.”
Xander hummed, and the velvety sound made my entire
body go on instant alert. “Well, look who has a one-track
mind tonight.”
“I didn’t even say anything.”
“Don’t even try to deny it, anchorman. I know you want
to unwrap me for your birthday.”
Xander looked me over, and the arousal in his eyes told
me I was dead-on. It also made my cock really damn excited.
 “Fuck, okay. Let’s get the hell out of here.”
We slipped inside and made our way to the elevator,
careful not wake his parents, and when the doors slid shut,
Xander moved into my side. I wrapped my arm around his
shoulders and breathed in the intoxicating scent of his
cologne and shampoo, and I swear, it was the best thing I’d
ever smelled in my life.
A lot had happened here tonight. Some of it good. Some of
it not so good. But with Xander this close, and his head on
my shoulder, I couldn’t find it in myself to regret a single
part of it. Not when I knew it had led us here.
I loved this man, more than I’d ever known was possible,
and I’d do whatever it took to make him happy. Including
tracking down Bailey and handcuffing his stubborn ass to a
chair so we could talk. Because no matter what Xander had
said tonight, he shouldn’t have to pick between the two men
he loved, and Bailey was just gonna have to get on board
with that.
28
 SEAN

“HE’S NOT HERE.”

The sound of Boudreaux’s voice made me look up from
my cell phone to see him coming down the hallway to his
office—alone. It was early Monday morning, and I’d decided
to go and plant my ass outside of Bailey & Boudreaux Private
Investigators in an attempt to launch a sneak attack on
Bailey. It appeared my plan was in vain, however.
“I assume you’re here to see Bailey. Not take me out to
breakfast.”
I shoved off the wall and slipped my phone into my
pocket. “He’s not coming in today?”
“He’s…taking a personal day.”
“A personal day.” I crossed my arms and eyed Boudreaux.
“What’s that mean? He’s getting a pedicure? A massage?”
“It means he’s taking a day for himself. Minus you.”
Boudreaux stepped around me and unlocked the door, and
it was clear I was going to have to work on him a little to get
the information I wanted. Shouldn’t be a problem, though—
I’d been working Boudreaux for info the entire time we’d
known one another.
“This ’cause of last night?”
 Boudreaux tossed his keys on his desk and walked over to
open the blinds. “What do you think?”
“I think for someone who said he was going to help
smooth things over with Bailey, you’ve done a pretty shit
job.”
Quick as a flash, Boudreaux was around the desk and in
my face. “After what you two pulled last night, you’re lucky I
haven’t broken your damn jaw. That was some classy shit,
Dick.”
“It was the truth.” Not about to back down or apologize
for Xander standing up for him or myself, I plowed headfirst
into the argument Boudreaux was looking for. “Something
Bailey was in desperate need of hearing if he doesn’t want to
lose one of the people he loves more than anything else. And
no, I don’t mean me.”
Henri’s eyes darkened as he tried to bore a hole through
me.
“You know I’m right. He loves Xander. That’s why this is
killing him. They’re hurting right now. Are you really going
to stand in the way of me trying to fix that?”
“I did my piece,” Boudreaux snapped, and turned away
from me. “I got him there last night. It’s not my fault your
man went and blew things up.”
“Xander tried to reach out before then, you know that. He
wanted to talk—”
“Well, sometimes you don’t get what you want.
Sometimes you hurt the people standing in the blast zone
and can’t take it back.”
I scoffed. “So what are you saying? Xander should just let
him go?”
Boudreaux turned back and locked eyes with me. “What
I’m saying is that sometimes it doesn’t matter what you
want. Sometimes it happens no matter what.”
“Got a lot of practice blowing shit up, huh?”
 “No. I got caught in the blast zone.” The seriousness of
Boudreaux’s words resonated with something deep inside
me. They were far off, distant, as though he were
remembering something particularly painful in his life, and I
knew I didn’t want that for Bailey or Xander.
“Then you of all people should know how important it is
that I do everything I can to fix this. Tell me where he is,
Henri.”
The use of Boudreaux’s first name wasn’t lost on him. He
eyed me closely. “He went to see your parents. Your mom.
Said he needed space to think.”
Of course he’d gone there. Mom had always been the one
Bailey turned to when he needed to talk. I bit down into my
lip and gave a clipped nod, then turned and headed for the
door.
“Sean?”
I stopped and turned to see Boudreaux watching me with
worried eyes.
“Fix this, yeah?”
“I’ll do everything I can,” I promised, and then
disappeared out the door.

GRACELAND CEMETERY WAS a beautiful historic garden

cemetery located in the north side community of Uptown,
with winding paths and botanical gardens. The tranquility of
the large reflecting lake gave a sense of comfort to an
otherwise somber place.
The three of us had chosen to have our parents buried
here because this was where our grandparents had been laid
to rest. I made my way to the large oak tree where we’d said
goodbye, and when I found Bailey standing there with his
head down and a bouquet of roses in his hand, my stomach
tightened.
 I closed my eyes and looked at the clear skies above, and
for the first time in a long time, I sent out a prayer to my
mom—if she was watching, if she was listening, that she
help me out here. Help me get through to her middle son
before he ended up losing one of the people he loved most.
I crossed the freshly cut lawn, through several rows of
headstones, until I came to a stop a couple steps back from
where Bailey stood. I was about to announce myself when he
turned his head to the side and got in first.
“I know you’re there, Sean.”
Damn that big mouth Boudreaux.
Seeing how there was no need to hang back any longer, I
slipped my hands in my pockets and made my way forward.
For a moment we just stood there. Two brothers paying
their respects to their parents in the quiet morning of a
summer’s day. It’d been too long since I’d come out here to
visit, finding it easier to deal with their loss if I wasn’t face
to face with the headstones that proved it. But standing here
now gave me a sense of peace that I hadn’t expected to feel.
“You were always her favorite, you know.” Bailey’s voice
was soft and steady as he stared at the grassy plots that
stretched out in front of us.
I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“It’s true. She always held you up as the example—”
“Of what not to do.”
“No, of the one who was independent. Sean is…Sean.
That’s what she always used to say.” Bailey let out a soft
chuckle as he looked at me, a sad smile playing at the
corners of his lips. “She didn’t mean that in a bad way. She
used to always say that you could look after yourself. That
you were smart and strong and marched to the beat of your
own drum. That you didn’t care what anyone else said, and
she was right.”
 Bailey’s words couldn’t have shocked me more. I’d always
gone through life believing I was somewhat of a
disappointment to my mom. The delinquent of her three
boys. The one who was always getting into some kind of
trouble.
“She was wrong.”
The words were out of my mouth before I even knew I was
going to say them.
“I couldn’t look after myself. I wasn’t smart or strong. I
ran away from my feelings and problems instead of learning
how to deal with them, and for the longest time I believed I
was better off alone. That that was what I deserved. Until
Xander.”
I swallowed, trying to think of what to say to explain to
Bailey all that I was feeling. But my words seemed to have up
and vanished, right along with my ability to talk. Luckily for
me, Bailey asked the one question I had a definitive answer
to.
“Do you love him?” Bailey’s voice was so soft that I
almost missed the question. But when he turned to look at
me, fighting back tears, I knew I hadn’t misheard.
This was it. It was time to lay it all out there and let the
chips fall where they may. It was time to be brave and strong.
“I do.”
Bailey worried his bottom lip with his teeth. “See? You are
smart.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“I do.” His voice wavered as he averted his gaze, and then
he reached up to wipe away a tear. “I’ve made a mess of this,
haven’t I?”
The pain in Bailey’s voice broke my heart, as I stood there
and watched his emotions unravel before me.
“I didn’t mean to. It just…” He brought a hand to his
mouth and shook his head. “It was just such a shock. Xander
is—”
“Important to you.” I took a step closer to him and
reached for his hand. “I know that. I don’t want to get in the
way of that, Bay. I’m the outsider here, not you. What you
two have, this crazy, long history full of memories and
moments that only you two share…no one can ever take that
away from you. I wouldn’t want to. It’s what made you the
man you are, and Xander who he is. I just want to be part of
the future memories. And I want you to be okay with that. I
need you to be.”
Tears fell down Bailey’s cheeks as he looked up at me.
“I’ve been so stupid, Sean. So stupid and immature, when I
should’ve just been happy for you. Happy for Xander.”
“Nah.” I pulled him into my arms and wrapped him in a
fierce hug. “You were caught off guard. Hell, so were we. I
get it. But I don’t want to be the reason you two aren’t
friends anymore. I’d never forgive myself.”
Bailey took a deep breath to compose himself. “I’m sorry.
You didn’t deserve this from me. Some of the things I said
—”
“You were upset, confused.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re my brother, and I love you. I
should’ve dealt with this better.”
“Would you stop beating yourself up? All we want is for
you to be part of our lives. All I want is for you and Xander to
get back on the same page.”
Bailey grimaced. “I don’t know if he’ll even talk to me
after last night.”
That made me smile. “Are you kidding? That’s all he
wants. To talk to you.”
I looked at my watch. Xander would be heading into work
about now, but he’d be available after, which gave me an
idea…
“Are you free tonight?”
29
 XANDER

“FIND ME SOMEONE who knows anything about the

reconstruction of the New Orleans levees, then we’ll bump
the story to the B block. I need something solid.”
I shoved out of the war room with Jim close on my heels.
It was Monday night, and the story of the evening was the
hurricane heading into the Gulf of Mexico this week and
taking aim at Louisiana. Things were about to get really ugly
down there, and we had field reporters heading south
tonight to begin covering it from all angles.
“Let me know the second they have the expert lined up. I
want to run through some questions with them before we hit
the air.”
“Got it.” Jim scribbled something down on his notepad as
he followed on my heels.
“Also, let Marcus know I’m good to cover this from
beginning to end when it finally hits.”
“Sure the boyfriend’s okay with that?”
The comment was so out the blue, so unexpected, that I
stopped and turned on Jim, making his feet falter. “What did
you just say?”
Jim glanced up from his notebook and blinked. “Nothing,
I just—”
 “It didn’t sound like nothing.” In fact, it had sounded
very much like a personal dig. One I wasn’t about to put up
with. “Do you have something to say to me? Because if you
do, you should say it.”
Jim tapped his pen on his notepad as though thinking
over his words. “It just seems that Sean has a lot of say on
when you come in and when you don’t these days.”
I eyed my EP closely, trying to gauge his angle. I’d known
Jim a long time now. He was ambitious, hardworking, and
cutthroat when it came to getting what he wanted, and he’d
made no secret over the fact he’d disliked working with my
replacement during the month I’d been out.
“The only person who has any say over whether or not
I’m here is me. And I’d appreciate it if you kept your
comments and opinions on my personal life to yourself.”
Jim tucked his pen behind his ear and nodded. “Didn’t
mean anything by it. Just making an observation.”
“Well, don’t.”
Jim gave a clipped nod and turned on his heel, and as he
made his way out of the newsroom, I stood there and
watched him go. What the hell was that all about? But then I
remembered: Jim had been working the night I’d had my
panic attack in the lobby and Sean told Marcus to give me
time off.
Had he somehow heard about that? And if so, what was he
worried about? Sean didn’t want me to quit my job, and even
if he did, there was no way in hell I would. Jim’s remarks
were baseless and completely unfounded, but he sure
seemed to have an opinion.
That was when it hit me. Oh shit.
No. There was no way what I was thinking right now was
true. That Jim had been the one to call Entertainment Now!
and out Sean. But as I crossed the newsroom toward my
office, the idea began to take root.
 Ever since that article had come out, I’d been trying to
work out who would’ve leaked it, who would’ve had
something to gain from handing over that piece about the
two of us—and this made the most sense.
Damn it. I needed to talk to Marcus, because if I was right,
Jim would have to go. I couldn’t work with people I didn’t
trust, especially my executive producer.
I headed to my office to email Marcus about setting up a
meeting and saw someone standing inside. Knowing I didn’t
have anything set up this close to broadcast, I pushed
through my office door, and when Bailey turned around to
face me, my breath got caught in the back of my throat.
“Hey,” Bailey said as the door swung shut behind me, and
when it was clear I was at a loss for words, he added, “I hope
you don’t mind me just showing up here, but—”
“I don’t.” In fact, I was so happy to see him standing in
front of me that I thought I might be dreaming. “I’m just
surprised to see you, that’s all.”
“I know. I…” Bailey twisted his hands around themselves
and gave me a crooked grin. “I probably should’ve called
instead of just showing up. But Sean said you wouldn’t mind,
and—”
“You spoke to Sean?” He hadn’t told me he was going to
see Bailey.
“Yeah, uh, this morning. He tracked me down out at
Graceland.”
The cemetery where their parents were buried. “Good.
That’s good. I know he’s been worried about you.”
Bailey nodded and lowered his eyes to the ground. He
stood there like that for several seconds, and then we both
said, “I’m sorry.”
Bailey raised his head, and when his troubled eyes met
mine, I offered up a half-grin. “Some pair we are, huh?”
 I took a step forward and went to reach for him, but at the
last second, I hesitated. Bailey saw my indecision and quickly
made up the difference, and the next thing I knew, he was
wrapping his arms around me.
“I’m sorry, Xander. So damn sorry.”
I pulled him into my arms and held on tight, and it felt so
familiar, so right to comfort my friend this way. When he
finally pulled back, I took his face between my hands and
said, “Can you stay? Wait for me?”
Bailey nodded. “Yeah, I was hoping I could take you to
dinner.”
I ran my hand over the back of Bailey’s head and
squeezed his neck. “I’d love that.”
“Me too.” I was reluctant to leave, now that he was here.
But when he smiled and said, “Go. Cynthia will kill you if
you’re late for hair and makeup,” I couldn’t help but grin.
“Don’t leave.”
“I won’t.”
I narrowed my eyes and pulled open my office door.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah, boss?”
“Can you keep an eye on this guy? Get him whatever he
wants, make sure he’s comfortable?”
Ryan walked over to the door and smiled. “Bailey? Oh my
God, hi. It’s been too long.”
“It really has been,” Bailey said.
“Okay, so how about I take you into the studio and you
can watch Xander do his thing?”
“I’d like that.” Bailey brushed by me, about to follow
Ryan and get comfy, but then he stopped and reached for my
hand. “Have a good show.”
“I will.” As he headed off through the newsroom, I
quickly pulled my phone from my pocket and shot that email
off to Marcus. Then I pulled up Sean’s number and hit call.
 “Did he find you?”
The smile on my face was so big that I was surprised Sean
couldn’t see it from wherever he was. “He did.”
“And?”
“Aaaand we’re going to go to dinner after work and talk.”
“Good. That’s so good, Xander.”
“I know.” I could barely contain my happiness. “I have so
many questions, but right now I just want to say thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Just make things right between
you two, that’s all I want.”
I stopped outside of Cynthia’s room and closed my eyes.
“I love you. You know that, right?”
Sean chuckled. “You better. ’Cause I’ll be the one waiting
for you in bed tonight.”
“Can’t wait.”
“Me either. See you later, anchorman.”
“See you then.”

“DO YOU KNOW how long it’s been since I’ve eaten out at a
sushi restaurant?” I popped a piece of sashimi into my
mouth and chewed.
“Not really Sean’s scene?”
I chuckled and shook my head as Bailey took a bite out of
a California roll. “Definitely not. The last time I ate it in front
of him, I thought he was going to offer to cook it.”
Bailey grinned. “I’d actually pay good money to see him
try to swallow down a piece of tuna. We might have to look
into that.”
I picked up my sake and took a sip, staring at Bailey
across the table. I still couldn’t believe he was here. That he
was sitting opposite me and actually had a smile on his face.
But he was, and the mere sight of him made something
inside of me click back into place, like the final piece of a
puzzle.
“Thank you for coming to see me tonight.”
Bailey looked at me, lowered his chopsticks to his plate,
and sat back in his seat. “I should’ve done it a week ago.”
I frowned and shook my head. “No. You needed time. You
—”
Bailey raised a hand. “Don’t make excuses for me. I’ve
been acting like a shit.” We sat there for a couple of seconds,
and then Bailey said, “This is going to sound really stupid,
but Henri told me I needed to be honest about all of this or
it’s never going to heal, so…” He averted his eyes. “I was
jealous.”
My jaw almost hit the table. Nothing could’ve shocked me
more. Bailey just wasn’t the jealous type. He never had been,
not even when we’d been together. And since then, we’d had
plenty of boyfriends and hookups come in and out of our
lives.
The look on my face must’ve conveyed my confusion,
because Bailey sighed and ran a hand over his buzzed hair.
“It’s stupid—”
“It’s not,” I interrupted. “They’re your feelings and
they’re never stupid. I’m just trying to understand where it’s
coming from, that’s all. You’re happy with Henri, right?”
“Yes, of course. I love him. It’s just…” Bailey paused and
lowered his eyes to the tablecloth, where he was tracing the
restaurant’s logo with his finger. “You were always mine.”
Those four words were so honest that they made my heart
ache. I reached across the table and covered his hand with
mine. “I still am yours.”
“I know.” Bailey shook his head. “I told you it was
stupid.”
“It’s not stupid.”
 “It is. We haven’t been a couple for years, but when I saw
you with Sean, something inside me just…freaked out. Maybe
because I knew it was real. That you’d really fallen in love.”
I knew the feeling. When I’d realized I was interested in
Sean, I’d felt the exact same way.
“It was like this weird mix of jealousy and betrayal and
embarrassment.” Bailey scrubbed his hands over his face
and shrugged. “I kept thinking, why Sean? Of all the guys
out there, why would you choose him? And when I realized
how serious things were between you two, I started thinking,
what has he got that I don’t?”
“Bay…”
“I know it’s—”
“A pretty normal reaction, I would think.”
Bailey looked down at the table again. “That’s what Henri
said.”
“You told him all of this?”
“Yes. That’s what made this even worse. I felt like I was
betraying him by feeling this way.”
“Henri’s smarter than that.”
Bailey raised his head, and his blue eyes were a little
glassy as he offered up a crooked smile. “He really is.”
“I know. He’s in love with you. That makes him a
genius.”
Bailey chewed on his lower lip. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t—”
“I do need to say this. So please, let me.” Bailey took in a
deep breath and then let it out. “I’m sorry for the way I
reacted to seeing you with Sean. Not the shock because, holy
shit”—he chuckled—“it was shocking. But I’m sorry I didn’t
handle it better. I was immature and unforgiving, and that’s
not how friends act. Not best friends and not brothers.”
I could feel my own emotions getting the better of me
now.
 Bailey leaned over the table to take my hand in his. “I’m
happy for you, Xander. Happy for you and Sean. It took me a
minute to get my head around it. But the more I think about
it, the more I realize how lucky I am. I love the both of you,
and you love each other—what more could I want than
that?”
“Thank you,” I said, and turned my hand over in his.
“You don’t know how much that means to me. How much
this means to me. You here, eating dinner with me, it feels
like everything.” I blinked a couple of times, trying to stave
off the tears. “I thought I’d lost you.”
Bailey squeezed my hand and shook his head. “Never.
Friends no matter what, remember?”
I nodded, the memory of that day and that promise still
so fresh in my mind.
“Good.” Bailey raised a hand for the waiter, and then
flashed a warm grin. “Then I say we order some more sake,
get a little wasted, and you tell me what the hell has been
going on with my best friend these past couple of months.
Deal?”
“Deal.”
30
 SEAN

“NERVOUS?”
I LOOKED over to Xander sitting in the passenger seat of
my SUV and felt my stomach twist itself into a knot. It was
Saturday afternoon, and we’d just pulled into Bailey’s house
for the usual get-together. However, this was the first time
we’d been here in weeks, and even though we’d smoothed
things over with Bailey, my stomach was still giving me
grief.
“Will you think less of me if I say yes?”
Xander chuckled, leaned over the console, and kissed my
cheek. “No. I think it’s…cute.”
“Cute?”
“Mhmm.” He kissed his way along my jaw and up to my
ear. “In a bringing your boyfriend home to meet the rest of the
family kind of way.”
“Uh, hate to break it to you, but you already know my
family.”
“True, but they’ve never seen us as a couple before. And
they’ve never seen you with me.”
I looked into his brilliant blue eyes and smirked. “And
how am I with you?”
 Xander slid his hand a little higher. “You’re kind, sweet,
and extremely sexy.”
“I don’t really think they’re going to appreciate that last
observation all that much.”
Xander grinned and nipped at my lower lip. “Well, how
about I appreciate it a whole lot when we get home?”
I closed my eyes as he found the erection he’d teased to
life. He gave me a nice, hard squeeze, and my head fell back
against the headrest.
“Jesus, Xander. You’ve got to stop that or I’m not going to
be able to walk inside anytime soon.”
Xander reluctantly removed his hand and settled back on
his side of the vehicle. His eyes slowly wandered down over
me. He licked his lips, and I made a promise to myself that
by the end of the night I would have that mouth and that
body, naked and pressed up against mine.
“Need me to talk about something else?”
“I need you to get out of the car.”
Xander eyed me as I sat there counting back from twenty.
“Hmm, let’s see. I have a bunch of resumés to look
through this weekend. Want to help me? We could read over
them in bed.”
I had a very clear and vivid vision of him naked in bed,
wearing nothing but his reading glasses, and that didn’t help
at all.
“I still can’t believe Jim was the one who talked to
Entertainment Now! So disappointing.”
Yep, that did it. I’d been livid when I found out Jim had
been the one to betray Xander that way. But I wasn’t all that
surprised. He’d rubbed me wrong from the get-go.
Not wanting my mood to turn south, I leaned across the
car and pressed a kiss to Xander’s lips. “Get out of the car,
anchorman.”
“You’re decent?”
 “As decent as I’m going to get with you anywhere
nearby.”
Xander’s low chuckle told me he knew exactly what he did
to me. He climbed out of the car and met me at the front.
“As difficult as it might be in there, I’d appreciate you
keeping your hands to yourself.”
Xander smirked. “I’ll try my hardest.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” I said as we came to a
stop outside of Bailey’s front door and knocked.
As we waited for someone to answer, I took the moment
to enjoy the sight of Xander relaxed and casual for the
afternoon. He was in those slip-on loafers he favored, navy-
blue Bermuda shorts, and a white button-down that I
desperately wanted to peel him out of later.
He had on a pair of Aviator sunglasses that hid his eyes
from view, and that thick, sexy hair was styled in a way that
made me want to run my hands through it and pull that
tempting mouth to mine.
I was just about to tell him how damn good he looked
when the door was pulled open and Bailey appeared on the
other side.
This was the first time the three of us had seen one
another since Monday, and even though Xander had assured
me that everything between us was good, I braced myself all
the same.
“Hey, guys.” Bailey’s smile was warm and inviting, a far
cry from the last few times we’d all been in the same
vicinity, and it immediately put me at ease. “Come on in.
Henri’s just finishing up in the shower.”
Xander stepped inside first, and with his hand still tight
around mine, he pressed a kiss to Bailey’s cheek. “It’s good
to see you.”
“You too.” Bailey grinned. “Don’t look so worried, Sean.
I’m not going to freak out on you.”
 Xander chuckled as Bailey shut the door behind us. “He’s
been worrying the whole way over here.”
My mouth fell open as I stared Xander down. “Traitor.”
“What? It’s the truth.”
“Well? Can you blame me?”
“Not at all.” Bailey looked between the two of us. “But
you don’t need to worry anymore. I’ve moved past the denial
and stupidity stage and am now well and truly in the happy-
for-you stage.”
When I just stood there, Bailey let out a deep breath and
said, “I mean it, Sean, seriously. After talking to you and
then Xander, I realize what an idiot I’ve been. I love you both
so much. I just want you to be happy, and obviously you
make each other happy.”
“We do.” Xander leaned into my side, squeezing my
fingers.
“Then what more could I want?”
I was about to respond when there was a loud knock on
the door. Kieran stepped inside, his goofy grin greeting us
all.
Shit. Somewhere during the past week I’d forgotten all
about Kieran and telling him what was going on. That wasn’t
all that surprising, however. He worked insane shifts down
at the station, so we basically caught him on Saturday for
dinner, and since Bailey had cancelled the last few, I hadn’t
had the opportunity to catch him up on, well…everything.
He shut the door behind him, turned to look at the three
of us, smirked, slapped a magazine up against my chest, and
held up a pen. “You think you could autograph this for me?”
I stared down at the copy of Entertainment Now! then
aimed a withering look his way.
“Oh, you’re right,” he said, and snatched it back before
handing it to Xander. “I should get the famous guy to do it.
It’s worth more that way.”
 “Shut the hell up,” I said, and took the magazine away
from the moron before Xander decided to placate him by
actually signing the thing.
“What? You’re famous now, and gay, apparently. But the
last one isn’t going to do much for me, so…” Kieran smirked,
and I whacked him in the arm with the magazine. “Ouch.”
He rubbed his bulging bicep then looked to Xander. “You
sure you want this guy? Really? I mean, I’m the best-looking
one out of the Bailey brothers. Let’s be real.”
Xander grinned. “You’re also the straightest.”
Kieran seemed to mull that over and then laughed. “Huh,
fair point. But if I ever change my mind—”
“You’ll stay the hell away from him.”
Both Bailey and Kieran’s eyes widened to the size of
saucers, and I realized just how possessive that sounded.
“And on that note…” We all looked over Bailey’s shoulder
to see Boudreaux sauntering down the hall. “I say we move
this little get-together out onto the deck, before Dick decides
to draw his sword and show us all how big it is.”
31
 XANDER

“SO HOW’S WORK these days? Busy?” I asked, as Henri took

a seat beside me at the outside table, while the brothers
watched over the grill.
“Busy enough. There’s always someone doing something
they shouldn’t. But I don’t need to tell you about that, now
do I?” He popped the bottle caps off the beers he’d just
grabbed and handed one over. “So, you and Dick, huh?”
I laughed. “Way to ease into things there.”
“Eh, we’re way past that now. We’ve moved on to the
‘you lied to me’ part. So spill.”
Henri and I hadn’t really gotten around to having a one-
on-one about the me-and-Sean deal, and I’d been curious
about his thoughts, considering that one conversation we’d
had when he thought we were an item.
“I didn’t lie.”
“Bullshit. I asked you flat out if the two of you were
fucking. You said no.”
While not as shocking to hear as it was the first time
around, I still found myself choking on my swallow of beer.
“So classy, Henri.”
“I’m a classy kinda guy. And you’re avoiding my
question.”
 “Fine. To answer your question, the last time you asked
me, we weren’t together. I was…feeling things, but it just
seemed weird because it was—”
“Dick?”
I looked over to where Sean was laughing at something
Kieran said. “Yes. I’ve known Sean my whole life. It was
strange that I was reacting to him the way I was. But when
he started to feel the same way, one thing led to another, and
—”
“You started fucking.”
“Oh my God. I need more alcohol than this.”
“Nah.” Henri laughed. “I’m just messing with you. A little
payback on Bailey’s behalf.”
I winced and lowered my beer to the table. “I deserve
that, for sure. I hate how he found out.”
“So do I. You two should’ve talked to him before then.
Always sucks to feel like the last person to know. The fool in
the room, you know? But I get it. A lot was going on, and he
understands that now too.” I nodded, and as we looked over
at the three brothers shooting the breeze with one another,
Henri said, “You’ve changed him, you know.”
“Who? Sean?”
“Yep.” Henri tipped his beer up and drained it. “He was a
miserable, surly pain in the ass when I first met him.”
“How did you two meet? Whenever I ask, he always
changes the subject.”
Henri scoffed. “Probably for the best. That story doesn’t
really show either of us in a particularly good light. But these
last couple of months, it’s like he’s a totally different person.
He laughs, smiles, and, let’s be real, actually gives a shit
about how he looks these days. You did that.”
“He did that.”
“Because of you. You bring out the best in him. You know
how I know that?” Henri looked at Bailey and smiled.
“Because Bailey did the same for me.”
I looked across the deck, and when Sean’s eyes caught on
mine, my heart thumped a little faster. I might’ve brought
the best out in Sean, but that worked both ways. He’d taught
me how to stop and slow down. How to unplug from the rat
race and take time to enjoy who and what was around me—
not just work, work, work. That was an invaluable lesson.
“Careful there, Xander.” Henri’s voice brought me back to
the present. “Your eyes are all hearts and rainbows right
now.”
“Good.” I didn’t bother looking away from Sean as he
headed my way. Didn’t bother trying to hide it. I was finally
able to look at him the way I’d wanted to for the past two
months, and I wasn’t about to feel ashamed of it now.
When he got to the table, Sean slid the tray of hamburger
patties and buns on the end, and then sank down into the
seat beside me and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Oh God.” Kieran groaned as he dropped into a seat
opposite us. “I don’t know if I can deal with a sappy Sean.
It’s kind of nauseating.”
I grinned against Sean’s lips before he pulled away from
me and flipped off his younger brother. “You’re just jealous
because you’re the only one sitting here solo tonight.”
Kieran scoffed. “Sure, that’s it. You don’t actually think
this is my last stop on a Saturday night, do you?”
Bailey came out of the house carrying a tray full of
chopped tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and every condiment
known to man, and slid it down next to the burger and buns.
“I don’t care where your last stop is,” Sean said. “As long
as it’s nowhere near me.”
Everyone laughed as Bailey moved into the seat beside
Henri. Kieran picked up the tray of patties and passed it
Sean’s way. “Feel like a little meat tonight?”
 Sean rolled his eyes and took the tray from his brother.
“You’re an idiot.”
“Aw, come on, you have to know I’m gonna give you shit
about this for at least six months, right?”
Before Sean could respond, Bailey threw a bun at his
younger brother. “Why don’t you stick something in your
mouth instead of flapping it all night.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s on Sean’s agenda tonight, not
mine.”
“Kieran.”
“Geez, okay. Sean comes out of the closet and suddenly
we all have to act like he’s got a sensitive side.”
Sean laughed. “You’re such a shit.”
“And who do you think I learned that from?”
The brotherly bickering went back and forth around the
table, and Henri eyed me and winked, the message clear: See,
changed for good.
He was right. I hadn’t seen these three so relaxed in
years, and as we ate our way through dinner, the jovial
camaraderie continued.
“So Bailey tells me you’re moving out of the mansion in
the sky.” Henri sat back and rested an arm along Bailey’s
seat.
Finished with my burger, I looked at them and nodded.
“After everything that happened there, I just can’t imagine
going back.”
“The guy took photos in his bedroom, in his bed.” Sean
took my hand. “There’s no way he’d ever feel comfortable
there again.”
“No shit.” Kieran popped the last few chips on his plate
into his mouth, then grabbed his phone. “Guy sounds like he
was a total freak.”
“Yeah,” I said with a frown.
 “So you’re moving into Sean’s place permanently?”
Bailey laughed. “Okay, now I know you love him.”
“Hey, my place isn’t that bad.”
Bailey’s horrified look would’ve matched my own just a
couple of months ago. But after having lived there and fallen
in love there, my opinion of Sean’s place had dramatically
changed. In fact, I was kind of sad over the thought of
leaving it behind.
“It’s not that bad. Actually, it’s kind of grown on me.”
Sean narrowed his eyes, and I grinned. “What? It has.”
“Mhmm. What he’s also not telling you is we’re going to
start looking for another place. That’s why he’s not freaking
out right now.”
“You are?” Bailey looked between the two of us. “Now
this’ll be interesting. Where are you looking? The city or
suburbs?”
The two of us laughed. “We have no idea.” I turned to
Bailey and said, “I think I want to get out of the city.”
“Seriously? But you love it there.”
“I used to, and I love working there and being in the
middle of it all.” I squeezed Sean’s hand. “But I think I want
to be somewhere quieter when the day is done.”
The emotions swirling in Sean’s eyes suddenly made me
wish we were somewhere quieter and more private.
“We were thinking somewhere by the lake,” he said, his
eyes still glued to mine.
“Really?” Henri sat up a little straighter in his seat. “How
far from the city?”
Returning our attention to everyone at the table, I
shrugged. “We hadn’t really thought about it. We were going
to start looking next week.”
Henri and Bailey were having some kind of silent
conversation as they looked at one another.
“Why…?” I asked.
 “Well,” Henri said. “There’s this place that just became
available up on Chicago’s North Shore—they’re having an
open house this weekend. It’s about a thirty-minute drive,
but—”
“It’s gorgeous.” Bailey eyed me. “Lake views, sandy
shores, immaculate outdoor area, and super private.”
“What are you, their real estate agent?” Sean said, and I
couldn’t help but laugh because Bailey really was laying it on
thick.
“No… I’m just imagining spending the weekends out
there.”
Sean looked suspicious. “How did you hear about the
place?”
Bailey turned to Henri, who shrugged. “It belonged to
someone who, uh, won’t be needing it anymore.”
“Meaning?” I asked.
“Meaning he’s currently doing twenty to life in Stateville,
and his wife is motivated to sell.”
“You want to sell us a criminal’s house?”
“Hey,” Henri said. “You might get it for a steal.”
“You said it’s on the lake?” I asked, looking at Bailey.
“Yep,” he said. “Seriously, it’s stunning.”
I looked to Sean, who arched a brow. “Really?”
“Aren’t you curious?” I asked.
Kieran looked up from his phone and waggled his brows.
“Bet that’s not the first time you’ve said that to him.”
Sean pointed to his phone. “Shut up and go back to your
sexting.”
“Don’t mind if I do.”
Sean looked back to me and smiled. “I guess we’re going
to the North Shore this weekend, then.”
I pressed a kiss to his lips and nodded. “Guess we are.”
32
 SEAN

“TONIGHT WAS FUN.”

I followed Xander inside and tossed my keys on the entry
table. “Which part?”
“All of it.”
“Yeah, I don’t know about that. Kieran’s getting a little
too mouthy for his own good, and Boudreaux—”
“Gave us a great place to look at tomorrow.” Xander
headed down the hall to my bedroom and flicked on the
light. “It was fun. Being back together again.”
“You make us sound like some eighties band that
reunited.”
Xander rolled his eyes. “You know I’m right. Stop acting
so blasé. It was great to see Bailey smiling and—”
“Not glaring us to death?”
“Yes.” Xander chuckled. “I wasn’t sure we’d ever get back
to that point.”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and then went about
securing my weapon, and when I was free and clear of all
obstacles other than clothes, I went after what I’d wanted all
afternoon—Xander.
I took hold of his shirt and drew him in close, and he
wound his arms around my neck.
 “Do you mind if we stop talking about my brothers now?”
I asked.
Xander pretended to mull it over as I slid my hands down
to his ass and walked him back to the bed.
“You got something else you want to talk about instead?”
I nipped at his lower lip and then let him go. “Don’t want
to talk at all.”
“No?”
“No.”
“Then if you don’t want to talk, what do you want?”
Xander licked at the spot I’d just bitten, and my cock jerked.
I knew exactly what I wanted tonight. That tongue in my
mouth. Those hands on my body. I wanted to feel him
against me naked and crazy as I drove him out of his mind.
All that talk about moving in together, and finally being
free to kiss and touch him whenever I liked, had made me
realize that this extraordinary man was really mine, and
tonight I wanted to look at him and know that all the way to
my very soul.
“I want you to undress for me.”
Xander smiled, kicked out of his loafers, and began to
unbutton his shirt. All of the blood in my head rerouted
south, because fuck, Xander was damn fine to look at.
He shrugged out of the shirt and tossed it to the floor.
Then he reached for the button of his shorts. I nodded, the
message clear: keep going.
I reached down to palm my stiffening length. Xander
slipped his thumbs into his shorts and briefs and shoved
them from his hips. When he kicked them aside and
straightened to his full height, his erection stood tall and
proud, and the sight just about brought me to my knees.
“What now?”
Jesus, I had no idea. I felt like I’d lost the ability to think.
But when he reached down and stroked himself, a low groan
rumbled out of my throat, and I took over for him in a
heartbeat.
The second I wrapped my hand around his thick length,
Xander grabbed my arms and let his eyes fall shut. I slowly
and methodically began to milk his length.
Up and down, I stroked him, his pre-cum making the
slide a sticky mess.
I lowered my head and brushed my lips across his.
“You’re so fucking sexy.”
Xander panted against my lips, his lust-heavy eyes
opening as I flicked my tongue over the corner of his mouth.
“Open for me. I want to taste you.” The second he did, I
slipped my tongue inside.
Xander moaned and shoved his dick through the tight fist
I had around him, as I sampled and tasted his mouth.
He dug his fingers into my biceps as he moved a little
faster, trying for more friction, but I didn’t want that to
happen just yet. I wanted him out of his mind when he
finally let go tonight.
Reluctantly, I released him. “Get on the bed.”
Xander’s breathing was coming hard as he looked me
over, his blue eyes blazing as he visibly tried to calm himself.
Then he did as I asked and got up on the bed.
As he lay down in the center, I kicked out of my shoes and
put a knee to the edge of the mattress. Then I took a nice,
long look at the wicked-hot picture he made. With his
swollen lips, hard cock, and naked body on full display,
Xander was everything I wanted, and he was all mine.
I moved up the bed, and as I came for him, Xander put his
feet flat and widened his legs. Shit. When I got to his stiff
dick, I slid my tongue up the underside.
Xander pumped his hips up off the mattress as a low
curse echoed around the room. I glanced up his body and
flicked my tongue over the swollen head. Xander’s eyes
slammed shut.
“Sean.”
Never had my name sounded hotter than it did right then.
Xander reached for my hair and tangled his fingers through
it. But I wasn’t about to be deterred. I wanted all of him
tonight. I sucked him between my lips, and as I relaxed into
it, I slid my mouth down his thick length until he was
writhing under me.
“Damn, Sean… Don’t stop,” He put a leg up over my
shoulder. Loving the access that gave me, I reached under
his hips and grabbed his ass, and as he began to thrust in
and out of my mouth, I closed my eyes and let him go.
It was just about the hottest thing I’d ever experienced.
Then Xander yanked my head up and said, “No more. Fuck.
No more or I’m going to come.”
I licked my lips, chuckled, and climbed up over him. As I
settled between his naked thighs, I planted my hands by his
head, then I lowered my mouth to his and said, “Open your
eyes.”
Xander immediately did as requested, grabbed at my hips,
and arched up under me. “That feels… Ahh…”
Really fucking good, according to his body, which he was
now rubbing all over mine. Xander reached down between us
and quickly undid my jeans, then he wound his naked legs
around mine and began to get himself off.
His hands went to my jeans and slid inside, shoving the
stiff material down under my bare ass. When our naked
cocks came into direct contact, he craned his head back.
I watched with a greedy sense of ownership as he moved
under me, my brain going crazy over the knowledge that he
was mine, even as he was now marking me in the most
primal way ever.
“Xander, give me your fucking mouth. Kiss me.”
 Xander rose and grabbed the back of my neck, then he
took my mouth in a crushing kiss. I gripped the pillow
beneath his head.
With his tongue in my mouth, a hand on my ass, and his
legs wrapped tightly around me, we were as close as we
could get without releasing one another first—something
neither of us were willing to do.
My erection throbbed as I rubbed it alongside his. When
Xander slipped a hand between us to encircle our lengths, I
tore my mouth free.
Xander grinned against my lips and squeezed his hand
tight. “You going to get naked or am I going to have to get
rough with you.”
I liked the sound of that. “Bring it on, anchorman. Do
your worst.”
33
 XANDER

I FLEXED MY fingers around the two of us as I looked up into

Sean’s tense face. He was so unbelievably sexy hovering over
me. With his cheeks flushed, his lips pulled tight, and his
hair flopping down on his forehead, he looked on edge, like
he wanted to attack and devour me. But first things first.
I released my hold on him and put my hands on his chest,
then I put all my strength behind me and pushed up to roll
him over to his back. I was under no delusions that I
outmuscled Sean. But since he’d all but dared me to take
charge, I figured he’d give in willingly.
As I landed on top of him, I rolled my hips over him,
enjoying the new position and pressure I could apply. It felt
amazing, and when he smoothed his hands down to my bare
ass, I rocked a little harder.
“Jesus, Xander.”
I kissed him quiet—his rule, not mine—and then began
to push the buttons of his shirt free. As I made my way down
his body, I kissed and licked at the skin I revealed until I
finally reached the bottom and spread his shirt apart. At the
sight of his thick erection through his open jeans, I trembled.
I couldn’t wait to feel him inside me. Filling me, stretching
me, taking me over.
 I slipped my fingers into the sides of his jeans and pulled
them free of his legs, then grabbed the lube and a condom
from the side drawer. Not wanting to waste any more time, I
tore open the packet and straddled his thighs.
With my hands on his chest, I shifted until the head of his
cock was brushing against my entrance. Sean’s hands were
back on my ass, spreading me wide, and with his eyes locked
on mine, I began to push back on him.
Nice and slow, I took him one inch at a time, until he was
fully inside me. I dug my fingers into the muscles under
them, and as my body adjusted to his, I lowered myself over
him.
“Move with me,” I whispered against his mouth, and
began to grind my hips over his.
Sean pushed up into me, the pace this time around much
slower but no less intense. The sensation was incredible as
he wound his legs over the back of mine and methodically
moved inside me, hitting every single spot I needed him to.
My fingers were in his hair, my mouth was on his, and as
his cock slid in and out of me, I felt like I could stay this way
with him forever.
“You feel incredible.” Sean kissed his way to my ear and
sucked on my lobe. “Tight and hard in all the right places.”
I closed my eyes and angled my head so he could kiss his
way down my neck, and the sharp scrape of his teeth across
my shoulder made me shove back on him a little harder.
Sean licked over the spot and then sucked on the skin, and
when I clenched around him, a tortured groan left him.
The next thing I knew, we were moving, rolling across the
sheets until I was on my back with Sean between my thighs.
He was still lodged deep inside me. I wound my legs around
his waist, then Sean took my hands and planted them by my
head.
 I entwined my fingers with his as Sean pulled out of my
body. When he slowly re-entered me, he whispered across
my lips, “I love you. So fucking much.”
I trembled under him as he took my mouth in a kiss so
fierce that it made everything other than him disappear.
Sean began to move again, his eyes roving over my face,
gauging my every reaction, my every emotion, as his body
imprinted itself on mine, and every part of me in that
moment was his.
He could see it and I could feel it. My body started to
vibrate under his. Sean lowered his head to the crook of my
shoulder and picked up the pace.
I closed my eyes and held on to him with everything I had.
The pleasure and promise of all our tomorrows swirled
around us here in this bed. It was both exhilarating and
terrifying to feel this connected and vulnerable with another.
But if ever there was someone I trusted with all of me, it was
Sean, and I was ready to risk it all.
“Sean… I love you.”
This time when his mouth met mine, there was an
underlying desperation to acknowledge this moment we both
knew we were in. We each felt the change, felt the
importance of this union. When he reached down to take me
in hand, I cried out.
“Come for me, Xander. I want to see and feel your
pleasure.”
I stared up at him as he stroked me in time with his
steady thrusts, and there was no way I could hold back. My
body shook and tensed, and when the pleasure became too
much to resist, I gave in to it and did as he requested. I came
all over his hand and our stomachs in a hot rush of desire.
Sean’s chest heaved as he stared down at the proof of my
arousal, then he raised his eyes to mine. The love from a
second ago had been swallowed up by raw hunger. He
swooped down to capture my lips with his, and his strong,
solid body began to move over mine like he couldn’t get
enough of me.
I closed my eyes and sank into the feelings consuming us.
Sean stiffened and shouted out my name, and I wrapped
myself around him and held him through the storm.
As our breathing slowed and the room slipped into
silence, no words were needed to express what our bodies
had just said so eloquently. I’d never felt more complete in
my life. In every other relationship, I’d always felt
something was missing. I’d felt unfulfilled in some way that
had left me restless and wanting. But as Sean shifted to my
side and pulled me into his arms, all I felt was content.
I was finally satisfied, finally at peace, and the only thing
I wanted right now was a long, long life, so I could go on
feeling this way forever.
34
 SEAN

“THAT DRIVE WASN’T half as bad as I expected it to be.”

Xander turned onto Crescent Court and slowed the Maserati
to a crawl. “What did you think?”
I looked around the beautifully landscaped area to see
miles and miles of trees, and wondered if there were any
other houses in the near vicinity.
“I agree. I thought the traffic would be a nightmare, but
the commute seemed pretty straightforward.”
“It is Sunday, but I don’t think thirty minutes is too far
out of the city, do you?”
“Not at all. I think it’s nice. Gets us away from it all.”
“Agreed.” Xander smiled at me and squeezed my hand as
he came to a stop at the end of a cul-de-sac. As we climbed
out of the car, I quickly scanned the area and noticed the
perfectly manicured lawns and lush trees concealing the
property behind.
“How big did you say this place was?”
“Just shy of two acres.”
I shut the door to Xander’s car and came around the hood.
“That gate looks like the one that leads to your little hut.
Think the place back there has electricity?”
 I took Xander’s hand in mine and tugged him up the drive
to the gate. “I think you might be in luck. Pretty sure they
probably have an inside bathroom, too.”
Xander chuckled as he keyed in the security code to the
lockbox and grabbed the keys. Once we were inside, we
headed up a stone pathway, which was surrounded by thick
hedges and garden statues that seemed to be a part of the
elaborate outdoor area. I could only imagine how the inside
looked if the garden itself was so well kept.
“Bailey was right,” Xander said when the home finally
came into view. “These grounds are stunning.”
“They sure are.” It was hard to actually believe we were
only thirty minutes from the city. It was so quiet that the
only sounds I could hear were the birds in the trees and
water lapping against the shore somewhere off in the
distance.
It was exactly the kind of place that called to me. I just
wondered if it would be too isolated for someone as city slick
as Xander was.
“Well, what do you think, anchorman? Want to take a
look inside?”
Xander’s grin was answer enough. He made his way up to
the front door and unlocked it. As we entered the two-story
living room, the first thing I noticed was the expansive
space. It was highlighted by all of the natural light through
the wall-to-wall windows, which also showcased spectacular
lake and garden views.
Everywhere you looked, there was something new to see,
but when Xander stopped in front of the windows on the
opposite side of the room, it wasn’t the view I found myself
staring at but him.
“Oh, Sean, you need to come and look at this view.”
I slipped my hands into my pockets and crossed the room.
Directly ahead was every kind of tree you could possibly
imagine. Oak, ash, maple, all of them fully grown, all of
them bordering our very own private oasis, should we choose
it. But that wasn’t all—if you looked through the thick
foliage, you could see the lake stretching out beyond that, as
far as the eye could see.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” Xander looked back at me, and as I
stared into his handsome face, I forgot all about trees, lakes,
and homes, and instead got caught up in his sparkling eyes.
“It is.”
“Let’s go and look at the rest of it.” Xander kissed me on
the lips and then took hold of my hand, leading me through
to the next room. “Okay, this is a dream kitchen. Look at the
oven.”
I looked at the range and gas grill and grinned as he
walked through all the white marble and stainless-steel
appliances. As he traced his fingertips across the kitchen
island and around to the other side, I leaned against the
doorframe and watched him go.
He opened and shut cupboards, checked out the butler’s
pantry, and when he came back out with an even bigger grin,
I chuckled.
“So does it meet your approval?”
“Are you laughing at me?”
I clamped my lips together and shook my head. “Uh ah.”
“I don’t know, I feel like you’re laughing at me.”
I reached for his hand and drew him to me. “I’m enjoying
you.”
“And what exactly does that mean?”
With his hands on my chest and mine around his waist, I
brushed a kiss across his lips and grinned. “It means I’m
enjoying your enjoyment as you look around. What’s so
exciting about the pantry?”
Xander slid his hands up over my shoulders and looped
his arms around my neck. “Other than the fact it’s a secret
little room where we can hide and make out when we have
guests?”
Oh, I liked that idea. But I had a feeling there was more to
his excitement. Something a little more…uppity.
“That’s definitely a plus, but I think there’s something
else that got you all worked up about that room. Something
less sexy and more…domesticated that you don’t want to tell
me about.”
I pulled away from Xander and headed to the pantry, and
when I opened it up to see a full sink and fridge inside, I
turned back to face him.
He shrugged. “What? Sometimes it’s nice to prepare a
fancy appetizer for guests and surprise them.”
“I can honestly say that thought never occurred to me.” I
walked back over, took his chin in hand, and kissed him
hard. “And for that reason, I love you.”
Xander rolled his eyes. “That’s your way of asking how
the hell are we together.”
I swiped my thumb across his lower lip. “No. That’s my
way of saying I love you.”
Xander swayed into me and sighed. “Sean…”
Before things got out of control, I reached for his hand.
“How about we go and take a look outside.”
“You don’t want to see the rest of the house?”
“If you take me anywhere near a bedroom right now, it
might turn into a you use it, you buy it situation.”
“Is that supposed to deter me?”
Judging by the look on his face, no. And I was tempted.
Really fucking tempted. But who knew what kind of security
setup a house like this had? The last thing I needed was my
naked ass splashed all over Entertainment Now!
“Come on, let’s go check out the pool and lake. I know
that’s one of the main draws for you, and personally, I want
to see this private beach the listing talked about.”
 “Deal. But don’t think I’m leaving without checking out
the main bathroom in this place. Next to the bedrooms,
that’s the most important place for me.”
“Hey, any place you get naked, I want to visualize.”
Xander looked around the kitchen, a sensual smile
curving his lips. “Start visualizing, then. We get a place this
private, you’ll be lucky if I bring clothes when we move in.”
If the real estate agent had been there, I would’ve signed
the papers right then and there.
35
 XANDER

I PUSHED THROUGH the French doors that led out onto the
paved patio area, and as the fresh air hit me, I took a deep
breath in and soaked in the beauty of the place.
Bailey and Henri had been spot on with their
recommendation. This place was the perfect blend of
opulence and tranquility. It mixed all of the things that Sean
loved: the outdoors, the seclusion, and the peace, while
catering to my “uppity” ways.
I could definitely see us here, and judging by Sean’s
reaction, I knew he was feeling it too. I smiled to myself as I
checked out the pool that was off to the left, and directly up
ahead there was a path leading through the sprawling
property behind the house.
“This place just gets better and better.”
I turned to see Sean heading in my direction, and with his
sunglasses on and the lake breeze ruffling his hair, I couldn’t
get over how at home he looked here—and how incredibly
handsome.
“It does.” I took his hand, then we headed toward the
path. “Bailey and Henri were right, weren’t they?”
“Yeah, they didn’t do too bad.”
“Didn’t do too bad?”
 “I mean, don’t forget, the place does belong to a
criminal.” Sean scoffed. “I don’t know why I’m so surprised
coming from Boudreaux.”
“It doesn’t belong to him anymore,” I said, and bumped
into Sean’s arm. “And like Henri said, the fact that the
seller’s husband is, uh…moving out—”
“Nice way to spin the facts.”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Well, that does make her extra motivated to sell.”
Sean stopped beneath the arching canopy of leaves and
pulled off his glasses. “You could really see yourself out
here? This far away from the city?”
“Are you kidding?” I looked around us, and the fact there
was no one here but us gave me a sense of privacy and
anonymity that I no longer felt in the city. “The problem
isn’t seeing myself out here, it’s wanting to leave once I get
here.”
“Really?”
I knew I’d surprised him. I’d been the quintessential city
boy as long as he’d known me. But over the last couple of
months I’d realized there was something to slowing down
and getting away from it all, and I had this man to thank for
that.
“You’re surprised.”
“You could say that.” Sean slipped his glasses back on.
“You’ve always struck me more as—”
“Be nice,” I teased.
“I was going to be. You’ve always struck me more as the
kind who likes the conveniences a big city brings.”
“I always have been. But someone recently showed me
the benefits of getting away from the city. That little trip you
took me on?”
“Yeah?”
 “It changed something in me, Sean. It made me crave
that kind of peace in my everyday life. That freedom to just
unplug and be me when the day is done. You told me you go
out to Savanna to be reminded that there’s still beauty in the
world. Well, I think this could be a good reminder of that too,
don’t you?”
Sean looked around and nodded. “It definitely could be.”
We came to a white gate covered in vines. I pushed it open
and looked down the stairs. “The beach?”
“That’d be my guess. Want to check it out?”
“Definitely.”
We followed the stairs down to a beautifully terraced bluff
and the private beach the listing boasted, and as I took in the
panoramic lake views, my feet got stuck in the sand. “Oh my
God. Sean, this is…”
Sean let go of my hand and walked across the shore to the
water’s edge, and the sight of him standing there in the
afternoon sun just about took my breath away.
Sometime during the past couple of months, Sean had
found his way into my heart and become the most important
part of it. He had this way about him that called to me, that
calmed me, and while we knew that people thought we were
mad, to us, it didn’t matter.
It was like we’d waited our entire life to come together at
this exact moment, and I wasn’t about to miss it.
“Marry me.”
The words were out of my mouth before I realized I was
even going to say them. But something about the peace and
quiet of this place made me greedy, realizing that my entire
future was standing right in front of me.
“What did you just say?”
I made my way over to Sean, and as the cool lake breeze
swirled around us, I reached out and took his hands.
 This was it. Sean was it. And as I stood there with my
heart on my sleeve, I asked him again, “Will you marry me?”
 EPILOGUE

Xander

One Week Later

THE RED LIGHT on camera one blinked as I aimed my smile

in Mikey’s direction, and he signaled a commercial break. It
was Friday night and the final broadcast of the week. It was
also a test of sorts for my new EP—Angela Davis—and so
far, she hadn’t messed it up.
Bright, energetic, and possessing a resumé impressive
enough to make both Marcus and myself take a second look,
Angela had jumped at the opportunity to step in tonight and
show us what she could offer as my executive producer.
From the first run-through to the last, she’d gone
through each of the news blocks today in search of the which
story was most important, and not once looked to me for
assistance. She ran my war room like a pro, and sent her
soldiers off to fight the good fight, and when I’d sat down in
front of the camera tonight, I’d had no hesitation about the
lineup she’d handed over.
I glanced at the clock above the cameras and took a sip of
water as everyone moved back into position, indicating we
were about to go back on air. A few seconds away from go,
the door to the studio opened and Ryan stepped inside with
Sean in tow. They looked in my direction and waved.
This was the best part of my day. When Sean walked into a
room—any room. It was like everything else in the world
faded into the background, and as far as I was concerned,
that was where it could stay.
Ryan led him over to camera two. Sean stopped beside
Greg and nodded at something Ryan said, and I took a
moment to drink in the sight of him.
In a fitted blue suit that molded to his frame and an open
white collared shirt beneath, Sean looked as handsome as
ever. He’d styled his hair, pushing it back from his face, and
tonight he’d trimmed his stubble down to a sexy shadow
that I wanted to rub my cheek against.
He’d dressed up tonight because we were celebrating.
Yesterday, we’d signed the paperwork for the house on the
North Shore, and we’d decided to go out to dinner this
evening before we dove into packing up my place this
weekend.
Life was barreling along at a million miles an hour, and
we were holding on to each other and enjoying the ride.
Before I could go and get my hands on him tonight, however,
I needed to wrap up the broadcast and sign off for the
weekend.
Sean winked at me, and I turned in my seat so I was back
to facing camera one.
Mikey nodded my way, a gesture I returned. Then he
counted me in.
“We’re back in five, four, three…”
 “As you all know, we usually end our broadcast with a
story that inspires. One that uplifts or brings joy to us all. A
story that gives us a reason to be happy and hopeful as we
head into the evening. But tonight, instead of venturing
outside of the newsroom for our final story, I’d like to take a
moment to share with you some joyful news of my own. This
past weekend, I got engaged. As a gay man, I wasn’t sure I’d
ever say those words. But last Sunday, I asked the most
wonderful man I’ve ever met to marry me, and he said yes.
And tonight, I’d like you to meet him.”
I paused to let those words sink in then cut my eyes to
Sean. Ryan shoved him forward into the spotlights. The
silence in the studio was palpable as everyone looked
between the two of us wide-eyed and slack-jawed.
Surprise.
“This is Sean. As some of you might already know, he’s a
detective with the Chicago Police Department, and just
recently he stepped into the role of my bodyguard. But what
you don’t know is that I’ve known Sean for years. Ever since
I was in elementary school. We grew up right under each
other’s noses, but it wasn’t until I almost lost him that I
realized exactly what I’d been missing.”
Sean’s stunned expression was locked on me as I slowly
got to my feet.
“A hometown boy who loves fishing, frogs, the Chicago
Bulls, and his brothers, Sean is up for just about anything
unless it involves sushi or a black tie. But no one’s perfect,
right?”
The crew chuckled as I walked around my desk and made
my way over to Sean.
“We are opposites in every way that’s possible, but that’s
what’s going to make life interesting, and I am beyond
thrilled that he agreed to be my husband.”
 I took Sean’s hand, and he shook his head as though he
thought I’d gone mad. But the love in his eyes told me he
wasn’t upset in the slightest.
I looked back to the camera, where Mikey signaled me for
the closing, and smiled. “From my family here at ENN, to
yours out there watching at home, I hope you all have a safe
and wonderful night. I’m Alexander Thorne. Thank you for
joining us here at Global News.”
As the light on the camera switched to red, the spotlights
shut off and the studio lights flooded the room. The crew
broke out in raucous applause, and when Bailey, Henri, and
Kieran stepped through the cheering crowd, Sean aimed
accusatory eyes my way.
“You planned all of this.”
I grinned. “Well, if we’re going to make the news, I’m
going to give them a headline worth writing about.”
Sean wrapped his arm around my shoulders and planted a
kiss on my cheek. The sound of a champagne cork echoed
around the room. We looked over to see Marcus holding up a
bottle and two glasses.
“To the happy couple,” he called out. “May the rest of
your lives run as smoothly as tonight’s broadcast did.
Congratulations, Angela, you’re hired. To everyone else,
there’s more of this waiting out in the newsroom.”
As everyone filed out of the studio, Sean turned me in his
arms and brushed a kiss across my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Sean grinned, arrogant as ever. “Yeah, I kinda got that
when you told millions of viewers.”
“Are you mad?”
He shook his head. “Mad? Are you kidding? The sexiest
news anchor in America just announced he’s marrying me.
I’m just hoping Ryan will get me a copy of that. You know, so
I can remind you anytime I feel under-appreciated.”
 “Is that right?” I chuckled and took his hand in mine as
we headed for the studio door to join the others. “I’ll just
have to make sure I appreciate you as often as possible, then,
won’t I.”
Sean let out a low groan, and when we reached the door,
he stopped me. “Think we could make a break for it?”
“What did you have in mind?”
“You, me, and a little place that only we know about.”
I smiled and tugged him toward the opposite door. “Will
there be Pop-Tarts?”
“And a couple of frogs, I’m sure.”
That sounded as close to perfect as life could possibly get,
and as we slipped out into the summer night, we went in
search of stars and forever, knowing exactly where to go to
find them.
 THANK YOU

Thank you so much for reading the Prime Time Series. I hope
you enjoyed watching Sean and Xander fall in love as much
as I did over the past few months.

They have truly helped me get through 2020, and I will

forever be thankful to you and them for that!
Until the next journey we take together, stay well!

Xx Ella

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 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

If you’d like to get to know Ella better, you can find her getting up to all kinds of
shenanigans at:

The Naughty Umbrella

And if you would like to talk with other readers who love Ella’s character’s from
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Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including
Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite contemporary
romance, Sex Addict. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!”
and “enticingly sexy!”

Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R.
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