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“Oh, smart,andmakes good money. Damn, you’re in business if he’s good-looking too.”

Dean did not want to be the one to tell Troy that Marco was, in fact, quite handsome. Troy made it his business to be involved in everyone else’s business and, for some reason, took a particular interest in their love lives. The others working in the clinic were usually safe, either because they already had a steady relationship and thus weren’t all that interesting to Troy or because they didn’t give him as strong a reaction as Dean.

“And what’s Sloane think about this?”

Dean frowned. “What’s Sloane got to do with it?”

Troy raised a brow. “I mean, the guy’s your best friend, isn’t he?”

It was true, he and Sloane had met in boot camp, and from then on, the two of them had been close. Fate seemed to conspire to keep the two of them around one another, ensuring they were transferred to the same bases. Even when Dean had been deployed, Sloane had ended up deployed to the same desert outpost, though on an entirely different squad. Theywere never assigned to the same team, duty, or anything too close, but they were never too far apart. It had been a relief, though not unexpected, when Dean arrived at Fort Dale after his deployment, only to discover Sloane was already there.

“Yeah,” Dean said, forcing his jaw to relax.

“Well, unless you guys have a different kind of relationship than what other people call friendship, I imagine he’d have an opinion.”

Dean shrugged. “Not really.”

Troy snorted. “I find it hard to believe Sloane doesn’t have an opinion. The guy’s got an opinion on everything, and it’s usually a foul one.”

“Don’t be an ass,” Dean told him.

“Am I wrong?”

“He’s not that bad.”

Dean tried not to let Troy’s eye roll get the better of him. Sloane wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, but his best friend had a good heart. It was just buried beneath a foul attitude and an even fouler mouth. Many people were willing to look past the surly expression usually planted on Sloane’s face, with at least half of them willing to do so because of the man’s looks. Having known Sloane for almost six years, Dean was pretty sure his friend had no idea how attractive he was. What Sloane did know was his looks tended to lure people closer to him, much to his irritation.

“Anyway, he doesn’t know,” Dean said.

“Wow, don’t you guys share everything?”

Not everything, though it wasn’t from a lack of wanting on Dean’s part. In the early days, he would have happily shared a bed with Sloane. Even in boot camp, Sloane had been big, and his time serving had made him into a veritable slab of muscle. With pitch-black hair, flashing green eyes, a jawline that couldcut glass, and a low, rough rumble for a voice, Dean could unashamedly admit Sloane was sex on two legs.

Once Dean got to know Sloane better, the sexual element of his thoughts had eased, though never disappeared completely. The more he’d seen of Sloane, ignoring the grumpiness while also knowing when to cut through it with bite of his own, the more his feelings for Sloane changed. Lust and desire had grown into an intensely close friendship and, eventually, something Dean could only call love. Everywhere they went, people commented on their bond, and Dean could easily see himself spending the rest of his life with the man.

Except, Sloane was completely, utterly, and hopelessly straight.

“I’m not going to go running to him every time I go on a date,” Dean finally told Troy, turning away to face the computer.

Troy leaned back as though sensing he was treading on dangerous ground. “Look, I know what I said a minute ago, and I mean it. Sloane is a grumpy fuck who’s just as willing to knock you over the head for looking at him wrong as he is to ignore you completely when you talk to him. But he’s not like that with you, and heaven help anyone stupid enough to talk shit about you when he’s within earshot. The dude is really protective, and he obviously gives a shit. Just seems like something you’d tell him.”

Dean breathed, pushing away the familiar but faint pang of longing. How many times had he seen the same behavior from Sloane in the past and hoped it meant there was a chance for them? The nights Dean had spent analyzing everything Sloane said and did that day, hoping for a sign, looking for a clue that his dreams might come true. It had taken him years to learn how to move past that, keeping hold of his close bond with Sloane at the same time, that he could only now ignore the feelings and move on with his life.

Hence his budding relationship with Marco.

“Well, that’s exactly why I haven’t told him about Marco yet. I don’t need him getting stressed out because I’m dating when I don’t even know if it’s going to be anything serious,” Dean said, opening the spreadsheet again to keep busy.

“But you’re going to tell him if it does, right?”

Dean glanced over his shoulder, smirking. “For someone who doesn’t like Sloane very much, you seem worried about him.”

Troy wrinkled his nose. “Look, if he gets pissed off, everyone around him is going to suffer, and probably the people around you too. I just don’t want to get punched.”

Dean smiled sweetly. “If you were worried about that, you wouldn’t constantly be sticking your nose in my dating life.”

Troy hummed, holding his hands out. “I promise I shall endeavor to maintain a more professional and respectful relationship with you from here on out, and I shan’t enquire any further.”

Dean looked unimpressed. “Uh-huh, until tomorrow, or more likely, when a new question hits your tiny brain.”