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Yet I still could offer up gratitude for Anthony and Brooklyn helping out.“Uh, anything I need to know about Colin?”

“Great guy.Married to another great guy.Has a dog—Widget.”

“The French bulldog?”

Anthony cut me a quick look before refocusing on the road.“Uh…yeah.”

“Kevin told me.”

“Oh.Yeah.Joe and Alec’s kid.Great family.Lovely dog.”

“Does everyone own a dog?”I asked the question half-kidding.

Only half.

“Uh, no.Scott and I only have a very grumpy cat named Crumpet whom we affectionately call Crumpy.With three kids, we’re already run off our feet.Maybe when the twins are older… Ah, we’re here.”

I’d lost track of whereherewas.Hell, I couldn’t have found Brooklyn’s house again.Neighborhoods weren’t labeled in Gaynor Beach.More just that if one crossed a certain street, then one was in another area.But the town was small enough that everything felt close.

Had we even left Riverside?Or just gone from one end to the other?

The driveway he pulled into belonged to a huge house.Like, really big.Bigger than most of the places I’d seen near me.So definitely another neighborhood.

Anthony put the SUV in park, cut the engine, and gave me a sympathetic smile.“He’s just a regular guy.”

“And rich.”

“And comfortable.I’ll let him share what he wants.”

Even as he said the words, the garage door opened.

A man with burnished red hair stepped out into the sun.He had a wide grin on his face and, if I were to judge, was about my height.

“I need to get going.”Anthony winced.

“No worries.”I grabbed the duffel at my feet.He’d already done so much for me today—especially given he had an emergency.“Thanks.”

“You’re in good hands.”He offered a smile.“I’d trust my kids with him.”

Which was the reassurance I needed.Anthony always came across as sturdy.Strong.But in the moment when he uttered those words, I read a vulnerability.Something that crossed from professional to personal.Then the mask snapped back on.

I slid from his vehicle and waved at the stranger.

He waved briefly as Anthony backed his SUV out of the driveway, then turned his attention to me.“I’m Colin.”

Somehow I expected an Irish accent.Not… I cocked my head.

“Long Island.”

“Ah.A transplant.”

“Sometimes I think we all are.My husband is here via Los Angeles.Which is where we’re headed.”He gestured to the empty duffel.“You want to throw that in the back?”

“Sure.”Somehow that felt like a mature thing to do because what I really wanted was to grip it to my chest.

“Woof.”

I turned to see James sauntering up the driveway with the cutest smoosh-faced little dog attached to the leash.I crouched to greet the dog because I remembered the effusive thanks I’d offered James over and over the day he’d let me move into his home.