Page 49 of Brokered Betrayals

Mendoza waved him away with his free hand. “No explanations needed. I trust you.”

Royce expected to hear harpsichord music and see a beam of angelic benevolence shine upon his husband’s head.

“Thank you,” Sawyer said, then turned to Abe. “I promise I’m not interfering in your investigation. I jot down thoughts to keep my brain from turning them over on an endless loop.”

“I understand. Charlie told me he’s kept you updated, and I don’t have a problem with it. I’d want the same thing if our situations were reversed.”

“Thank you.” Sawyer noticed the paused television screen and asked if they’d watchedEnglish Teacher.

Abe and Mendoza told him they hadn’t yet, then launched into another impassioned endorsement ofRuPaul’s Drag Race.

“Alec loves that show,” Sawyer said. “He swears I’ll love it too, but I’m more of a documentary man.”

“Give it a shot,” Abe said. “And don’t judge the entire franchise on the weird camera filter they use in season one.”

They chatted for a while longer until Darla woke up from her nap, looking for her next bottle. She nuzzled against Mendoza’s chest, and he laughed.

“Can’t help you, kid,” he said, offering her back to Royce.

“I’ll warm up her bottle,” Sawyer said.

“We should get going.” Abe stood and hauled Mendoza by his hand.

“We need to tackle laundry and groceries and all the boring things I did not miss during vacation,” Mendoza said. “Enjoy these precious months at home with Darla. They’ll go by so fast.” He cocked his head to the side. “Before you know it—”

“Nope,” Royce said, cutting him off. He didn’t want to think about how quickly time would pass. “I just have this moment right here, and I’ll never get it back.”

Abe clapped him on the back. “There you go.” He gestured to the kitchen, where Sawyer was readying Darla’s bottle. “Don’t let him lose sight of that. I want you guys to enjoy being first-time fathers and let my department worry about the Ned Owens investigation.”

“Yes, sir.”

Royce, Darla, and Dolly saw them to the door before returning to the couch, where Sawyer waited for them with a warm bottle. He had a Boppy pillow on his lap and a soft spit-up towel draped over one shoulder. Sawyer’s brown eyes were warm, free of fear, and full of hope. “You’ve never looked more beautiful to me than you do right now.”

“You’re being silly,” Sawyer said.

“No, I’m not. Fatherhood looks so damn good on you.”

“Not as good as it looks on you,” Sawyer said.

And they grinned at each other like fools until Darla kicked up a fuss. Royce handed her to Sawyer and smiled as he positioned her the way she liked. They were so perfect together. It would be so easy to imagine what their life could look like in one year, five years, or even ten. But he wouldn’t allow it. Royce had this one breathtaking moment, and it was all he needed.

Sawyer pressed Record and discreetly aimed his cell phone in Royce’s direction as RuPaul prepared to name the season two winning queen. Royce had his heart set on Raven taking the crown, but Sawyer had stumbled across enough Reddit rants to know that would not happen. Sawyer kept his head aimed toward the television but shifted his gaze to the recliner, where Royce lounged with their sleeping daughter.

“Come on,” Royce mumbled. “Crown Raven already.” He chewed his bottom lip as RuPaul built tension on the screen. There was a dramatic pause, and then Ru announced Tyra as the winner. “What?” Royce stage-whispered. Darla’s little arms went up in the air like she was signaling a touchdown, but she didn’t wake up. Dolly didn’t bark. Bones didn’t flee from Sawyer’s lap. Royce patted Darla’s back and kissed the top of her head. “Papa’s sorry, baby girl.” Royce scowled in his direction,and Sawyer expected to be called out for recording his reaction. But he said, “Why aren’t you outraged?”

“Raven is stunning and my first pick, but the judges were enamored by Tyra,” Sawyer said casually.

“No, there’s more to it than that.” Royce studied him through narrowed eyes, and Sawyer barely resisted the urge to laugh. “You already knew the outcome.”

“Guilty. I didn’t mean to find the results, but I came across them when researching something else about the franchise.” Sawyer tapped the phone to stop the recording and quickly texted it to Alec with a message that read,Look what you’ve done!Technically, Sawyer could lay their newest obsession at Mendoza’s feet, but Alec was the first person in their inner circle to push the show.

“Did you record my reaction?” Royce asked.

“Yep.”

Royce’s mouth fell open in outrage. “Did you just send that to someone?”

“Alec,” Sawyer replied. “He’ll be happy to know we’re addicted to the show too.” Sawyer’s phone buzzed with an incoming call, and Alec’s name on the screen wasn’t a surprise.