Page 91 of Burden of Proof

“I’m Finn,” Finn said before Hunter could even get the words out. “Nice to meet you.”

“Lincoln,” I said with a nod.

“And you know Smith,” Hunter said, not a single hint of jealousy or malice in his tone.

Smith hadn’t left his perch against the fridge, but his expression was the wariest in the room. Part of me wanted to close the space between us and touch him until he wasn’t sad anymore, but the other part of me didn’t want to make things weird for Hunter.

No.

Hunter knew who I was. He knew how I treated my friends.

We’d already agreed we weren’t going to hide our relationship from them, and there was no reason for me to hide my friendship with Smith from him—or anyone else.

“Of course I know Smith,” I said, walking right toward him and sliding my arms around his waist. I kissed him on the cheek and waited until he slipped his arms around me and returned the hug, shoulders relaxing. “He took me to pick up Feeny.”

“Feeny?” Finn asked, expression still unreadable.

I gave Smith a squeeze, noting it was a struggle to get out of his arms and return to Hunter, who took me in without so much as a pause.

“My fish,” I explained. “I got him after Silas moved in with Marshall.”

“You should get a fish,” Hunter said to Finn, who answered that with two middle fingers raised. “So you have company.”

“Do you talk to your fish, Lincoln?” Finn asked. “Does he keep you company?”

“I do talk to him,” I said. “And he doesn’t argue with my choice of takeout for dinner, and he doesn’t leave dirty socks all over the floor, so that’s a win.”

“And he’s beautiful,” Smith said, finally pushing away from the fridge. He went to the counter and poured me some coffee, then disappeared into the living room.

I drank some of my coffee and smiled up at Hunter. “Is it just bacon you’ve got?”

“And toast,” he said. “If Finn would put it in the toaster like I asked him to.”

“I am a guest in your home,” he protested, feigning offense.

“If you’re a hungry guest, you’ll put the bread in the toaster.” Hunter looked from Finn toward the living room, then said to me. “Do you want to go sit down?”

“Are you asking me to check on him?”

He pursed his lips, head bobbling side to side indicating he was very much asking me to check on Smith without wanting to admit it.

“Bacon and toast sounds perfect,” I said, lifting onto my toes to brush a quick kiss against his mouth before passing by Finn for the living room.

Hunter’s apartment was relatively open concept, so it wasn’t like there was any real separation between the spaces, but it was also big enough that two conversations could happen in the two separate spaces without being overheard. As soon as I reached the couch, the hushed whispers started from the kitchen, and I laughed at them as I took a seat beside Smith.

“They’re the closest of all of us,” he said, stretching his legs out and propping them up on the coffee table. He had on Hunter’s clothes, a little too large around the shoulders and the waist for him.

“Why?”

“They’re the same age.” Smith shrugged one shoulder. “Marshall says they’re twins.”

“And you?”

“The baby,” he answered. “You know all this.”

“I do,” I agreed, sliding closer so our thighs touched. “What brought the two of you back here last night?”

“Just needed some brotherly bonding, I think.”