Page 20 of Finley

“A lot of time has passed since then,” Daniel said as he bent to place his shoes on the welcome mat.

“It has. But that will never change, Finn.”

As Daniel straightened, the emotion in his eyes was hard to pinpoint, but the cautious set of his shoulders wasn’t.

“Does that mean you’re single?”

Brantley couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Still straight to the point, I see.”

“What kind of lawyer would I be if I couldn’t ask direct questions?”

“Not a very good one.”

“That’s right. And I’m the best at what I do. You should be proud, because that has a lot to do with you. Maybe everything. But you didn’t answer me.You’vebecome very good at skirting around questions.”

Brantley shrugged and then offered, “Maybe you just never asked any in the past that required misdirection.”

“That,” Daniel said, “is probably true. You used to make me feel so tongue-tied.”

“And now I don’t? Well, that’s an ego killer right there.”

As Daniel walked across the hardwood floors, Brantley never let his eyes waver from him. “Trust me. There are plenty of things you make me feel that would boost your ego. Would you like me to list them?”

He wasn’t quite sure how to handle this version of Daniel yet, and when he finally came to a standstill, Brantley was grateful that there was a couch not only separating them, but also covering his growing erection.

“I’m sorry. I’m having trouble trying to wrap my mind around how much you’ve changed,” Brantley heard himself say. “I didn’t expect that.”

“Whatdidyou expect?”

Brantley took in the rigid shoulders of the once-relaxed man he’d known and then said, “I’m not sure.”

As the words hovered between them, Daniel turned away and slid his hands into the pockets of his shorts. Brantley took that opportunity to check him out from head to toe, and banished the insane desire he had to smooth a hand down that tense spine. It was obvious that the friction between them went way beyond the physical, and they would need to address that before he would feel comfortable doing anything other than talking.

“Sorry you’re so disappointed.”

The words were so inaccurate that they brought Brantley out of his musings.

“No,” he said, and shook his head even though Daniel couldn’t see him.

But when Daniel turned to meet him eye to eye, he couldn’t stay still any longer, and walked around the couch toward him. “You could never disappoint me.”

A rueful quirk tipped Daniel’s lip at the side, and for a moment, the young man he’d once been reappeared. “I’m sure that I could.”

Brantley reached out to gently touch Daniel’s bicep, and when his fingers grazed the muscle beneath, he sucked in a breath at the desire that shot through him. He went to lower his arm—and perhaps take a step back and put some much-needed distance between them—when Daniel removed his hand from his pocket and took hold of Brantley’s wrist.

He tugged him forward until their toes were touching, and their arms were the only things between them. Then Daniel’s serious eyes peered down at Brantley as he asked point-blank, “Why did you send me that letter?”

His heart pounded, andChrist, the surly attitude Daniel had adopted made him want that tight-lipped mouth on top of his so he could kiss it out of him.

“Tell me, Brantley.”

Without hesitating, Brantley answered, “I had to send it.”

Daniel shook his head, but Brantley nodded.

“You had to know that I would. IsaidI would. I needed to know…”

“To knowwhat?”