Page 63 of Finley

Daniel frowned. “Probably not.”

“Right.”

“Did you want to?”

“Every minute of every day.”

He laid his head back on Brantley’s chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. And as Daniel closed his eyes, he couldn’t help but whisper, “Don’t disappear, okay?” And he thought he heard, “I’m not going anywhere,” as he drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 19

THE NEXT FEW days passed in much the same way the first couple had. The two of them had settled into a relaxed routine, Daniel thought as he stood out on the deck, drinking his coffee. Morning runs along the beach, days spent lounging on Brantley’s deck while he graded exams and Daniel worked on his tan. Then the nights would roll around, and with them, the intimacy neither of them was questioning.

Brantley was showering after their run, and today, they’d decided that it would be a good idea to leave the house—probably. Daniel figured that it might do them good to get out and around other people, because as it was, he was having a hard time wanting to see anyone else while he was there, and that scared the fuck out of him. He didn’t want to become attached. That wasn’t part of the plan. So being around others was a good way to distract him from the lure that was Brantley Hayes.

He drained his coffee cup and headed inside to take a shower, but then his phone rang. Spotting it where he’d left it the other night on the side table, he picked it up and frowned at his office number. All of his calls should’ve been routed to his voicemail or dispersed amongst whomever was available while he was out. For fuck’s sake, he hadn’t had a vacation in years—they really couldn’t do without him for two weeks?

He barked into the phone, “Hello.”

“Ahh. Daniel? Mr. Finley?”

Moira. His assistant…

Okay, well, she knew not to call him unless it was something crucial. So he wandered toward the sliding door as he answered, “Hey, Moira. Sorry about that. How are you?”

“Oh, no problem. But funny you should ask. I’mverywell. And you’re going to be too in a minute…”

He relaxed at her jovial mood and chuckled. “Is that right? So long as you’re not calling to tell me bad news, I’m sure I will be. I’m not fired for finally using up my vacation time, am I?”

She laughed, and he could picture her smiling at him.

“Ahh, no. Actually…”

He heard some rustling and got the impression she was moving somewhere private. Then she came back on the line.

“It’s just the opposite.”

That got his attention.The opposite? No…no way.Not while he was on vacation.

“Mr. Leighton had a conference call earlier this morning with the New York office, and when he came out, a memo was circulated that in a couple of weeks, they would be announcing their new partner and that it was somebodyin house. Did you not check your email? I thought for sure you would be calling this morning.”

No, he hadn’t checked it. He’d been too preoccupied with Brantley to even think about work. In fact, he’d totally forgotten about it, which seemed unbelievable now that he was standing there with a racing heart, anxious to know ifhewas the person his boss was talking about.

“One second. I’m going to check it.”

Fuck, fuck.He brought his phone down from his ear and scrolled through his emails. There, at the top of his inbox, were two from Leighton & Associates. One from Moira and one from Todd Leighton, his boss.

His hand shook as he stared at Todd’s and took in a deep inhale. This letter had the power to change his life. He’d been working his ass off to be offered a position as partner. With one click of this email, he would know whether it had all been worth it or if he would be looking elsewhere.

God, he hoped not. The only other law firm he’d even consider would be Mitchell & Madison, and somehow he didn’t see Logan Mitchell signing off on hiring him.

Ordering himself to stop being such a fucking pussy, he hit open and scanned the message on his phone. As the words computed and he read them once, twice, and a third time, his mouth fell open and then he clamped it shut.

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.

They’d offered him the job. They’d offered him partnership at Leighton & Associates.

He vaguely heard Moira saying his name through the phone, so he brought it up to his ear. “Hi… Yeah, ahh, Moira. Sorry. Yes, I received a correspondence from Todd Leighton this morning.”