“Colson Delacourt asked me to preread the book he’s writing.”
Harper met Luis’s eyes. “Oh, yeah? How’d that happen?”
“It was a while ago. I guess I forgot to mention it.” Luis gave David some of the squeeze yogurt. “David and I were sitting here, and he showed up one day and started talking to us. I was rereading one of his books, and he said he’d need someone familiar with his work to look through the book he’s currently writing to see if the new angle worked. Of course I jumped at the chance.”
“So you’ve been doing it for a while now?”
“Yeah. He sends me chapters, and I give him feedback. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty cool.”
“I’m sure.” Harper had read some of the critical reviews of Colson’s work, and they were impressive. “You never mentioned you worked for me?”
“No. Why would I?” Luis moved David out of the shifting angle of the sun and into the shade. “He mentioned the break-in, but I wanted him and me to be strictly about the book. This one’s a lot different than his other two.”
“You said he had a new angle?” Harper asked. “He writes gruesome books about murders. What could be new?”
“Yeah, but now he’s trying to put a romance in the book.” Luis’s grin threatened to overtake his face. “Between the detective, Harrison Rosa, and the Chief of Forensics, Calvin Diller. Notice anything about those names?”
Yeah, it was about as subtle as a brick to his face. Which Harper felt he’d been hit with the more he listened to Luis.
“Harrison Rosa is a grumpy detective, annoyed at the world and completely closed off. He’s focused solely on his career to the detriment of anything and anyone else. Calvin Diller is a guy who’s been burned in relationships. They’re thrown together because of a series of murders, and the more time they spend with each other, piecing the case together, the greater the attraction grows.”
“Fascinating.” Harper pretended disinterest. “Hopefully he doesn’t have them doing anything inappropriate in the precinct. Too clichéd.”
Ignoring him, Luis continued. “I got the newest chapter this week. Calvin’s got a problem. Years earlier, his parents kicked him out because he’s gay, but he gets a call that his mother’s sick, and he doesn’t know if he should go see her or not because they’re in the thick of the investigation.”
Shit. That must’ve been the call Colson had gotten the night they were together. Shock rippled through him, and this time he was unable to conceal his concern. Luis, who noticed everything, slapped his thigh and cackled.
“I knew it. Don’t think you can hide it from me anymore. You’ve been seeing Colson Delacourt, and it has nothing to do with his break-in. Admit it.”
He couldn’t lie to Luis. He lifted a shoulder. “Uh, well, I don’t know if you’d call it seeing each other, but…yeah. We’ve been together.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “But it’s over, so it doesn’t matter.”
Was it truth or fiction that Colson’s mother was ill? Should he reach out, just to see if Colson was all right? Despite their estrangement, whatever news he’d received must’ve beendevastating. It pained Harper to know Colson was hurting and had asked to talk, and Harper had remained a ghost to him. God, he really was a shit human.
“Why? What happened?” Luis prodded him. “He’s a nice guy. I think you two could be good together. He’s not like Ronnie.”
Guilt made him snappish. “How do you know? Because he was kind to you and David a few times?”
“That’s more than most people,” Luis said softly. “And I’d think after all the years we’ve known each other, you’d know I was a better judge of character than that.”
Rightfully shamed, Harper hung his head. “I’m sorry. I know you are.”
“But…you’re confused. Or is it something else?”
He so didn’t want to talk about this.
“Something else? Like what?”
“That’s on you to figure out.”
Enough of the guessing game. “It’s getting late. Don’t you think we should get David home?”
Luis finished his soda. “It’s barely six. You have someplace to be later?”
Yeah. Talking to Colson, but Luis didn’t need to know that. “No. But you know David has his routine.”
“Eh, David’s enjoying himself. You’re here, and he gets to see the kids playing. I think it’s all good.”
Dammit. Not that he didn’t want to be with David, but he had a lot to explain to Colson, and he had to be in early the next morning. “I need to do something. It won’t take long. Can you stay with David for about an hour?”
