Dev smacked his large hand on his thigh. “I knew it. I told Brody, Fallon is lying to us. That picture was you, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I raised my chin.
“Dammit, Fal. Of all the people to let yourself get seduced by…Patrick Sloane? He’s too busy to go out and find a woman, so he set his sights on the easiest target? I swear I’m gonna—”
Time for me to shut this down. “Dev, listen for a minute. Patrick’s bi.”
“Is that what he told you?” he growled. “He’ll say anything.”
I wouldn’t take the bait because I knew it was coming from a place of caring. “Dev. Please. You have to listen to me, because it’s not what you think. Patrick didn’t seduce me. As a matter of fact, we’re together because of you.”
“Yeah, and I shouldn’t have asked him to hire you. I should’ve kept you on like you wanted me to.”
“Dev,” Brody interrupted, “I’m thinkin’ Fallon has more to say. How ’bout you let him?”
Thank God for Brody’s calm presence.I sent him a grateful smile.
Always the more emotional of the two, Dev huffed out a breath. “Fine. Go ahead.”
“Do you remember when I turned twenty-one, and you gave me a membership to Intensity in LA?”
In addition to being a star football player, Dev was also one of the smartest people I’d ever met. It took less than five seconds for the information to click in his brain.
“You met Patrick at Intensity? Both of you went to school out West…son of a bitch. But wait…identities are hidden. Don’t members have to wear masks?”
“Yeah. And for the almost six months we were together, I didn’t know who he was. We were very close, talked about everything…I know it sounds unbelievable, but I was in love with him even though I didn’t know who he was. One time…after…when I woke up before him, his mask had slipped off, and I recognized him. Knowing it was impossible for him to be a pro-football player and be in a relationship with a man, I ran away. And seeing how you and Brody suffered all those years, I knew I made the right choice.”
“For him,” Brody said softly, shooting an arrow through my heart. “But what about you?”
“Fallon.” Stricken, Dev turned pale under his dark stubble, and next thing I knew, he was hugging me. “I am so damn sorry.”
“I tried to forget him, and I kind of did—to the extent that I wasn’t pining away whenever his name came up on a Sunday. Plus, I figured he’d forgotten about me. After all, he’d married twice and hadn’t exactly kept his name out of the gossip magazines with his swimsuit model girlfriends.”
“And then he turned up in the city, and I forced you to go work for him. Fal, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” His big arms tightened around me, and much as I loved Dev, I didn’t want cracked ribs.
“Ouch, Dev. Let go.” I pushed him away. “And no one forced me. Remember, he had no idea who I was. But we both showed up at Intensity here in the city and…surprise!” I faced him witha wry smile. “We found each other again. But this time I couldn’t let it go.”
“Whoa.” Dev’s eyes blew wide. “Wait a minute. Is that who you were talking about that time we had lunch? The guy you once knew…so you ended up telling him after that?”
It was a relief to finally be able to talk about it. “Not at that time, but yeah. And things have been really good, until that picture. And I freaked and ran because I refused to let Patrick jeopardize his career for me.”
“It’s his life too, you know,” Brody pointed out. “From everything you’ve said, I’m gathering this is more than a fling.”
“Ten years ago, it started out as just sex. We were each other’s firsts. But then we began to see each other steadily, two or three times a week, for months, and it became way more than that. We were each other’s anchors in the storm of life’s uncertainties. He wasn’t sure who would draft him, and I was still unsure what to do with my life. We shared our dreams and hopes. Everything.” My words ended on a quiver, yet strength flowed through my blood saying the words out loud.
Brody met Dev’s eyes. “You remember how it was when we realized we loved each other.”
For the first time, Dev smiled. “Like there was no one else in the world.”
And from their tender expressions, nothing had changed. Dev and Brody had loved each other for so long. They were the gold standard I measured relationships against.
“So you understand. Seeing Patrick again now…it was like we picked up where we left off.” I met Brody’s blue eyes, then Dev’s green ones, both wet with unshed tears. My vision turned blurry as well. “I love him. And he loves me. Somehow, we’ll try and make it work and be together.”
Chapter Twenty
Patrick
“C’mon, Ethan. Have a drink. It’s five o’clock somewhere.” Without waiting for an answer, I poured him a hefty slug in a tumbler and added ice. “I’ll join you.”
