I blinked slowly as I parsed what he’d just dropped in my lap. Sam was sleeping where? Why? I
knew he wasn’t fond of his roommates, but this was news to me. My thoughts spun around inside my
head so fast, I wasn’t sure which emotion to latch onto. I was saddened that he didn’t feel close
enough to tell me he was sleeping at work. I was angry that his roommates were so disrespectful.
And, mostly, I was hurt because I thought we were building something here, and I felt like William
had just pulled the rug out from under me.
“By the fish impression you’re currently doing, I’m assuming this is news to you?” It didn’t seem
shocking to him that I was utterly clueless. If anything, the asshole sounded amused. “I thought that
might be the case, but I also felt you needed to know. Sam’s a great boy, but he’s dealt with a lot of
shit in his life. If you really want to take him on, you need to learn how to see through the bullshit and
call him on it.”
“Oh, we’ll definitely be having a chat about this,” I reassured him. If it wouldn’t be rude to storm
out of the house when I’d invited him over for dinner, I’d already be in my car on my way to The
Lodge. Sam might not want his personal life leeching into work, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t plant
my ass on a barstool until his shift was done so I could bring him home where he belonged.
But then, maybe I harbored some of the blame, too. I was the one who insisted he go home after
work instead of coming here. If I’d had the faintest clue thathome, to him, meant sleeping at the bar, I
wouldn’t have suggested it.
“Don’t beat yourself up.” William placed a hand on my forearm. “Sam’s turned filtering what the
world thinks of him into an art form. One of his biggest fears is feeling like he isn’t enough. And,
honestly, he’s been crashing on the couch in his office for so long, I’m not sure he realizes why it
would be an issue to anyone.”
“Well, it’s not happening anymore,” I insisted. “I hope you won’t be offended when I kick you out
as soon as we’re done eating, but it seems I need to make a trip to the bar.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” William cut the rest of his steak and started eating again. “If you’d
like company, we could go down there for the night. That way, I can keep an eye on my boy as well.”
“The one from opening night?” William had insisted they only had an arrangement for the
exhibition, and I’d nearly called bullshit then. The sexual tension between them was palpable, and
Corey looked at William the way Daddies dreamed a boy would.
“Yeah.” If I wasn’t so distracted by trying to figure out how to tell Sam he wasdonesleeping at
