Cooper grinned and pressed his hand to Ulysses’s thigh.
The man startled.
My protective instincts kicked in. Ulysses hadn’t given Cooper permission to be so informal. To take liberties.
Right, and you sought permission to sling an arm over his shoulder and ensure your thighs are pressed together?Well, when put like that?The answer was a hard no. I could use the excuse we’d been intimate before. Or point out familiarity in a gay bar was more acceptable.
Neither reasoning stood up to scrutiny.
Cooper continued to swipe.
I tried to subtly pull away from Ulysses.
He grasped my thigh—presumably to hold me in place.
And since I didn’t want to move, I placed my hand over his.
After about twenty photos, Cooper re-pocketed his phone. “This was all Stephanie’s idea, but I love that Taryn went along with it. She made a great Mad Hatter.”
“Also that Cooper and Lachlan were game.” Taryn beamed. “Cooper as the Queen of Hearts? Perfection in that dress and those heels.”
“Wearing heeled boots is always easier than stilettos.” Cooper winked.
I was intensely curious about when Cooper had worn stilettos—but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Lachlan as the White Rabbit was special.” Stephanie offered a massive grin.
Despite her sunshine, she was, ironically, the dark horse of this group. She’d come out at twenty-two—a mere three years ago. She and Taryn met shortly after, and love had followed.
I corrected myself. Lachlan was an even darker horse. He was in his late-thirties and had shown no sign of being gay. Had even been photographed with famous women for his job back in Toronto. I cocked my head and directed my question to him. “How is it being back in small-town British Columbia? After being a famous attorney in Toronto?”
Ulysses cut me an indecipherable look—then immediately refocused his attention to Lachlan.
Who gave methatlook as he arched an eyebrow. “I wasn’t famous. My clients are.” He met Ulysses’s gaze. “Entertainment lawyer. I gave up my place in the practice back in Toronto to move to Mission City so I could be with the love of my life.”
Cooper pressed a hand to his chest and blinked.
Lachlan pressed a kiss to his husband’s temple before continuing. “I have a few clients who jumped ship and have joined my fledgling practice in Mission City. The good news is I work a lot on referrals and Vancouver is full of entertainment types. I have several private clients and a lead on a job at a studio. That might mean commuting from Mission City to North Vancouver a couple of times a week, but the opportunity is too great to turn down—if it comes.”
I blinked. Our small town to North Van was a hell of a drive. “Oh. Would you drive or take the West Coast Express?” Our commuter train ran from Mission City to Vancouver.
“Depends on the day. The last train runs at about half past six. There’s a bus later, but it’s a pain to catch. Or I can just drive. If I leave early enough in the morning, I should be okay. For the afternoon, I’d either have to leave very early or much later.”
“Vancouver rush hour.” Ulysses rolled his eyes.
Interesting. When I first met him, I’d known he wasn’t from Mission City—but I hadn’t been certain if he was from Vancouver or elsewhere. At the time, without having a last name, searching him on the internet had been virtually impossible.
Okay…I’d tried. But with just a first name, and the fact he rode a motorcycle, I didn’t really have much to go by. So all that hadn’t helped. I’d even considered hiring a private detective—we had a new one in town. Rayne Williams appeared quite competent, but I figured even he’d struggle with what little I could give him. Then my mystery man’d appeared as the editor of the Mission City Gazette.
Did I think I might run into Ulysses here? In the only gay bar in Cedar Valley? Nope. Was I still irritated with him for bailing on me? Yes. Finally…was I curious why he often sent Spring Dixon, his staff reporter, out to cover fires and accidents and anything else where the fire department—and therefore me—might respond? Hell fucking yes to that as well.
“Eh, Finn?”
I blinked. “Uh, sure, whatever.”
The entire table burst into laughter—including Ulysses. Although his was more of a reserved chuckle.
Brazen it out. “Well, I suppose it’s okay.”
