The guy chuckled. “I don’t knoweveryonein town. Nor every dog. But I have quite a few acquaintances and friends. I consider Zahir and Daphne two of them. I’m Lorcan, by the way.” He extended his hand.
After giving Mei a few more scritches, I rose and took his hand. “Andre.”
“Nice to meet you. I met Zahir through Quinton who I met through—” He scratched his bearded chin. “You know, I honestly can’t remember. Just…a huge pile of friends. Mei loves Quinton’s mom’s dog Puff. Oh, and Daphne, of course.”
“Daphne’s an easy dog to love.” I managed a smile.
“You live around here?” Lorcan did a sweeping gesture. Since there weren’t any houses nearby, I took his meaning as Mission City in general.
“Toronto.”
His dark-brown eyes widened. “You’re a long way from home.”
“Yeah.”
“And you know Zahir?”
I scratched my stubbled jaw. “Yes. It’s sort of a long story.”
Lorcan chuckled. “It usually is. I’m sorry, you were running. Don’t let me hold you up. Unless—” He shut his mouth.
“Unless?” I was damn curious.
“Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to walk with Mei and me. We don’t have to talk or anything. I mean or you can just forget I asked. You’re probably here to be alone, and I’m shoehorning my way into your morning, and—”
“I’d love to walk with you and your dog. I was just finishing my intense running and could use a cooldown.”Total fucking bullshit. But…I don’t want to be alone.Something about this man called to me. Compassionate? Kind? Much like Quinton and Zahir—both of whom he knew. So yeah, I’d walk with him. I crouched. “Nice to meet you, Mei. Do you mind if I walk with you?”
Her tongue lolled, and I would’ve sworn she was grinning.
I rose. “Uh, thanks.”
He grinned. “Sometimes I want solitude, and sometimes I want to be around people. My husband, Cody gets a kick out of that.”
And gay to boot. Well, that’s reassuring.“Cody, eh? He sounds like a good guy.” In truth, Lorcan had given nothing away—but I gave him an opening.
He took it.
By the time we said our goodbyes, I had a much better sense of Lorcan, Cody, as well as my temporary home of Mission City.
Chapter Seven
Zahir
Telling myself not to be concerned about Andre and actually not being concerned were two entirely different things, and when my houseguest stepped through the back door, a sense of relief flooded me.
“Hey.” He strode over to the cabinet with glasses, grabbed one, and headed to the sink. “Oh, is this safe to drink?” His hand was poised near the tap.
“Yes, it’s safe. Comes from a lake and is filtered.”
“Cool. I know not everywhere has safe water.” He filled his glass and then drank nearly the entire glass.
I watched his throat working as he swallowed, and a little fluttering happened low in my belly. He looked amazing in his running shorts and tight-fitting, pale-blue T-shirt with a gym name I didn’t recognize. Hardly surprising, though. I cleared my throat—as if I could also clear my thoughts. “Good run?”
“Yeah.” He looked a little sheepish with his crooked grin. “Well, I was running. And then I ran into a guy and his dog—Lorcan and Mei. Man, everyone’s so friendly. He just randomly invited me to walk with him and his dog. I figured…sure. That’s what people in small towns do, right?”
A chuckle escaped me. “Well, not everyone. But yes, we have friendly folk. Lorcan’s a really good man. Mei’s adorable.”
“He said Mei and Daphne get along. Oh, has she been walked today? Because I can take her out.”
