“Sure!” Kevin jumped at the chance to get away from Ford. “Andrew can—”
“He and Dad will be fine. I’m sure Dad already knows this place inside and out.” Dalton physically pulled the other two down the hall, and they were gone.
Andrew swallowed when Ford immediately moved closer to him. He had to remember that he was a professional, not somehorny degenerate, but that swagger was seriously unfair. “I, umm… think Kevin likes Dalton more than me. Candace too.”
“He’s easy to like,” Ford said, practically trapping Andrew to the desk with how close he got. “You seem tense again. Is that your default setting, or do you need more excuses for… release?” The drag of his eyes down Andrew’s body made him shudder.
“Daltonis easy to like. You’re…”
“Even easier?”
“Easy does spring to mind.”
“Would you prefer I played hard to get, Andrew?”
“Maybe when we’re not technically alone.” He gave Ford’s chest a gentle shove but let his hand linger before pulling away. He needed to think about something other than Ford and sex.
Like Ford possibly conning him.
No, he didn’t want to think about that either.
Dalton’s laughter carried from somewhere deeper in the office, and Ford glanced back with a fond smile. He really did care about his son, no matter what else might be going on.
“I never asked, did I?” Andrew said. “How is all this? Being a dad, I mean. Seriously,” he added, since he tended to expect deflection when it came to Ford.
This time, though, when he looked in the direction Dalton had gone, he lost some of his slyness. “Easier in some ways since he’s an adult. More difficult in other ways for that same reason. He’s more forgiving than he should be, but he’s good with Kathleen and Luke.”
“LukeChambers? Really?”
A genuine smile played at Ford's lips. “Luke adores him. And he doesn’t adore anyone. He really only tolerates me, and he’d be the first to say so.”
Andrew laughed. He hadn’t ever arrested Luke or Kathleen, but he knew their rap sheets well enough, and Luke wasn’t known for being cuddly.
“It’s good,” Ford said, serious and almost timid like he feared the realization of all he had to lose. “A rare good.”
“Dalton’s going to be fine,” Andrew assured him, sensing the real reason Ford was being so earnest. “We’ll solve the case. Nothing’s going to happen to him.”
He saw the way Ford tensed at the reminder, but his expression stayed smooth to prove he appreciated that promise.
Ford couldn’t be all bad. Having a son—no—wanting to connect with a son changed a person. Ford was shrewd, but he’d never been a bad guy, not really.
Standing there so near each other, alone, it was easy to gravitate closer, though Andrew had no idea what would happen if they got too close…
The front door dinged with someone’s arrival, and the sight ofRiley Sedgwicknearly caused Andrew to topple over.
“Riley,” Ford growled, clearly not having expected him either, “what—”
“Look at you two all cozy.” Riley flashed a charming, flirtatious grin that made Andrew’s cheeks burn hot.
Why had he gone all machismo and allowed Riley to…watch? He’d never be able to look him in the eyes again. He’d also never thought he was an exhibitionist before, but between that, the rooftop, and the precinct, it was getting hard to pretend otherwise.
“Why are you here?” Ford pressed.
“Uh, coz it’s my job.” Riley planted his hands on his hips, a messenger bag over his shoulder to carry what Andrew assumed was his laptop. “You can’t partner with Wen and co. and not bring in your own tech master. Besides, I can play nice. Isn’t that what you two are doing?”
Ford looked ready to prove how ‘nice’ he could be when Dalton and the others returned, talking animatedly until Kevin cut off with a yelp.
“What’shedoing here?”
