I set the album down on the sofa cushion next to me. The book was plain dark blue with the wordsFamily Albumin gold embossed across the front. A faint smile curled my mouth as I flipped open the cover, only to fall away at the collection of photos inside.
All the pictures were of a man I’d never seen before. He was dark-skinned, attractive, and looked about the same age as Brody. The first picture past the cover was Brody standing next to the man, their arms wrapped around each other while looking at each other. Both men were smiling. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Brody look so happy. There were more pictures of this man. In some, he was on his own, smiling at the camera or looking dreamily into the distance, and there were a lot with Brody too. Holidays. Parties. Some were on the patio outside the apartment where I sat, some at the bar, more at the beach. One with the man tucked into Brody’s side while Brody absently pressed a kiss to the top of his head made something in my chest ache.
Brody wouldneverlook at me like that.
There were a few pictures of Daniel from the hotel laughing with the other man. Clearly, he and this man had known each other, meant something to each other, but it wasn’t the same as the way this man looked at Brody and Brody looked at him. They’d loved each other. Who was this guy, and where was he now? Had they broken up? Who’d ended things?
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Brody’s voice startled me, my face turning hot as I lifted my gaze to meet his angry scowl. I’d been so wrapped up in looking at the photos, I hadn’t heard him come in.
“Where did you get that? Were you going through my things?”
“I was looking for a pen,” I said, fighting the urge to find the nearest rock and crawl under it. I had no right to go through his personal things. “I’msosorry, I shouldn’t have. I didn’t think anyone used photo albums anymore.”
His hands clenched and unclenched at his sides as if he wanted to snatch the book away from me. “I put it together for Ryan’s memorial.”
My eyes widened, and before I could stop myself, I blurted, “He died?”
Brody nodded and sat down on the far end of the sofa, the album between us. “In a car accident six years ago.”
“Were you married?” I looked down at the picture in front of me. Both men standing on the beach, Brody behind Ryan, his arms wrapped around Ryan’s middle. Ryan leaned back against his chest and his head tipped back to look at Brody. They were both dressed in suits, ties. Brody’s hair, though shorter than it is now, was still windswept and messy. They both looked so happy. My throat felt tight and achy.
Brody looked down at the photo and nodded. “Before we bought the bar together. I didn’t care, myself. I didn’t need a piece of paper to prove what I already knew about us, but Ryan had said it was important, so there wouldn’t be any issues about who owned the business and the property if something happened to one of us. I thought he was being overcautious. Turns out Ryan had been right, after all.”
“Is that when you started living in The Square, when you guys bought the bar?”
He shook his head. “Ryan was already living here and working at the bar when I came to Saltwater Cove with some guy I’d been messing around with. It hadn’t been anything serious—especially on his end. We got into a fight and he left. I didn’t know where I would go next. I ended up at The Dunes with plans to get drunk instead of making an actual decision. Ryan worked there behind the bar. He asked me out. I thought he just wanted to fuck, which I was down for.”
“He was hot,” I said. “I get it.”
Brody snorted, a ghost of a smile pulling at his mouth for the first time since he walked into the apartment. “Yeah, Ryan though, he insisted on arealdate. Took me out to dinner at the hotel, then we walked on the beach. We talked the whole time; I told him things I’d never told anyone else. He’d told me he could probably get me a job at the bar if I decided I wanted to stay in Saltwater Cove. I still had no idea what I wanted. Since aging out of foster care, I’d been rootless, drinking and fucking my way across the country.
“Anyway, we stopped walking, standing there at the edge of the water, and I was thinking about where I would go next and realizing I didn’t want to leave. For the first time in years, I wanted to stay where I was, and it scared the shit out of me. I also really liked Ryan, and that alone was enough to make me want to bolt. Then a seagull swooped over us and shit on my shoulder.”
I laughed before I could stop myself, but Brody was grinning too.
“Ryan nearly doubled over he was laughing so hard. I started laughing too, but whether it was because of the seagull or Ryan breaking out, I’m still not sure. When we both finally stopped, he kissed me. Right then and there, I knew I was going to stay for as long as Ryan let me.”
His voice had turned rough and thready. I could hear his pain, and I wanted to do something, hug him, hold him, something to ease it, but I didn’t think I’d be welcome.
“I really am sorry,” I told him, closing the album. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“I know.” Then he stood abruptly, dragged his fingers through his hair, and looked desperately at the door. “I’m going to work tonight. Cilla needs my help with… something.”
“Sure,” I said, even though I didn’t believe him.
“Okay. Good.” He nodded and edged closer to the door to make his escape. “I’ll see you later when I get in.”
Then he was gone, and I was alone on the sofa with only a photo album of pictures of his dead husband. I stood and slipped the album back in the drawer where I’d found it.
I couldn’t stay here anymore. Whatever Brody and I were doing had to come to an end. I knew I’d let myself start to fall for him because the idea he would never look at me the same way he looked at Ryan in those pictures left me feeling cold and hollow, like someone had carved out my chest.
I needed this shit with Simon to end so that I could go home and not worry that I was putting my friends in danger. And there was no way I was going to drag Brody into this any more than I already had. If I told him about Simon, he’d feel obliged to help me, and he’d already done enough.
I slid my phone from my jeans pocket and shot off a message to Simon before I changed my mind. I still had the element of surprise. He didn’t know that I knew who he was and that he was the person trying to ruin my life.
Hey