Page 6 of Heart of Glass

“Lachlan…”

“I. Am. Fine.” If he wasn’t careful, he might even start believing it.

Dark clouds churned in the sky, rolling and swirling as lightning flashed across the sky.Lachlan pursed his lips, frowned, and jabbed at the backspace button. “…as lighting slashed through the heavens.” He frowned again and shook his head as he highlighted the entire sentence and deleted it.Dark clouds rolled across the sky, illuminated by the near constant explosions of lightning.Detective Marshall Hamilton ducked his head against the wailing winds and turned up the collar of his trench coat.

Lachlan sat back in his desk chair and grinned. “Well, it’s not much, but it’s something.” Unfortunately, he didn’t know what significance this storm held for the story. Nor did he know his detective’s destination. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should give his hero a tougher name. Furthermore, did he really want to delve into the clichéd image of a private detective by dressing the guy in a trench coat?

With a frustrated groan, Lachlan highlighted the two sentences he’d written and deleted them. Before he could become too depressed about it, though, the alarm on his cell phone beeped, increasing in volume with each repetition. At Grady’s insistence, Lachlan had agreed to setting reminders that alerted him when he needed to eat.

Other than two bottles of water, a jar of mustard, and a stick of butter, the refrigerator was empty. Closing the door, he turned to his pantry, scouring the shelves for anything edible. All he found, however, was a package of stale saltine crackers and a jar of spaghetti sauce.

He didn’t have much of an appetite, but he could probably tolerate a cinnamon bun and a steaming cup of coffee. In an attempt to regain some of his writing mojo, Lachlan hadn’t left his apartment all week, hoping the change of scenery would trigger something. Of course, it hadn’t done shit for him, and worse, confining himself to his office meant he hadn’t seen Xeno all week, either.

That simple, chaste kiss had played through his mind a hundred times, and Lachlan still didn’t know what to make of it. The situation leading up to that romantic goodbye had been humiliating, and he still couldn’t believe he’d needed someone to hold his hand and walk him across the damn street.

Okay, so maybe he hadn’t been holding up in his apartment in an attempt to force words onto the page. Not that he’d admit it out loud, but perhaps he’d been hiding, afraid of facing Xeno, too worried he’d misinterpreted the man’s attentions. Xeno couldsimply be a fan, and there was always the possibility that he showed that level of kindness to everyone.

Closing the cabinet door, Lachlan looked toward the front door, rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Well, only one way to find out.”

Chapter three

“Maybe I came ontoo strong.” Xeno marched back and forth across his living room, moving his hands around in animated gestures as he spoke. “I shouldn’t have kissed him. I mean, it was just a little thing on the cheek, but he’s shy. I probably scared him.”

“Xe, sit down. You’re making me twitchy.” Propping his socked feet up on the coffee table, Grady popped the cap off his beer and took a long swallow. “I think you’re reading too much into it. Maybe he’s trying to cut back on caffeine.”

“You are the shittiest best friend on the planet. Can you at least pretend to be supportive?”

“Who’s not supportive? I’m supportive.” Grady arched one eyebrow and puckered his lips. “I’ll support you so hard.”

Grabbing the throw pillow from the armchair beside him, Xeno lifted it over his head and threw it at his friend. “You’re a dick, Grady Ryes. I just thought you should know that.”

Grady caught the pillow and tossed it to the floor with a snicker. “Okay, okay, fine. Does this dream guy have a name?”

“Lachlan MacAuley.” Flopping down into the overstuffed chair, he slung one leg over the arm and sighed. “He’s brilliant and sweet and when he smiles…Grady, it just—”

“Lights up the whole room,” Grady finished. Leaning forward, he sat his beer on the coffee table and propped his elbows on his knees. “Yeah, I know him.”

Xeno might have been jealous of the way Grady smiled when he said that, but he also knew the guy was about as straight as they came. “The accident,” he mumbled as he sat up in his chair. “You’re his physical therapist. You’re the appointment he had last Friday.”

“He told you about the accident?”

“No,” Xeno confessed. “One of my co-workers did.”

“Makes sense. He doesn’t talk about it. Ever.” Picking up his bottle by the neck, Grady tipped it to his lips and reclined back against the cushions. “Did he tell you he doesn’t sleep?”

Xeno bobbed his head. “He mentioned it…briefly. I know he’s afraid of the dark, though, and he doesn’t leave his apartment after sunset.” He also knew Lachlan suffered, not just from his physical pain but from the emotional scars the accident had left behind.

When he’d found Lachlan standing on that corner like a lost little boy, his heart had nearly shattered. Yes, the man had some baggage, but so did the other seven billion people on the planet. What he had been through would change anyone. Lachlan was hurting right now, but every day, he dragged himself out of bed and did his best to piece his life back together.

“I guess now I know why he had that look on his face at our last session.”

“What look?” Xeno’s heart jumped up into his throat and his hands began to shake. “Was he upset? I knew I shouldn’t have kissed his cheek. Crap.”

“Relax, Romeo.” Grady rolled his eyes as he reached across the couch for the television remote. “Happy, okay? He looked happy. Of course, he shut down when I started talking about his lack of sleep and his poor eating habits.”

A wave of relief crashed over him, and Xeno released the breath he’d been holding. “Yeah?”

“Oh, gods, you’re making me nauseous. He’s human, Xe. You know the rules.”

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