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Hunter already knew consultation was indeed the optimal route, so he faced the mortification of confiding in his best friend. “I don’t want to fall into the same trap my female client did,” he said with a shaky sigh.
    “Yeah, her story’s rather horrendous,” Michelle agreed, shuddering. “But the guy—he’s heterosexual, right? So he won’t be returning your affection?”
    “I think so. At least my gaydar isn’t picking up much activity there.”
    Michelle returned Hunter’s smirk before she asked, “And you don’t think it’s a good idea to refer them to another therapist?”
    “That’s a tough one.” Hunter sighed. “It was my first inclination—to make a referral—but my female client practically begged me to stay on.” He ran one hand through his neat blond hair. “And I’ve done some good work with her; she’s come a long way. She’s convinced her boyfriend is a good guy, but who’s to say he’s not just like his brother? I want to help her safely figure it out, and that’ll be easier if I can observe their dynamics, so I agreed to take them in the end. I guess I feel…protective of her or something.”
    Michelle smiled. “Sounds like you’re drawn to both the man and the woman in this couple.”
    Hunter chuckled. “Yeah, if she were a man, I’d probably have the hots for her too.”
    “Oh, Hunter, you’ll be fine. I trust you to do the right thing. You’re the one who helped me through that awful case, right?” Michelle’s records had once been subpoenaed for a nasty divorce trial, and she’d struggled mightily with the ethics of breaching her client’s confidentiality. “But there’s one thing you could do to make it impossible for you to get involved with the client.”
    Hunter’s eyebrows scrunched together. “What’s that?”
    “You could tell Bradley.”
    His eyes got huge as he almost choked on his coffee. “Tell Bradley? What the hell for?”
    Michelle stifled a grin. “That’d make it totally above board,” she explained. “No secrets. It’s normal to feel attracted to clients now and then, and Bradley would understand.”
    “If you haven’t noticed, Michelle, he’s kind of the jealous type.”
    “Well, you’re not going to act on your feelings. And telling Bradley would just about guarantee that. You’ve been together ten years—Bradley can handle it…”
    As he followed Grant and Sophie into his office, Hunter felt slightly ill. He hadn’t drummed up the courage to tell his partner about Grant, and he didn’t know if he ever would. Bradley was a brilliant plastic surgeon, but sometimes he didn’t behave very logically upon experiencing intense emotions. And Hunter even glancing at another man tended to arouse such emotions.
    “So,” Hunter smiled at Sophie, ignoring Grant for the moment. “How’s your week been?”
    “Pretty good. I can’t wait to start teaching.” She returned his smile and seemed to wait expectantly for Grant to add his two cents.
    Grant uncomfortably cleared his throat. “It was, uh, fine, sir.”
    Hunter stole a glance at the clownfish in the aquarium rather than meeting the stunning crystal-blue eyes of his client, then broke the silence. “One thing I typically ask clients to do in the first session is set goals for therapy. We had some, uh, catching up to do in our first meeting, though, and ran out of time.”
    Sophie managed a sly grin.
    “What would you like to accomplish in here?” Hunter continued. “What would you like to improve or change? Grant, how about you go first.”
    Grant looked startled. Tapping his fingers nervously on his thigh, he eventually said, “My one and only goal is to stay out of prison.”
    Hunter was dismayed. “Meaning that if you don’t come to counseling, your PO will put you back in prison? You’re only here because you’re mandated to be?”
    Grant nodded.
    “That goal sucks, Grant.”
    Both Sophie’s and Grant’s eyebrows shot up, and Hunter decided to explain