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mean nice?”
    Everyone laughed.
    As dinner wore on, Rhys mainly kept quiet, preferring to enjoy both the company and the terrific food. He was thankful, though, that Aurora managed to direct the conversation away from the possibility of him and Chase.
    Once dinner was over, Rhys excused himself so the couple and her parents could have some unsupervised time together. Mark had only asked him to “supervise” dinner. He reached for the door, but was stopped by a small, soft hand on his arm.
    “Can I walk you up, Rhys?” Aurora asked, concern clear in her eyes.
    “I only live upstairs, sweetheart.” The look in her eyes had him nodding and offering her his arm. “Fine, come lecture me too.”
    Neither spoke on the way up to Rhys’s third-floor loft. Once inside he offered her a drink and the couch. “Soda? Tea?”
    “No, Rhys. Now, come here and talk to me a little.”
    Rhys walked slowly over to sit on the couch beside her, unsure of what she had to say and dreading it all the same.
    “I’m not here to lecture you,” Aurora began, giving a gentle pat to his big hand. “You should know better. However, I do want to ask you what’s wrong. I know your type, and that cute little twink is so your type, it’s beyond not funny. So, just curious—what gives? And why did he seem alternatively excited and hurt when he stared at you?”
    “Long story, but suffice to say, I acted like a drunk-ass fool the night we met, and any chance between us was pretty much over before I sobered.” Rhys looked down, not sure how to ask what he really wanted to know.
    “What is it? You’ve always been my big protector, now let me be your shoulder.”
    Rhys nodded slowly. “Um, did he really look at me like you and the others said?”
    She looked him over and smirked. “You mean, did he look like he either wanted to eat you up or throttle you? Oh, yeah!”
    He joined in her laughter. “Fine, little miss bossy, I’ll think about it. That’s the best I can offer right now. I mean, even if I wanted to, I’m not sure he’d be willing to try. James, the friend he mentioned, is the one that conned him into working for Mark and me in the first place,” he explained reluctantly.

Chapter 4

    E VER SINCE the dinner at Mark’s, Rhys had been noticing Chase more and more. All the little things he did for Nichelle, like bringing her treats when he came back from his consulting runs, or for Mark… or even for him occasionally. He’d taken the time over the last two weeks to watch how Chase interacted with others and how dedicated he seemed while working, whether for his consulting business or for their agency, and was beyond impressed. Rhys had been skeptical when James and Seth insisted Chase was the right techie, but he was a believer now.
    Rhys was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. “Come in.”
    Chase poked his head around the door. “Nichelle said you needed to see me after your last appointment left?” Chase nibbled his bottom lip, causing the ring to flick and pull against the tantalizing bit of flesh. Damn, but he wanted to taste those lips!
    Rhys voice came out rougher than he’d intended. “Yes, come in, please.” He motioned to one of the overstuffed chairs in front of his desk. “I need to talk to you about a case, but… it’s sensitive.”
    Chase stared at him for a moment before nodding. “That is what you pay me for, so what do you need?”
    Rhys looked him over a moment, unsure how the man would take what he was asking, and again wishing Chase would be his flirty, normal self around him. “I need some surveillance footage gone through. In a few cases, we’ll probably need stills captured too. Maybe even sections pieced together for a presentation.”
    “That shouldn’t be hard.”
    He swore Chase’s eyes bored holes through him as he continued to explain. “The material is delicate, and what you see, you can’t speak of outside these walls. Not even to James.”
    “I signed your