Quiet Nights Read Online Free PDF

surly policeman who was as hungover as me.
    “I see,” Takeo said, smiling kindly at me. “I will make you some ginger tea, and Dwyer will make you some eggs.”
    “I’m making eggs now?”
    “Yes,” Takeo answered him dryly.
    “Why am I doing this?”
    “Obviously, he needs the protein.”
    I made a retching sound. “I can’t eat any eggs.”
    “You can,” Takeo replied cheerfully. “You’ll see.”
    I wasn’t convinced, but I did as I was directed, and the ginger tea, with some honey in it, did actually kill the nausea. He put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cool washcloth and pressed that to my forehead as he gave me a banana to eat. The fluffy eggs and plain toast—no meat, no grease—filled my stomach, and the water after that hydrated me. On my way out, Takeo gave me a fruit punch Gatorade and what I thought was a painkiller but turned out to be a B12 vitamin.
    “Hydrate,” Takeo ordered as he retreated into the house.
    “I actually came over here to check on the yard,” I told Dwyer as we stood together on the front porch.
    “It’s okay,” he said affably. “I can promise you that he enjoyed that more than talking about the flowers.”
    “He’s a natural caretaker, huh?”
    “He is, yes. But you should go before he remembers that he wants to grill you about the new lawyer in town.”
    I coughed, which hurt. “Why would he think I would know anything about him?”
    “Because he’s the new partner of your best friend’s sister,” Dwyer explained slowly, likely in deference to my depleted state.
    “Oh yeah.” I groaned. Takeo truly enjoyed playing matchmaker, and so far in Mangrove, he had two successful marriages under his belt: one straight and one gay. “So what, he’s gonna find the new guy a mate?”
    He shrugged. “You never know.”
    “Ask him to find a guy for Coz; he needs the help more.” The look I got was odd, like I was talking out of my ass or something. “What’s with—”
    “The officer is not on Takeo’s radar at all. His latest vic—project,” he corrected himself, chuckling, “is Hutch Crowley.”
    “I think Takeo should hook him up with Coz,” I said to make conversation, because truly, the idea of my beautiful friend with the sexy grocer made my stomach flip over with anxiety and it was finally feeling a little better. The only one Coz belonged with was… me. But since that wasn’t in the cards, it was useless for me to worry about it.
    We were friends, brothers almost. To throw that away because I wanted him, however desperately, was the worst idea ever. He was so beautiful, tall and dark, and he haunted my dreams. Always it was us, together, in bed, and he was insistent, demanding, and I was gentle like I never was, and giving and…. but what was the point of that? In dreaming? In wanting? Because in the daylight hours, I longed to be closer to him, and if that desire turned to anger and eventually bitterness, it would become this wall between us. I feared that more than anything. It was better for me to pretend to be happy for him, to urge him to date, because if I actually saw him happy, I could be happy for him. I loved him more than myself, so I was almost certain I wouldn’t come unglued at his wedding and make the scene of the century. Mostly sure.
    Dwyer scoffed. “No, the grocer has no designs on your policeman.”
    “What?”
    He turned to me. “Were you even listening? What did I say?”
    “Yeah, I heard… but, you know he’s not my—”
    “Of course he is,” he said dismissively. “Don’t be stupid.”
    “I—”
    “So apparently Hutch has confided in Takeo, now that they’re friends,” he barreled on, ignoring my protests, “that he’s tired of fucking anything in a tight pair of jeans and is ready to settle down.”
    God, what was it with all the honesty about sex in the last twenty-four hours? “When,” I began after clearing my throat, “weren’t Takeo and Hutch friends?”
    “When Takeo thought Hutch was