Attorney Charles Barnett thought it was all over for him and his heart. In the three years since his partner died, he hasn't felt so much as a spark of attraction to another man. That suddenly changes when Charles is assigned a new case and meets his new client.<br><br>Recent widower Philip d'Autremont has been traveling in all the same circles as Charles, but somehow they've never managed to meet. Now that they have, both men find themselves falling hard and fast.<br><br>But there's more than one hurdle to Charles and Philip beginning a love affair, much less maintaining it: Philip is on trial for murder, a politically ambitious and homophobic district attorney is determined to convict him, and Charles is responsible for Philip's defense.

Trial

She thanked the jury for their time and patience and apologized for their time having been wasted in a proceeding that should never have taken place. She also apologized to me on behalf of the criminal justice system. Then she said the magic words: “Case dismissed.”


I WALKED OUT OF the courthouse ‘free’ for the first time in months, free of the cloud that had hung over me like an invisible pall. We emerged onto the courthouse steps, where at least a couple of dozen reporters and cameramen were waiting for us. Charles was on my right, Mark on my left, and questions were being shouted at us so rapidly that it was impossible to follow them. Finally, Charles made a gesture for silence.


Chapter 101