Patrick Holt is lonely. A bad breakup with his boyfriend has left the forty-year-old ophthalmologist reluctant to get involved with another man. When his neighbor sets him up with her brother-in-law Eric, Patrick prepares himself for disappointment. But Patrick quickly finds himself surprised and charmed by Eric, and Eric, who’s had relationship problems of his own in the past, falls hard and fast for Patrick.<br><br>On the outside, Eric seems like a great guy: young and attractive with a promising job as an assistant manager at a Chicago hotel. But Eric has a dark side he and his family are hiding from Patrick. When the truth is finally revealed and Eric’s secrets are exposed, will Patrick be willing to go the distance with Eric? Or will he run as fast as he can from the new man in his life?

Baggage

Later, after Eric and I had dinner together, we finished a bottle of wine outside on the back patio.


“You know what this yard needs?” he asked, looking over my backyard.


“Not if you get the right kind. Come on,” he said, pulling his key fob from his pocket. “Let’s go shopping.”


Eric drove us to a Home Depot not far from my house, and we picked out a few flats of zinnias to plant in the front and back yards. While he was standing in the long patio check-out line with other shoppers who’d filled their shopping carts with mulch, fertilizer, planters, and other assorted garden items, I slipped away, claiming I was going inside to find the bathroom. But I really just wanted to sneak away to get an extra set of house keys made for Eric.


Chapter 26