Keir Moreau, a middle school teacher living a solitary life, is excited to welcome a handsome new neighbor. But after their first meeting goes alarmingly wrong, Keir decides it's safer to keep his distance. Besides, he has to focus all his attention on finding help for a student who is being forced into conversion therapy.<br><br>Riley Quinn used to be an award-winning photojournalist, roaming the world and exposing corruption. An injury put an end to all that. Now he's frustrated with his new aimless life, wondering if he'll ever do anything again that really matters. When he first meets Keir, a case of mistaken identity leads him to mistreat his intriguing new neighbor. Riley tries again and again to redeem himself, but everything he does seems to push Keir farther away.<br><br>Keir, obsessing about his failure to help his student and fighting his stubborn attraction to Riley, takes a reckless gamble that goes dreadfully wrong. Or does it? Can an act of desperation open the door to romance?

The Chartreuse Door

Feeling a little hopeful, he shifted in the chair, straightening his spine. Maybe she could come up with a way to untangle the mess he’d made. If nothing else, it felt good to share his story.


A few moments later, she returned. “Okay, I’m ready. Now start from the beginning.”


He spent the next half hour explaining his many mistakes, bad ideas, and possible crimes. Put together like that in one long tale, it all sounded so much worse. By the end, he felt lower than pond scum in a rock quarry, but Lucy remained her ever-optimistic self.


“Keir sounds delightful. Just perfect for you. And despite everything, he keeps coming back, so he must like you. And since you’re stalking him, you’d know if there was any competition.”


Chapter 21