Gideon Monahan is a man dedicated to what he does -- recovering stolen art -- to the exclusion of anything else, including a personal life. There's a reason for that, something that happened in his past that he can't forget.<br><br>Cole Newell is an archaeologist with a problem. He needs to find out who looted a dig he worked the previous summer, after one of the artifacts shows up at his gallery. Cole calls on Gideon to lend his expertise, which, much against his better judgment, Gideon does.<br><br>When one of the looters is murdered, they set out to find answers, with the help of Detective Quint Hawk. In the process, Cole realizes he's attracted to Gideon, even though he's certain the man is straight. After he helps Gideon open up about -- and accept -- his past, can the two men become more than friends? Both Gideon and Cole hope so, once they overcome the myriad problems facing them.

It Takes an Archaeologist

“I have three buildings in mind,” Gideon replied. “I haven’t seen them in person, yet, as I just came to this decision a few days ago.”


“Does Dr. Newell know what you’re planning?” Jessica asked.


“No. I don’t intend on telling him until things are underway, and I know this will work.”


“He’s not going to be happy that you didn’t trust him,” Alex said.


“It has nothing to do with trust, and everything to do with not wanting to get his—or my—hopes up.”


“Okay. I suppose that makes sense.”


After that, Gideon and his staff got down to work on exactly what it would take to bring his plan to fruition.


Cole spent the week after Gideon left vacillating between elation that they’d finally kissed, and despair that it had been a goodbye kiss on Gideon’s part—despite his words to the contrary. They had talked by phone, but the conversation had been somewhat stilted on Gideon’s side. At least that’s how it seemed to Cole—as if Gideon were already pulling away.


Chapter 34