

He had opened up the windows and the doors to the back deck to allow the breeze to sweep through the cabin, then gone outside and hadn’t come back before Kelly began to doze. When Kelly woke, he realized Nick had just waited for his painkillers to kick in and then given him the slip. Because Nick O’Flaherty always kept his promises. He stepped away, but his hand landed on Kelly’s shoulder and squeezed.

He tried to push forward to deepen the kiss, but Nick pulled away from him, running his thumb over his lips. It wasn’t some stranger in a smoky bar giving him that adventurous feeling, either, it was one of his oldest and dearest friends. He hadn’t felt like this since he’d been a teenager, and he liked it.

Kelly took stock of his racing heart, his shallow breaths, the fluttering in his stomach.
