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It had taken severalman after he’d asked me my name and I’d used those moments to sneak peeks at him as he, and another man I would later learn was one of Matty’s fathers, spoke to the Director of Volunteer Services to make sure I ho I said I was

His eyes were green Not just plain green but deep, dark green like the tall evergreen trees that were predohout the Pacific Northwest

I hadn’t asked why the little boy in roouard outside his rooin et limpses of the man

Mav

“You sure you don’t want to get checked out?”

I jumped at the sound of Brennan’s voice because I’d cootten about his presence My entire body ached andlike a son of a bitch, but I shook my head “No, I’m fine,” I murmured as I turned around to face hi a lightness I wasn’t feeling into ,” I joked

Brennan chuckled and reached for one of the bags of frozen vegetables on the table and handed it to me I walked around the loveseat and sat down Brennan came around the piece of furniture to join me, but when his eyes fell on the bookshelf, he paused and then went over to it and righted the single picture frahten as my eyes settled on the photo in the fra the cold bag back on my wrist

“I should probably warn you then,” Brennan began as he dropped down on the loveseat next toa welco to do it last weekend during family dinner, but since you had other plans…”

I forced myself not to chew on my lower lip as I was prone to do when I was stressed I’d only been back in Seattle for a couple of weeks and while I’d come back specifically to be around the ate family, I’d yet to actually see any of them except for Brennan and Dominic Barretti, the man who’d saved my life

Literally

I’d been certain that cos for me, but the second Dom had shown up at my apartment the day after I’d arrived and enfolded me in his arms, I’d started to wonder if I hadn’t made a terrible mistake

Because the guilt of all I’d done had co up to the surface the moment he’d wrapped his arms around me and whispered, “Welcome home, Eli,” in n of happiness, but the second he’d left, I’d slid to the floor and let everything go And when the invites to co in, I’d begunexcuses

“Do you think you can talk them out of it?” I asked “I offered to take a shift at the hospital for another volunteer,” I lied I knew , but I just wasn’t ready yet Not to one by then and while Brennan ht my excuse, there was no way in hell Dom would have

I felt Brennan’s eyes on e and while he wasn’t as seasoned in picking out lies like Douy He studied me for a moment and then nodded his head “I’ll see what I can do”

“Thanks”

“I stopped by to see if you wanted to come look at apartments with me,” Brennan said He looked at ainst et some rest”

“Yeah,” Iyour own place?”

Likefrom UCLA but unlike me, he had actual family to stay with His brother Zane and his husband Connor lived in Queen Anne with Zane and Brennan’s younger sister, Hannah, as well as their five-year-old son, Leo

If I hadn’t been looking at Brennan at that exact moment, I would have missed his s to the UW this fall We’re sharing a place”

Even though it had been a while since I’d last seen Logan and Doether, Brennan’s reaction didn’t surprise me I’d seen early on that Brennan was infatuated with the younger s went one way because as far as I knew, they’d never been anything more than just friends