Chapter 1

1

Michael still had Halloween decorations up. That was the first thing I noticed. Bats, cats, and jack-o’-lanterns. Not that crazy, I supposed, given that it was just the first week of November.

They were stuck to the walls of his office with push pins and tape. Some looked like the kind of decorations you’d get at the dollar store while others maybe were handmade. Not by Michael, of course. But he did have little nieces and nephews. He didn’t mention getting them to me, but then, over the last month or so, he’d been pretty distant.

I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed the décor the last time I’d been there, but then again, that had been in early October, so maybe he hadn’t had them up yet.

Michael was a lawyer. In fact, I had heard non-stop for weeks that he was working on a big case. It kept things pretty unstable between us.

He barely looked up when I stood in the doorway.

“Fabian, I don’t have a lot of time.”

And sure, anyone else probably would have turned and left, tail between their legs at his cold, business-like tone. But I wasn’t just anyone else. And I wouldn’t let him intimidate me.

“I don’t need a lot of time,” I said, easily. “Shouldn’t you be replacing those with turkeys and pilgrims or something?”

His gaze rose to mine, his dark eyes narrowing. “Huh?”

“All that Halloween stuff on your walls.”

Michael grimaced and tossed down the pen he’d been clutching. “Please tell me that’s not why you interrupted me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Get real.”

“Anyway, I have nothing to do with those. Annette put those up.”

Annette was his admin assistant.

“She’s on vacation this week. She’ll take them off when she’s back. What do you want, Fabian? This case is kicking my ass and really I don’t like to be bothered at work.”

“I was in the area, and since you’ve been ignoring calls and texts, I figured I’d just stop by.”

“I haven’t been ignoring them. I’ve been working. What is it?”

Though he was hardly in the mood to discuss this, I forged ahead. I was already committed at this point, and not telling him what I wanted was probably worse.

“Thanksgiving.”

Michael frowned. “What about it?”

“I’m making plans to go up north to see my family for the weekend. I plan to leave the Tuesday before and return Sunday.”

His gaze went to the calendar on his desk. “It’s November the sixth.”

“Yes. Thanksgiving is the twenty-eighth. I’m driving up there on the twenty-sixth. It’s about a six-hour drive and leaving Wednesday after work will be a nightmare.”

For a long time, he just stared at me, but finally said, “Why are you telling meall this?”

With extreme patience, I replied, “Because, I need to know if you’re coming with me. They’d like to meet you, Michael, and it seems like the perfect opportunity. There’s no room for us to stay at their place, so I’m going to get a room at a local inn. Are you coming along?”

Michael didn’t have any living family in California. And since he hadn’t mentioned flying off to see his brother in Toronto where he lived, I figured it would be a safe bet that Michael would stay here.

“I can’t believe you’re bothering me about this right now. Jesus, Fabian. That fucking holiday is weeks away. It could definitely have waited. God, sometimes, you’re just…”

I stiffened and straightened away from my relaxed stance by the doorway. “I’m what?”

“The amount of attention you demand out of me is taxing,” he said after a long pause. “Draining, even. Right now, the only thing I can focus on is this case.”

Jaw tightening, I nodded. “So that’s a no?”

“Yes, it’s a no. Until this case is over, I can’t be bothered by trivial stuff.”

“And when will that be, Michael?”

“Not until that first week in December I mentioned before. When you move in.”

I shook my head. “No.”

The frown was back. “What do you mean no?”

“I’m notmoving in with you.”

“But you agreed.”

“I’ve changed my mind. But you should be really happy about that, because it means I won’t be bothering you with my trivial time-consuming shit anymore. You won’t be drained or taxed.”

Michael sighed heavily. “Cut out the dramatics. Seriously. This is a big fucking case, and I just need to be able to focus on it, not whether or not I should be meeting your family over Thanksgiving.”

“Sure. No problem.” I turned to leave.

“Are you coming over—”

I laughed then, not even turning back toward him. “No, Michael. I hope you have great success with your case. I’m sure you will. You’re a great lawyer. But I’m moving on.”

“Moving on?”

Then I did look at him and he was gazing back at me plainly bewildered.