Chapter 1

Darren glanced at his son and felt a trace of envy. Jesse had his whole life ahead of him. He’d be graduating college in June, and had a sweet girlfriend in Leah. She was a year older than Jesse, had already graduated, and held down a full-time job as an assistant manager at a prestigious art gallery.

Soon he’ll be moving out, leaving me all on my own. He smiled wryly at that idea. Darren had been alone from the time of his divorce until a few months after his ex-wife had met ‘the man of her dreams’—to hear her tell it. The problem was, dream man didn’t want kids. Thus it was decided that eleven-year-old Jesse would live with Darren. The transition had been rough at first, despite the fact that Darren had had visitation rights from the day the divorce was final. But Jesse had eventually settled into his new life and filled a void Darren hadn’t even realized was there.

“Dad?”

“Umm?”

“Why the hell did I decide I wanted to be an architect?” Jesse grumbled.

“Maybe because it’s been your passion since you were fifteen and spent the summer working with Uncle Mike?”

Jesse chuckled. “There is that, but damn.” With a sigh he went back to studying for his last mid-term.

Darren remembered that summer well. Mike owned Cameron Architecture, a highly respected residential design firm in the city. One evening when he’d come to dinner, Jesse had asked if he could visit him at work. Mike said he’d probably be bored stiff but if he wanted to, he could. Jesse had and then began bugging Mike to let him spend the summer there.

“There has to be somethingI can do. Right?” That was Jesse’s plea when his uncle seemed doubtful.

After some thought, Mike agreed that Jesse could be a gofer. “After all, there’s always someone who needs coffee or someone to deliver things for them so they don’t have to stop what they’re working on. It’s not a romantic job, but if you want it, it’s yours.”

Jesse had jumped on the chance. From the day he started until summer was over, all he talked about was what he was learning. Apparently, according to Mike, Jesse had managed to make friends with a couple of the architects. They let him watch and explained what they were doing.

“They even listen to me when I have a suggestion,” Jesse said proudly. “Not,” he added ruefully, “that they make any changes but they do tell me why, so I’m learning a lot.”

Thus a budding architect had been born. In June, he’d be out of school and working for Mike full-time.

Jesse closed his books with what sounded like a sigh of relief mixed with trepidation. “At this point, I either know it or I never will,” he said.

“You do, and you’ll pass with flying colors,” Darren assured him.

Coming over to sit at the other end of the sofa, Jesse looked at his father. “You know, once I’ve moved out there’s going to be an extra bedroom. You should find someone to fill it.” His smiled guilelessly.

Darren snorted. “When that happens, I’m turning it into a study.”

“That’s no fun. You need a roommate, or I guess housemate. A man to help share the duties around here.”

“Like you do?” Darren asked with a laugh.

“Hey, I hold up my end when I’m not studying.”

“Yeah, I know. Leah will love that.”

“We’ve already worked out a chore list. Now all we need to do is find the right apartment. One that’s not too far from either of our jobs and is affordable.”

“You still have time.”

“Not much. She needs to be out of her place at the end of the month. It still begs the question of how you’re going to find someone to move in here when I’m gone.”

“That is not happening.”

“We’ll see.”

“Young man, whatever you’re plotting, forget it. I’ll be fine on my own. I was for all the years before you moved in. There’s no reason I can’t be again.”

“Well, if you don’t want a roommate, at least find someone to…how does grandma put it? Keep company with?”

Darren chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what she says, and that’s not happening either. I don’t need a man in my life. I tried it with…hell, what was his name?” He pretended to forget.

“Nigel,” Jesse said, looking amused. “He was an ass and then some.”

Jesse knew Darren was gay. It had been no secret since soon after he’d come to live with him. It wasn’t something Darren hid—now. It had been back when he’d gotten married. He wasn’t out then. Hell, I didn’t even admit it to myself, to say the least of letting anyone else know. It wasn’t until after Jesse was born that he’d begun to come to terms with the fact that his marriage was a sham, and it was his fault. He cared about Helen. She was a good woman. But she wasn’t what he needed. When that realization finally hit home he’d thought long and hard about what he should do. Finally he bit the bullet.