Chapter 1

1

Philip checked his cell phone again. Adam still wasn’t answering. He hadn’t responded to Philip’s text messages and there were no missed calls. Normally, if he had stood Philip up or was running late, he would be calling or texting in with a wave of apologies, asking for forgiveness because he was dealing with other things. This time, there was nothing.

It was becoming a bit of a habit and Philip was getting fed up with it. He could understand that Adam had other things to do on Sunday morning—his parents made him go to church and Adam said he couldn’t say no to them about that—but he was always free by the time lunch came around. They had been meeting each other for lunch for the last six months, right from the first date. It was a little ritual for them.

Obviously, Adam didn’t care about it as much as Philip did anymore. Something was wrong.

Philip couldn’t figure out what it was. With Adam, it could be anything. He was one of those people who could make drama out of anything. Philip had seen this pretty quickly, but he ignored it for the most part. He cared deeply about Adam, so he accepted all of his flaws, even if Adam could be a bit of a drama queen. That was what a relationship was about, wasn’t it? Accepting flaws?

But not hearing from Adam after missing their lunch date for the fourth Sunday running had Philip concerned. They were meant to be discussing their upcoming trip to the Scottish border. It was a little Christmas getaway for them. Philip had work on Christmas Day, but on Boxing Day he would drive them up to Kielder Forest and they would spend a week together, away from everyone else. Adam was looking forward to this as much as Philip. Their first holiday together.

And now it looked like Adam didn’t care much at all. He let Philip take care of the arrangements. Philip had used his hard-earned money to pay for the place and for some activities they could do in that time. As a nurse, Philip spent more time working than anything else, but he had managed to find time to do this. Adam was a student; he had plenty of time for booking a holiday, and yet he expected Philip to do it.

Adam really needed a kick up the backside. Philip wasn’t going to carry him all the way. Fingers crossed, once Adam graduated and had a good job, it should be better. They would be able to level things out then.

If only he could get hold of him.

It was almost two hours before Philip decided to give up and go look for Adam. He could have been waylaid by his parents, which wasn’t impossible. They knew that Adam was dating a guy, and they weren’t too impressed. Adam had told him that his mom and dad were trying to get him to break up with Philip, that he needed to be with a good girl. Philip had rolled his eyes at this. As if his parents could make Adam change his mind. Twenty years old and he was as stubborn as a mule.

He wasn’t really welcome at Adam’s house, where he still lived with his parents, but Philip wanted to make sure his boyfriend was okay. They did still need to affirm things up for the holiday in two weeks. Philip had a few more things to finalize, and he needed Adam’s input. His parents needed to let him grow up at some point.

Philip lived in one of the more affluent areas of the city, in one of the big houses with a gated drive. It was closed when Philip arrived, causing him to park on the curb. But the gate to the path was open, and he headed into the driveway. He couldn’t see the car that Adam’s parents used, but there was a dark blue Ford Fiesta behind Adam’s silver KA. Adam’s brothers were here.

That would make things less uncomfortable. Philip could get on with Adam’s half-brother and the distant family friend they had adopted when he was in his teens. While they hadn’t interacted much, they were decent guys who treated Philip with some decency when their paths did cross. They wouldn’t block him.

Hopefully.

Philip knocked on the door, silently hoping that Adam’s dad didn’t answer the door. His car was gone, but that didn’t mean he had gone with it. And he wasn’t not the nicest of people, especially to Philip. It was best to give him a wide berth.

But it was a giant who answered the door. The man had to bow his head a little to look out, his ash-blond hair almost brushing the top of the doorframe. He frowned when he saw Philip on the threshold.