“Same to you,” the older man said over his shoulder as he shuffled toward his house.
Asher grinned from ear to ear as he made his way up the deck steps. Someone needed to knock him down a peg.
“Will you tell me what you’re doing in Savannah now?”
“I told you I would as soon as I got Spencer settled.”
He’d said “time will tell,” which sounded way more ominous than this paraphrased version. Instead of pointing it out, Rocky said, “That was three weeks ago.”
Asher tilted his head. “You’re going to tell me how to do my job now? Do you know how much work goes into establishing new identities for one person, let alone an entire family?”
“No.”
“It’s extensive and exhausting when things go according to plan, so imagine the ensuing chaos after three knuckleheads crash my investigation.”
“You called us meddlesome idiots,” Rocky reminded him. Asher replied with a shrug and an easy smile that did nothing to ease Rocky’s nerves. “I’m not disputing that your job is complicated, but I have a tough time believing you couldn’t find a spare moment to call or text me.”
“And allow you to throw up roadblocks?” Or run away. Asher hadn’t said the words out loud, but Rocky could see the accusation in his husband’s gaze. Asher shook his head, and the incrimination disappeared. “A stealth approach works best.”
Rocky’s eyes fell to the monstrous bag at Asher’s feet. “You can’t stay here.”
“It’d just be for a few days.”
Rocky shook his head. “Absolutely not.” The house was too small and only had one bathroom. He didn’t want to hear Asher in the shower or smell his bodywash lingering in the air. He didn’t want to imagine water sluicing down his husband’s incredible body. Yet here you are doing just that.
“I don’t see why there’d be a problem. You’ve done a great job of erasing me from your life.”
“I have not,” Rocky scoffed.
Asher quirked a raven brow. “Really? You’ve either told people we were divorced or pretended I didn’t exist. I’m not sure which hurts the most.”
Asher’s verbal arrow would’ve struck center mass if not for the shields Rocky had worked hard to erect against such attacks. “I’m going to ask you one more time.”
“What comes after thrice?” Asher asked.
Rocky took a calming breath. He’d passed the road sign welcoming him to exhaustion several miles ago and was coasting on fumes. “Why are you here, Asher?”
His husband matched Rocky’s deep breath with one of his own. Great. They’d huff and puff and blow the house down without Rocky being any closer to understanding what the hell was going on.
“You’re not going to like it,” Asher finally said.
“That goes without saying.”
“I’d requested a transfer to Savannah soon after you left me. The logical step in my mind had been to follow and fight for you—us.”
Rocky leaned against the deck railing for support, gripping the wood so hard the edges cut into his skin like his husband’s words shredded his soul. Of course Asher hadn’t given up easily.
“There were no openings at the time,” Asher continued. “We grew further apart each day, and you seemed to be blossoming in a life that didn’t include me. Then came the divorce papers.”
Rocky choked down the guilt and heartbreak. “Which you contested.”
Asher nodded. “It gave me time to win you back.”
Time that was quickly running out. Was that the real reason Asher was in Savannah? Rocky could ask him, but did he want to know the answer?
“Does that mean a position here in Savannah recently became available?”
“Yes, and it came with a promotion to inspector.” The one he’d been passed over for because of the embarrassing media attention Rocky had garnered after the fallout from the Warner shootings. “Things hadn’t been right in Vegas for a long time. I’d fallen out of love with the city before we met. All of my family still lives in Brooklyn, so I had no reason to stay in Vegas.”
“Congratulations.”
Asher’s pride shone in his smile. “Thank you. I figured I’d get to know the city you loved more than me.”
“I don’t love Savannah more than I love you.”
The sweet curve of Asher’s mouth morphed into dark, dangerous pirate territory, knocking Rocky off-kilter. Then he closed the distance between them, his gait every bit as cocksure as his grin. “Good to know.”
“Know what?” Rocky asked, sounding as breathless as one of Marla’s romance novel heroines. He had butterflies in his stomach to match.
“That you don’t love Savannah more than me.”
Rocky shook his head. “I said I didn’t love Savannah more than you.”
Asher chuckled. “Oh, I must’ve misheard you.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
Asher stopped mere inches away, and Rocky had to tilt his head back to look into his glistening, dark eyes. Reaching for the man felt as natural as breathing, so Rocky gripped the wooden railing harder to stave off the urge. It didn’t stop Asher from crowding his personal space even more by lowering his head. Asher was close enough that his breath ghosted over Rocky’s lips. The longing he felt was echoed in Asher’s expression, and with it, Rocky saw a silent challenge. Asher was going to kiss him, and Rocky was going to let him.
The intensity was too much. Rocky closed his eyes at the last minute. But he didn’t turn his head away. Instead, he braced himself for an onslaught of feelings and sensations that never occurred because Cal fired up his obnoxious lawnmower again.
Rocky and Asher jerked apart and stared at each other, both of them breathing heavier than usual. He was both happy and dismayed that Asher reacted to his proximity in the same way.
“Wow, Cal eats fast,” Asher shouted, breaking the standoff.
“You can’t stay here,” Rocky shouted back.
“Why not?”
Luckily, Cal wheeled the beast back to the front yard, making it easier for Rocky to shut Asher down. Maybe everything he’d said was true, but none of it explained why the hell Asher was there with his duffel bag in tow.
“Let’s start with something easy. Why do you even want to stay here in the first place?” Rocky asked.
“The house I rented isn’t ready for me to move into yet.”
“Why?”
“The landlord insisted on giving the place a fresh coat of paint and shampooing the carpets before giving me the keys.”
Rocky narrowed his eyes. “How long is that supposed to take?”
“A few days at most.”
“Where have you been all this time, and why can’t you continue to stay there? Better yet, why can’t the marshals put you up in a hotel or sock you away in a safe house or something?”
“I just returned to Savannah a few days ago, and I’ve been crashing at Dandridge’s place. He’s been really cool, but I don’t think his fiancé is happy about it. You’d really rather I stay at a hotel or a safe house than crash here with you?”
“Yes.”