Page 14 of Love at First Rep

Garrett nodded, his arms crossing against his firm chest.

“And what kind of jobs were they?”

“Um.” Rafe tensed. He couldn’t fill Garrett in on everything yet, but he couldn’t get away with not giving him any details either. “Covert jobs. Cleaning up some messes that were made when I worked for the government.”

“Figures you left behind messes. It’s wild you didn’t take longer.”

“Hey, it’s not like I made them on my own—”

“So you’ve been working with a team, then?”

Fucking detective bullshit.

Except Rafe had to remind himself that was exactly why he came here. He needed Garrett’s skills. More importantly, he wanted them. Wanted him.

“Not so much a team as friends I’ve made along the way. Friends that had my back while I had theirs. You know what that’s like.”

“Yeah, I did,” Garrett said, his lips a grim line out of place on his face. His words were a dagger to the heart.

“I still have your back. I never stopped.”

“Exactly how closely have you been watching me these last twenty years?” Garrett demanded, his voice emotionless.

It irritated him. He wanted Garrett’s emotions. He wanted to see what the man really felt. Not this fact-finding bullshit he was doing like Rafe was a damn mark.

“Just close enough to make sure you were safe. I may not have been able to physically be here for you, but I’ve always had your back.”

Garrett scoffed. “Great. So what, you know all my secrets, everything I’ve been doing the last twenty years, and you can’t give me any details about your life or where you’ve been or who you’ve been with?”

“Of course I don’t know all your secrets. For example, I have no idea what’s going on with you and Hunter even though you looked pretty cozy together this morning.”

Oops. Why did he have such a hard time keeping his mouth shut around Garrett?

“You’re fucking following me? Who the fuck do you think you are that you can barge into my life whenever you want after you left me behind to think you were dead?” Garrett’s voice rose as he stalked closer to Rafe, his brows narrowed, his teeth clenched. “Losing you almost broke me, and every single time I found one of your bullshit messages, it was like losing you all over again.”

Rafe deflated. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. I thought you’d figure out I was alive. I didn’t think it would hurt you. I did everything I could to spare you grief. It’s the only reason I lied—”

Rafe snapped his mouth shut. He hadn’t meant to spill that part. Not yet. Not when Garrett was so angry.

Garrett didn’t miss a thing. He closed the distance between them until they stood toe-to-toe.

“Lied about what?” Garrett whispered, his face red with fury.

Rafe took a step back, and then another, but Garrett matched each one until Rafe hit the wall behind him. Garrett was only a few inches taller, but it felt like ten as he towered over Rafe.

“Come on, Gar,” Rafe begged. “Let’s not do this yet. I just got back. There’s so much more we need to figure out first.”

Garrett’s breath stuttered.

“Tell me or I will throw you out of here.”

With a deep breath, Rafe leaned back against the wall, the fight seeping out of him.

“When I said I dreamed about one day living next door to you, with our wives.”

Garrett’s brows furrowed.

“I didn’t want a wife. I’m…I’m gay.”