Joe’s was thriving, as usual. In the month since the renovations had been completed, the place had become more popular than ever. Travis was certainly appreciative, Luke noticed, able to pick up plenty of guys.

Lance wasn’t quite as appreciative, though. Luke quietly made it known that he was upping the bets on the ongoing will-they-or-won’t-they pool that had been going on for the last year or so.

It got busy enough, and lucrative enough, that Luke was able to hire a couple of new bartenders, which he strictly forbid any of his friends from hitting on. Yes Matthew, that includes you. Why are you even pretending to flirt with people when you’re head over heels for Jake? Honestly, we all know you like seeing Jake get jealous, but this will only end in tears.

Despite the busier atmosphere, Luke was pleased to see that all of his regulars still came in. They claimed to love the booths and the pool room upstairs where one could regularly hear yells of triumph or groans of despair. The food was an absolute hit. Luke had gotten some help from Matthew with the menu and had hired a cook, but he was often in the kitchen as well, doing things himself. He liked to flit from post to post, doing a little bartending, a little cooking, a little serving, just making sure that everyone was enjoying themselves and that everything was top notch.

Seth was doing well in school. Luke had paid back his investors and he had a website for the bar and everything.

So why did he feel empty all the time?

It was pouring rain that night at Joe’s. Luke called Ellen to come and pick Bill up—and Nancy, too, while she was at it. Matthew was three sheets to the wind and Jake was laughingly dragging him downstairs, although Matthew kept insisting that he was fine and could totally beat Travis at darts.

“Jake, tell Travis and Lance it’s last call,” Luke said from the phone.

“Travis! Lance!” Jake bellowed. “Get your asses down here!”

Luke rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I said.”

Jake just grinned at him, and then went back to helping Matthew.

Luke watched them, feeling that familiar pang in his chest. Matthew was a handful, but Jake was very patiently escorting him out the door. There were some thumps and then Travis and Lance banged their way down the stairs, racing one another, tipsy and breathless.

Even they had each other, Luke thought... even if they didn’t know it just yet.

He shook himself out of it and bid everyone goodnight. It was just the rain, making his thoughts maudlin. That was it. He was fine the way that he was. He’d find someone in time. Right now he had friends, the bar his dad had loved so much was thriving, and Seth was happy. That was all that he needed.

The front door opened and Luke froze.

It wasn’t…

It was pouring rain though, and everyone had just left, and he hadn’t heard once from Adam, not an apology, not anything, and…

He turned.

Seth stood there, soaking wet in a hoodie, his arms folded.

Luke told himself that there wasn’t any disappointment sinking into his stomach.

Seth smirked. He was getting good at that, the little bastard. “You thought I was Adam.”

“No, I didn’t.” Luke busied himself cleaning up the glasses. He stopped food orders an hour before the bar closed, so the kitchen staff had already left. There was just some minor clean up left to do.

“You totally did.” Seth plopped himself onto a barstool. “C’mon, admit it, you miss him.”

“He doesn’t miss me.” That was all that mattered.

Seth rolled his eyes. “Is this about the things he said in court? You know that he had to say them, right?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“Yes, he did.” Seth folded his arms onto the bar top and rested his chin on them. “I’ve been reading up on this stuff, okay? Adam was basically breaking the law by helping you out. You know how seriously they take this collusion stuff? He would have been fired on the spot and I don’t know if anyone would have hired him. He risked his whole career by getting you Enid and those investors.”

“He didn’t have to keep representing the Harpers.” Luke paused. “And why am I even discussing this with you?”

“Oh come on, Luke, think about it from his perspective,” Seth groaned. “What if somebody asked you to choose between the bar and them, huh? What if Adam had asked you to do that? This is what it was for him. He put his career on the line for you, like if you’d put Joe’s on the line for him. He knew it was safer for him to throw the case than to trust that some other lawyer wouldn’t be as good as Enid. He was doing what was best for us. It’s thanks to him that we’re still together.”

Luke thought about that. He hadn’t really considered… but Adam obviously loved being a lawyer. He’d worked his ass off for it. If anyone, no matter who they were, had asked him to give up the bar or even put it on the line for them… Luke would have asked them how the hell they could ask that of him. The bar was his father’s legacy, his grandfather’s legacy. In a way it was all that he had left of them. Giving it up wouldn’t just be making himself unhappy, it would be letting them down.

“I think you should give him a second chance,” Seth said. “I’m telling you, I looked into it. I was hurt by the things that Adam said, too, and when he asked me if I would rather be with the Harpers because they were rich—it was insulting. I mean I’d talked to him! He knew how I felt! Then I thought about it though, and actually it was really smart, what he did. He made himself and the Harpers look bad. It was the final nail in the coffin, y’know?”

Maybe he had been unfair. Adam had done so much for him, and Luke hadn’t trusted him. Maybe he’d been… rash, to ask Adam to just drop everything right away.

He looked at Seth. “All right, expert, what do you think I should do?”

Seth grinned at him. “I dunno, what’s something super romantic?”

They had to wait until morning, since the law offices were obviously closed in New York. Luke let Seth look up flights, while he called Nash & Forest. He wasn’t going to show up at their offices, but maybe if he charmed a paralegal or two he could get Adam’s address.

“Hi, hello.” He smiled, since even though the person on the other end couldn’t see it, they could hear it in his voice. “I was wondering if you could get me some information on a lawyer who works for you. Uh-huh. Adam Lerner?”

The woman on the other end, who’d been happily typing away, paused. “I’m sorry sir,” she said. “Mr. Lerner doesn’t work for us anymore.”

“What?” The bottom dropped out of Luke’s stomach.

“He quit about three months ago,” the woman said.

That had been right after the trial.

“Do you know where he went?” Luke asked, heart hammering in his throat.

There was some more typing noises, and then, “He actually said he was starting his own firm.”

“Thank you,” Luke told her, and then hung up before he could hear her reply. “Quick, give me that.”

“Hey!” Seth protested as Luke yanked the laptop away from him, typing into the search bar.

A moment later he had it. Luke grinned, giddy with knowledge and relief. “That son of a bitch.”

Seth peered over his shoulder. “He’s in Chicago?”

“He’s in Chicago,” Luke confirmed. “He started a firm with Enid.”