Adam texted Enid first. She agreed to meet him for lunch, but when he said that he was bringing a friend, she immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Is he hot???

Three question marks. Honestly.

He needs your help. I said you might be able to represent him.

Enid’s response of !!!! did not encourage him. If she turned this into some awkward affair where she tried to match-make him and Luke, Adam was going to purposefully choke on his sandwich.

Adam finished ironing his suit and put it on, giving Luke back his clothes. He was careful not to get too close to Luke. He could still feel the ghost of Luke’s hands on his hips, and how he’d been unable to look away from Luke’s storm-colored eyes. It had felt inevitable that they were going to kiss—like in that moment, there was nothing else that he should be doing, and that at any moment Luke was going to lean in and press their lips together, and that would be okay. It would be right.

Luke had stepped back, and Adam had realized how incredibly stupid he was being. Luke had been hugging him, grateful because Adam was helping him out. He wasn’t interested in Adam like that, not after Adam had lied to him and was now, if you looked at it in a certain way, Luke’s enemy. Or working for Luke’s enemies.

That sounded rather dramatic, but, given the circumstances…

Not even Adam’s stubborn lack of self-confidence could erase the fact that last night, Luke had wanted him. Luke had found him attractive, so it wasn’t like Adam was going to listen to the voice in his head hissing that Luke was just realizing in the light of day how inadequate Adam was. He couldn’t deny though that if he were in Luke’s shoes, no matter how attractive the guy was, he wouldn’t want to have anything beyond polite courtesy with the man... not when he was the guy helping the Harpers try to take Seth away from him.

So, really, it was just Adam being stupid. Luke had hugged him, then Adam had pulled away and gotten… frozen. Stuck, somehow, entranced by Luke’s eyes and his thick lips and strong jawline. Like an idiot. Then Luke had stepped away, because Adam was being painfully obvious, and Luke was being polite and not bringing up the fact that Adam was clearly still… besotted, or something, and Luke wasn’t. Because he was helping destroy Luke’s life.

Anyway.

Adam tried to concentrate on being professional and helping Luke. This was… well, it wasn’t the least that he could do for Luke given what had happened last night. He’d settled that with an apology, or at least, he had in his mind. This was about doing what he knew in his heart was right. He hadn’t decided to be a lawyer because he was heartless or because he wanted to spend his days screwing people over. Sure, he hadn’t joined to defend civil rights, exactly, either, but he’d sure hoped for something a lot better than this.

He could still remember himself, growing up, wondering why the world kept knocking his mom down, why she had to work two jobs, sometimes three, and be tired all the time. He could still remember wanting to get into law school and feeling like he couldn’t, because he was one among thousands applying for those prestigious scholarships, and why would they pick him over others?

He could definitely still remember how it had felt to be in foster homes for two years after his mom had died. Most people hadn’t wanted an older kid. Everybody wanted babies and toddlers, someone they could raise from the ground up. He’d known that he was unloved and although he’d never wanted for food or shelter or anything, it had stung. It still stung, when he thought about it. He didn’t want that for Seth. With such stuck up, controlling people like the Harpers, they might provide for him financially, but would they really give him the love and support that he deserved?

Adam really didn’t think so. He wished that he’d had someone who could reach down, someone who was higher up on the totem pole of life, so to speak, and give him a hand. If he could do that for Seth, be the person that Adam had wished he’d had when he was younger, then perhaps it would help to even things out a little.

While he got dressed, Luke called a friend of his, M-something, and asked if he could take over the bar that night after work. Adam didn’t know exactly how long everything would take, but he would rather be safe than sorry and have someone covering the bar for Luke rather than have him and Luke stuck out in Chicago without the bar opening. Adam had a feeling that aside from pissed regulars, Luke literally couldn’t afford to have the bar closed for a night.

“I’m going to have to start paying him, if I ask him to help out any more,” Luke huffed, half joking and sounding sort of amused, but also very much serious.

Another pang of guilt hit Adam. How could anyone see someone struggling the way that Luke was and want to take more away from him?

He knew that he didn’t really have a choice, not unless he wanted to get in huge trouble and possibly lose his job, but he hated that he was working for the Harpers. It made him feel like he was, in a way, supporting this.

With Luke off the phone, Adam saw no reason for them not to get going. Luke seemed to think differently. “What about breakfast?”

Adam blinked at him, thrown for a loop. “Breakfast?”

“Yeah. Have you eaten yet?” Luke asked the question like he knew that the answer was no—and of course he knew that the answer was no. He had knocked on the door in the morning while Adam was still in the middle of ironing his clothes and hadn’t brushed his hair. What did he think, that Adam had gotten food ridiculously early and then come back to put himself into some proper clothes?

“No,” Adam replied, feeling a bit defensive. It was just a question, but he found himself bracing for judgment anyway.

Luke gave him a small smile, like he thought Adam was adorable or something. “Then let’s stop by the café first and get you something to eat. I have to hand Matthew the keys to the bar anyway, so he can close up.”

Adam wanted to protest that they didn’t have time—they needed to get into the city to meet with Enid, and then the investors, and then… but Luke was staring at him with that small smile on his goddamn charming face, looking hopeful and lightly, fondly teasing, and in that moment Adam just couldn’t say no.

“Okay.”

Luke smiled even wider, like Adam was the one doing him a favor. “C’mon then.”

He led Adam to his car, a pickup truck that Adam remembered well from last night. He kind of thought it was a bit, well, redneck, but it was also undeniably masculine and kind of attractive. Adam had never really thought about that whole cowboy, Midwestern corn-fed boy kind of narrative, but he had to admit that Luke fit that to a T and it was pretty appealing.

No, damn it, stop it, Adam told himself. He couldn’t have Luke. This was about helping out two brothers who were stuck in a bad situation, nothing more.

The drive to the café was a short and quiet one. Adam was on his phone, choreographing the day using texts and emails. The bar would only need a couple of investors.

But, of course, he’d need to know what Luke planned to do with it.

“What’s the plan with the bar?” Adam asked. “If you get investors?”

“I’ve always wanted to convert the back office,” Luke said, pulling the car up to park in front of a place called The Bluebird Café. It looked like a cute, French-style place, done up in white with some chairs and tables outside as well as inside.

Luke led him inside, still talking. It was clear from the way his eyes lit up and his shoulders loosened that he was excited at the idea. “It would need a little expansion, but I’d like to make it into a proper kitchen. Serving burgers, onion rings, that kind of thing.”

Adam made some notes. “Good, that’s what investors will want, knowing that you’re turning the place into something more than it was before.”

“And who’s this?” someone drawled.

Adam paused, staring at the guy behind the counter, who was looking at Adam like he was a particularly cute kitten. “And here I was starting to think Jake was lying about that playboy reputation, Luke.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Matthew, this is Adam. He’s helping me out with the whole Seth thing. Adam, this is Matthew. He’s a bonehead, ignore him.”

“Is that any way to talk to the guy who’s helping you out tonight?” Matthew teased.

Adam wasn’t sure if Matthew could see it, because he immediately turned to yell something over his shoulder into the kitchen, but Adam saw Luke’s eyes darken for just a moment and his jaw clench before he relaxed again. Adam knew that Matthew was probably just being friendly, having a little banter, but Luke wondered if Matthew knew how much it must pain Luke to have to ask for help in this way.

“Hey,” Luke said, turning to Adam and nudging him with his elbow. “You need to order something to eat. They’ve got lots of great sandwiches to go and stuff.”

Adam’s stomach chose that moment to agree with Luke and let out an embarrassing gurgling noise, and he could feel heat creeping over his face in yet another blush. Luke just grinned in response, probably thinking it was funny, and winked at him. “Go on, order something. I’ll handle Matthew.”

He said it like they were co-conspirators, like they were a team. It made Adam’s stupid pulse pick up, and he had to clear his throat and hurry over to the counter to order before he could actually open his mouth and say something to make himself look like an even bigger idiot.

Luke was being nice because Adam was helping him out. That was it. He should be grateful that Luke wasn’t going to punch him after all, not misinterpreting everything as flirtation.

Adam ordered, while Luke talked quietly with Matthew in the corner. Adam couldn’t tell what they were saying, but whatever it was, Luke looked torn between being pissed off and being embarrassed. Matthew seemed like the type who liked to tease people, to push their buttons, and go a bit over the top. He was probably just needling Luke over something.

He got his sandwich to go, getting it just as Luke growled something at Matthew and stalked over to Adam, grabbing him by the elbow and leading him out. Luke’s hand was warm and gentle, but he was definitely pissed about something, all but stomping out of the café.

“Just think about it!” Matthew yelled after him, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Think about what?” Adam asked before he could stop himself.

“Ignore him. Idiot’s just trying to get under my skin.”

“Sounds like he succeeded.”

Luke let go of Adam so that he could unlock the truck. He opened the truck door on the passenger side for Adam, who paused, surprised, before getting in.

“Is this about…” It probably was stupid to ask, but he wanted to reassure Luke if he could. “Is this about the bar? About you needing Matthew to cover it?”

Luke got into the truck and started it, then turned to Adam in surprise. “What?”

Adam shrugged. “I just thought that it might be—you know. It’s hard to ask for help.”

Luke started them down the street. He focused on the road, but his brows were drawn together in a frown. “No, yeah, I mean, it is. I’d like to be able to make enough money to hire another bartender. That would be good, give me some nights off to be with Seth. But that’s not—Matthew and I are friends, and he’s dating one of my oldest friends.” Luke laughed. “Despite the fact that I broke his heart in high school, poor guy. Jake’s finally mostly forgiven me.”

“So Matthew was right about you being a playboy?” Adam asked, unable to disguise his curiosity.”

Luke nodded. “I was a complete ass. I was attractive and I knew it and I wanted to just have as much fun as I could. Same in college, honestly. I figured, I’d have time to find someone serious afterwards. That was my big plan, get a serious job to build experience and a serious boyfriend, after college.”

Adam didn’t need Luke to voice out loud the last part: and then the plane crash happened. All the plans Luke had made were now gone.

“At least by the time I got to college, I wasn’t an asshole about sleeping around,” Luke admitted. “When I was a teen… I was pretty callous. I would give people the wrong impression, y’know? Let people think they meant more to me than they did. At least in college when you’re at a party, you can be upfront about it being a one-night thing, and nobody’s feelings are hurt.” Luke glanced over at Adam, grinning. “You must know all about that.”

“I actually wasn’t a… party guy, in college.” Adam squirmed in his seat a bit, uncomfortable. “I never went to parties, or clubs, or hung out in bars. I was the awkward bookworm type.” He gave a harsh, self-deprecating laugh. “Couldn’t afford to lose my scholarship.”

Luke nodded, sobering up. “Yeah. I don’t want—I want Seth to have a normal childhood. I want him to relax and have fun. If he’s serious though about this lawyer bit, he’s going to need to put his nose to the grindstone and keep it there.” He looked at Adam, as if seeking confirmation. “Right?”

“Right, absolutely.” Adam felt a little more comfortable talking about this. This he was comfortable with. His own social failings, not so much. “It’s a sacrifice, you have to choose a lot between going out with friends and staying home and studying or doing extra credit or something, but if he’s going to need to work a job or have a scholarship or both to pay for school, then yeah. Hard work is something he’ll have to get used to.”

Luke paused, as if thinking, then brightened up. “And you really didn’t go to any parties or anything?”

“Maybe I would have if I’d been invited,” Adam admitted. He wished he could take the words back the moment he’d said them. He didn’t want Luke to think he was hosting a pity party or anything.

“You must have been invited. Gorgeous guy like you?”

Adam shook his head, ignoring the flirtation. Luke was a player, he’d said so himself. It was just habit. He couldn’t do anything, and Luke didn’t want him to do anything anyway. He had to remember that. “Nope. I made one friend, and that was in law school. She’s the one we’re going to see now, actually. Her name’s Enid. She’s great, I think you two will like each other.”

“And you never went out? Really?”

“What’s the benefit of going out to be exposed to ear-shattering music, strangers bumping into you and maybe throwing up on you, and the smell of alcohol killing your nose?” Adam replied.

Luke laughed. “Maybe you just didn’t go with the right people. Going to a club or a bar, dancing with a partner, it’s fun. It lets you cut loose.”

“’Cut loose’? What decade are we in?”

Luke laughed again. Adam hadn’t met anyone besides Enid who got his sense of humor, who didn’t take it more harshly than intended and get offended. Of course the guy who finally did was also out of Adam’s league and untouchable because of his damn job. “Listen, if you went to a bar or a club with me, I bet you that I’d actually get you to have fun.”

Adam snorted. “Yeah, that’d be the day.” He said it mostly because he thought Luke wouldn’t actually seriously be offering, and it was more like he was just saying that in a hypothetical kind of way.

“What, you think I’d fail? Is that a challenge?” Luke glanced over at him, grinning. Adam’s stomach flipped. This all felt far too much like the teenage years he’d never had, being driven around by a cute, charming boy who teased him about going out to a bar.

He shrugged, letting himself give into the fantasy. Just a little bit. “Maybe.”

“Challenge accepted then,” Luke replied.

“What about the second floor?” Adam asked, desperate to get away from anything possibly flirtatious and back onto business. “You said there was a second floor or set of rooms or something over the bar?”

“Oh, yeah, the apartment,” Luke said. “My grandpa, when he bought the place, it was an old-fashioned storefront of some kind, where you had the store on the bottom and the apartment for living above it.”

“Yeah, lots of inner-city places still have that.”

“He converted the downstairs into a bar but kept the upstairs as-is. He and my grandma lived there until they could afford the house, but friends would crash up there when they’d had too much to drink, or when someone was in from out of town or something. Rumor has it that a couple guys on the run from the law that my grandpa knew hid up there, but he never confirmed it.

“I was thinking if I sold the house that Seth and I would move in up there, but if we don’t have to do that and I get to renovate the place, then I’d like to turn it into a pool room, you know, a couple of pool tables and a dart board. Nothing fancy. That would give us more room downstairs to put in some proper booths along the wall for sitting, and the middle could be a dance floor. We have this huge vintage jukebox and I want people to take advantage of it. I could also use part of the second floor for the back office.”

Adam nodded, taking notes both to send to the investors and for later when they met them in person. So far, the people he’d contacted were interested. They all remembered him from the cases he’d helped them or their associates with and seemed happy that he was bringing them a client like this. One of them said the same thing that Adam was thinking—that everybody had their eye on this area right now thanks to its rapid development.

“That’s good,” he told Luke. “Just remember those things when you meet with investors later, and you’ll be fine.”

“You know, here I was thinking that some bigwig who could just swoop in and get meetings arranged and shit in just one day was for the movies,” Luke observed. “And look at you. Pulling strings right and left.”

“I’m not—I’m just calling in some favors.” Adam was flustered. He didn’t think of himself as someone all that important.

“Your humility is sweet,” Luke replied, “but unnecessary.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Just keep your head on your shoulders and tell the investors the same things you told me. This has the makings of being something really great. Oh, also: social media. Get a damn website, that’s part of how I got lost trying to find you the other night.”

“I think a friend of mine could help me with that,” Luke mused. “His name’s Lance; he does software and stuff like that.”

“Good. A small bar and grill place doesn’t need an Instagram or anything, but just having a website, and maybe a twitter so you can do things like announce karaoke night or whatever, those are good. They show investors that you’re serious about getting new customers and promoting yourself.”

“I did go to business school, you know,” Luke pointed out, but he grinned as he said it, showing Adam he wasn’t pissed. “I do sort of know this stuff.”

“Sorry.” Adam felt himself blushing and looked away, his stomach clenching with embarrassment. He hadn’t meant to be rude or assume Luke was an idiot or anything.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m nervous, it’s good for you to remind me about these things.” Luke sighed. “I think… I’d be less nervous, if it wasn’t for Seth. If I can get investors, like you said, and I’m financially stable, that’s what’ll convince a judge I can keep Seth, right?”

“That’s the only advantage the Harpers have over you. Finances are where they can win. If you take that away, you have a real shot... a better shot than they do, I think.”

“I won’t let them take him from me,” Luke stated. His hands were gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles were starting to go white. “If this was just… hey, you know, I want to make my business better… but everything’s riding on this. They’re assholes—I mean, I probably don’t need to tell you that. Seth’s too young to remember though. He just knows that I hate them and that Dad and Lyla hated them, but I remember. They used to call all the time, trying to get Lyla to come home. They weren’t at the wedding and refused to visit.

“The only time I saw them in person? When Seth was born. They came to see him and then insisted that Lyla come home with them. The bar was already kind of failing at that point, economy and all, and they wanted Lyla and Seth with them and they were using the inevitable failure of the bar as an excuse. Lyla was super out of it after giving birth to Seth and she had no idea what was going on. Like, who does that? Your daughter’s just given birth and she’s still kind of weak and loopy from the drugs and you’re trying to get her to make important life decisions?

“Dad threw them out. It was awesome. They tried calling again after that but Lyla let ‘em have it, in no uncertain terms. They shut up after that and nobody heard from them until the crash. Next thing I know they’re calling me, demanding Seth. Like—like I was just some random cousin or something, some family friend that was looking after him, when I’m his damn brother. I got just as much right—I got more right than they do! I actually know Seth!”

Luke was shaking, just a little, and Adam reached out, putting his hand on Luke’s knee. It seemed to steady Luke a little. He took a deep breath.

“I was the first person Seth ever looked at, did you know that? He opened his eyes—they’re Lyla’s eyes, you know, I got Dad’s gray ones but Lyla had these big blue eyes, just like Seth—and he opened them and looked right at me. And he smiled.” Luke blinked quickly and Adam looked away politely.

After a moment, Luke spoke again, seemingly more under control. “Maybe if they were good people, we could work something out. I know they’ll be able to give Seth things I never will.”

“But they can’t give him family,” Adam cut in. “Look, I—I lost my mom. For two years I was in foster homes, but after that, I got into a good college... and then a good law school, one of the best colleges and best law schools in the country. I was surrounded by people who had money, and now I’ve got a good income too. None of that... I have exactly one friend, and she moved out here last year because of her girlfriend, and that’s it. Money can’t replace love.”

“So yeah, I mean, if the Harpers were good people then sure, that would definitely be something to suggest to a lawyer, working out a visitation schedule and things like that. If you’re thinking of giving Seth over to them just because they’ve got money though, I can tell you I was happier in our crappy, roach-infested apartment with my mom than at any of the fancy parties I’ve gone to since getting into Yale. Money doesn’t replace love.”

Luke took a deep breath. “That’s—that’s good to hear. You want… you just want what’s best for the other person, y’know? And if giving him up was the best thing… but I don’t think it is. I’m not going to let him be at the mercy of people like that, I just won’t. They’re snobs and they’ll either make him completely miserable or turn him into a snob as well, and I don’t know which idea is worse.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Adam replied, stopping himself just in time from saying we. He wasn’t a part of this. He definitely shouldn’t be a part of it anyway, but so long as Luke didn’t tell anyone, there was no way his bosses could find out what he’d been doing to help Luke out.

“So, tell me,” Luke said, apparently looking for a change in subject, “Why did you want to become a lawyer?”

Adam shrugged. “Why did you want to take over the bar? It was just something that I always kind of knew I wanted to do. I like being organized and researching, and there has to be a lot of that if you’re a lawyer. You have to really understand the minutiae of things, all the laws inside and out, and I’m a bookworm, so I liked that. I like knowing that I know everything about something, and I’ve always enjoyed debating.

“There’s an… aspect of the court that just isn’t present in real life, and that’s the fact that you get to prepare beforehand and you generally know what your opponent is going to say and do. You can strategize and plan. In real life, there’s none of that. I didn’t—plan to be late, or be soaking wet, or lie to you. It all just happened, and I kind of hate that lack of control.”

He didn’t say partially because of my mom, but he had a feeling that Luke understood that anyway. There was nothing that anyone could have done to change or prevent Mom’s death, except the driver who’d done it. What if she’d walked across the street five minutes earlier, or later? What if the driver had taken a different way home? What if he’d hit her slightly differently, enough for her to last until they got to the hospital?

It was all up to chance and fate and had been beyond anyone’s control, just like the plane crash that had taken Luke’s parents—Adam had looked it up. A bird had gotten into the engine on the right wing of the plane. Total chance. Flying up ten feet higher or lower, that bird, and the plane, would have been fine. And yet.

Adam shook himself out of those thoughts. “It just felt like being a lawyer suited my personality, and I really did want to help people... even if I didn’t want to be a civil rights lawyer. I thought maybe I could get into corporate law and help expose fraud or something, or family law and help people, kids like me.” He sighed. “Along the way though, you compromise and sometimes you find yourself arguing against what you actually believe in.”

“Like now.”

Adam nodded. “Like now.” He needed Luke to know that he believed Seth belonged with Luke, and not with Adam’s actual clients, although his boss would kill him if he knew that.

That gave him pause.

“Luke, you know that… I mean, Enid’s going to know, of course, and maybe Seth, but nobody else can know that we did this.” He looked over at Luke, hoping that the rising panic in his throat didn’t show on his face. “It could ruin the case. We’d both be accused of colluding and you could lose Seth.”

He could also lose his job, but he didn’t think Luke would care about that as much.

“Trust me, I won’t tell anyone,” Luke promised. “I won’t do anything that’ll jeopardize my chance of keeping Seth.”

Adam relaxed a little. “Good.”

Luke leaned over and turned on the radio, which immediately began blasting country music. “Sorry,” he said. “I just need something to focus on besides this damn case.”

Adam definitely couldn’t begrudge him that. “So long as it’s not country,” he said, changing the station.

Luke looked both amused and appalled. “You call yourself an American and you don’t like country music?” He changed the station back.

That led to a good-natured argument about country music (“I mean, I like good ones, like Bob Dylan. But like, Garth Brooks—” “You say anything against Garth Brooks and I’ll kick you out of this truck.”) and flicking the radio station back and forth. By the time they pulled up to the diner around the corner from Enid’s office, the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed.

Personally, Adam was surprised that the time had passed so quickly. It was so rare that he felt comfortable enough with someone for time to sort of become irrelevant. Normally he was watching the clock, watching everything he said, wondering when this would be over. The only time he was truly comfortable was when he was in the courtroom. He owned the courtroom. He could make the jury and the judge think whatever he wanted them to. Somehow, when he was just himself, just Adam, that all vanished and he turned into the same awkward person he’d been as a teenager.

Of course, his continued attraction to Luke probably had something to do with it. He’d taken his hand off of Luke’s knee soon after he’d put it there once Luke had a hold of himself and didn’t seem to need a comforting touch anymore. But God, it was so hard not to reach out and touch some more. Luke was just wearing a t-shirt, obviously not dressed for a business meeting or anything, but he still looked damn good, the material stretching over his broad shoulders and chest. Adam ached to reach over and map out those muscles in a way he’d been too overwhelmed and distracted to do last night.

None of that, he reminded himself. It wasn’t allowed, and Luke didn’t want him anyway.

They had work to do.