Andrew sighed and shook his head. He said, “Vincent is so deep in the closet, and it’s dark in there. It’s so dark that I’m not sure he even realizes it’s a closet. He can’t see the walls in front of his face.”

“Just because he thought a guy was cute?” asked Jeffrey. He sipped at a mug of coffee and stood on the grass as he watched Doug dig into the rich, dark earth with his new puppy, Sam, at his side.

“It’s the way he looks at me,” said Andrew. “He brushes against me, too. It’s like he wants to touch me, but he doesn’t want anyone to know that he wants to, least of all me. And he fed me strawberries, Jeffrey.”

Jeffrey wrinkled his brow. “You had lunch together? He fed you?” Then he thought the comment through and turned to face Andrew, “What?”

Andrew waved his hand saying, “No, no, it wasn’t a meal or anything. I sent a box of chocolates when he hired us for the house. You know, the ones I always send. Vincent is a grocery store guy, so he brought these strawberries to the house. I guess produce is his thing.”

“And he fed them to you?” asked Jeffrey.

“Well, yeah, sorta.”

Jeffrey grinned. “Actually, that is kinda hot, Andrew. I mean, chocolate and then strawberries. What comes next? Oysters on the half shell? I would take the strawberries as a proposition.”

“It was a little creepy.”

Shrugging, Jeffrey said, “I think he likes you. What do you think of him?”

“You know what I thought at first,” said Andrew.

“And you’ve changed your mind?”

“He’s so far back in a corner of the closet. What if he hates himself for liking me?” asked Andrew.

“Has he shown any signs of that? What if he just needs a little nudge? I guess Doug and I have some extra observation work to do tomorrow.”

Andrew sighed and said, “I’m not sure you’re helpful.” He stepped forward to squat down next to Doug and reached out a hand rubbing Sam behind the ears. He said, “Those little puffy yellow flowers are cute, Doug.”

Doug said, “These were all the rage in Better Homes and Gardens in 1930. They are yellow China asters. Until that time the China asters mostly came in pink and blue.”

“Do you ever wish you could go back to that time?” asked Andrew.

“And experience the Great Depression firsthand? No way. Besides, we have much better gardening tools and fertilizers. It would be harder to get the garden to look like this in 1930. And gay in the 1930s? No thank you!”

Andrew said, “I guess those are good points but wasn’t life a little easier back then?”

Standing behind them, Jeffrey said, “You could ask Doug’s opinion.”

“Doug’s opinion about what?” asked Doug. While he listened for a response, he turned to Sam and said, “None of these beds are for you to dig in with your paws. Do you understand that?” He slowly nodded yes while staring at Sam’s face hoping for an echoed nod. The dog simply panted in response.

Jeffrey said, “Andrew is freaking out a little bit about our client.”

“I thought he wanted to get inside his pants,” said Doug.

“That was two days ago,” laughed Jeffrey.

Andrew sat on the grass and leaned back. He said, “Maybe it would just be easier if we backed out of the project. Vincent has a daughter. That makes everything a little bit dicier. I don’t want to cause any problems, and I’m not sure he is fully in control of the situation.”

“Now you’re just ridiculous,” said Jeffrey.

“I don’t know if it’s that ridiculous. Remember when we had the client who was so into Doug. That was a problem.”

Doug growled, “He was stalking me, Andrew. He was showing up at my house uninvited. I don’t see any of this as the same thing.”

Jeffrey said, “Tell me right now, Andrew, and be honest about it. Do you find Vincent attractive?”

“Do I have to answer that?” asked Andrew.

“Do you enjoy spending time with him? You just had a meeting with him.”

Andrew sighed heavily. “Yeah, I like him, but I don’t think I should. So yeah, I’m trying to avoid it. I’m also acting like I’m in junior high, and I never grew up. Are both of you satisfied?”

Doug brushed the dirt off his palms and leaned back on his heels. He said, “I’m going to say this out of total respect for you, Andrew, because I love you to death like a brother. He sounds like a good catch to me, and I think you’re scared about what comes next if a guy like Vincent likes you. He would be likely to have something a lot more serious on his mind than someone you met in the club.”

Jeffrey reached up and rubbed his chin while looking down at Andrew. He asked, “So what do you say about that?”

“I feel like a bug pinned to a board squirming around for everybody to see,” said Andrew. “I don’t know what to think. That damn pin is painful.”

Doug smiled and said, “I’ll be right there for you tomorrow just like the brother you never had. We’re on your side, Andrew. We would never want to see you get hurt, and we won’t let any harm come to ADJ.”

Jeffrey added, “So why don’t you knock off the nonsense about abandoning an excellent client.”

Andrew pulled his legs up toward his chest. He said, “If this all blows up in our faces, can I say, ‘I told you so?’”

Jeffrey laughed and said, “You can say whatever you want to because it’s not gonna happen. We’re going to deliver an award-worthy house, and you’re going to be a perfect gentleman.”

Andrew sighed and said, “The strawberries really were amazing.”