Page 58 of Persuaded

Stomping the snow off his boots in the entryway, he made his way up to Ruth’s apartment. But as he let himself in, he heard voices: Ruth’s and Michael’s. Crap. He was turning on his heel, ready to leave, when Ruth called out, “Joshua, is that you?”

Damn it. Gritting his teeth, he took off his wet boots and headed into the living room where Michael and Isabelle perchedon the edge of Ruth’s elegant sofa, coffees in hand. “Hey,” Joshua said.

Michael bared his teeth in a smile. “Joshua.”

After a tense pause, Ruth said, “Michael’s here to invite us to a party Saturday night.” She glanced at his brother. “To celebrate your father’s, ah, homecoming.”

Joshua stared at Michael. “What?”

“Well, of course you wouldn’t keep track,” he said. “Dad’s being released on Friday.”

His heart thumped in his chest, but the only emotion he felt was anger. He didn’t want to see his father again. He certainly wouldn’t go to Michael’s party.

Isabelle crossed her long legs. “We thought it would be nice to have a little gathering to celebrate,” she said. “Nothing extravagant, naturally. Just some close friends and family.”

Joshua had nothing to say to that, couldn’t speak to their utter lack of shame. Couldn’t believe they expected him, of all people, to go along and welcome home the father who had cast him off years ago. So he didn’t reply, just moved to the window and stared out at the snow-bound city. This high up the visibility was poor, all he could see were the swirling snowflakes and heavy gray cloud.

Behind him, Ruth was saying, “I assume you’re hosting it at your apartment, Michael?”

The conversation crawled onward and Joshua let his mind drift out into the city. He wondered what Finn was doing, where he was right now. Had he left New York? God, what if he had? What if he’d assumed Joshua and Quinton were together and just given up? Or maybe his smiles last night had only been platonic, but if so why would he have left so—?

The buzzer rang, jolting him out of his thoughts. Ruth talked to the doorman over the intercom, one eyebrow rising. “Ah, Sean and Finn Callaghan are here to see you, Joshua.”

“Oh.” Heart thumping high in his throat, he dared not say more, afraid that if he spoke he’d betray himself. Michael had never known about his relationship with Finn—unless his father had told him. He risked a glance at his brother, but his face remained bored as he exchanged a weary glance with his wife. Of the four of them, only Ruth knew.

She opened the door and offered a stilted welcome, eying Finn with caution. Joshua didn’t know where to look. He didn’t know why they were there, what they wanted, although he hoped...

God, how he hoped.

Sean walked in first, all smiles and apologies for intruding. “We’re leaving town and just wanted to say goodbye to Josh—you’re a hard guy to track down, dude, without a phone. Hope you don’t mind us just dropping by?”

Finn lurked behind like a recalcitrant teenager and Joshua knew, immediately, that he didn’t want to be there. Tejana was with them, one hand lightly on Finn’s back as if keeping him from bolting. Joshua tried to catch his eye, but Finn kept his gaze averted.

“Sean,” Michael said, standing to greet him. “How are you?”

They must have met before, Joshua supposed, over the sale of the house. Sean said something in reply, but his words—everyone’s words—blurred in Joshua’s ears. Isabelle greeted Finn with more enthusiasm than she usually showed; she was a sucker for fame and fortune, and smiled and flirted with Finn even though her husband was standing right there.

And Finn... Finn was performing, smiling an actor’s smile for his audience. The hard shell he put up for his family was painful to witness; it made Joshua want to take a hammer to it, break it open and pull him free.

But then Tejana crossed the room and drew Joshua into a tight hug. “It’ssogood to see you,” she said, smiling and warm.Her eyes brimmed with unspoken feeling as she squeezed his arms and studied his face.

All he could manage was “How are you?”

She shrugged and talked lightly about work, her gaze drifting now and then to Sean. For his part, Joshua did his best not to look at Finn. Even so, he was aware of him moving away from the group and coming to hover near Ruth’s piano.

“So,” Tejana said eventually, “what do you make of Liz’s whirlwind romance?”

Joshua flushed, heat rising in his cheeks. Finn was rightthere. “Well, it’s certainly sudden. I hope—I think it must be confusing for Matt.”

Tejana grimaced. “Yeah, poor kid. But people do crazy things for love.”

“I guess.”

“You don’t approve?”

He gave an uncomfortable shrug. “It’s not that I don’t approve, I just feel you should think about the people around you before you jump into that kind of thing with both feet. You have to think about the consequences.”

“You’re probably right, but that’s not as romantic, is it?”

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