Heart And Soul

By Jeanette Grey

For sixteen years, Ben has been watching his best friend Duke as he's swung from one relationship to another. After each failed attempt, Ben has been there to pick up the pieces, and every time, it breaks Ben's heart just a little more to see the man he loves mourning the loss of someone else. When Duke decides to get a new tattoo to commemorate his latest break-up, Ben accompanies him, only this time, the pain is too much. He resolves to finally move on – only to find that his friend has no intention of letting him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jeanette Grey
• Release date: Aug 7, 2011

Book preview

Heart and Soul

By Jeanette Grey

Published by Jeanette Grey at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 Jeanette Grey

Ben glanced at his phone as he killed the engine on his car. As expected, there weren't any messages. No missed calls.

Through the drizzle and the darkness outside, he directed his gaze out the windshield toward the warm glow of the windows of Madigan's Bar, wishing he could see inside. Duke hadn't been at his house or at Danielle's, and Ben didn't know if he'd be here. If he had to put money on it, though...

With a deep sigh, Ben pulled the collar of his jacket close and threw open the car door before darting out into the rain, muttering under his breath, Damn well better be worth it.

He only had to take a single step inside to know it was.

There at the bar, hunched over a half-drained pint, was the head of short-cropped black hair and those muscled shoulders. The peek-a-boo lines of a tribal tattoo.

For a minute, Ben stood there on the threshold, leaning against the door frame and just staring, his annoyance seeping away as quickly as it had gathered. Across the room, he saw Mike nod at him from behind the bar before gesturing toward Duke with a question in his eyes. Ben shook his head and raised his hand to press his forefinger to his lips. Mike shrugged and moved back to the other side of the bar, but Ben wasn't looking at him anymore.

How could he?

After letting his eyes scan over Duke's body one more time, Ben finally pushed away from the wall and strode across the room. The barstool made a rough noise as it scraped against the stone floor, but Duke didn't flinch at either the sound or at the way Ben deposited himself into the seat. He raised a hand to get Mike's attention again, ignoring the wry grin on the bartender's face.

Two Sam Adams.

Coming right up.

Mike poured the two beers and passed them over. Ben grabbed one for himself and slipped the other over to sit beside Duke's mostly empty one. Duke still didn't look up, but he did mumble out a low, Thank you, before draining the first glass and lifting up the second.

I tried to call you.

I ignored it.

I noticed. Ben chanced a quick look over at Duke. From the door, he hadn't been able to see the other man's expression, and while he had a pretty good idea what he was dealing with, he'd take any extra clues he could get.

There weren't many. But then again, after all these years, it wasn't like Ben needed much. Sure enough, in the lines around those cool blue eyes and the tilt of his lips, Ben could see that