Thrill Me(54)

                “Yes. We are now world famous kissers. I’m sure we can both use that to our advantage.”

                He grinned. “I know I will.”

                * * *

                DEL LEFT THE studio offices and headed for The Man Cave to see Nick. Maybe a little one-on-one time with his middle brother would give him some answers as to why Nick felt he had to hide what he was doing. Because Del sure didn’t get it. Ceallach might not approve of the medium, but he would be happy to see the art being produced. So why not let the old man know?

                He crossed the street and turned at the corner. Everyone had their reasons, he supposed. Very few actions were random. Like his coming home. It had been a deliberate choice and he had a feeling he’d made it for reasons that were not the ones he’d first thought.

                He walked into the bar and saw Nick wasn’t alone. Aidan was with him. Two for the price of one, Del thought as he approached them, wondering if Aidan would walk out the second he saw him. Their last conversation hadn’t ended well.

                “It’s TV’s newest reality star,” Nick said from behind the bar. “Back only a couple of weeks and already making time with Maya. Everything old is new again.”

                Del accepted the ribbing. “It wasn’t like that.”

                “It looked like that,” Aidan said, grabbing a handful of peanuts from the bowl on the counter. “It looked a lot like that.”

                It had been a nice kiss, Del thought. When he’d first seen the video, he’d been shocked and a little embarrassed. But even though it was a personal moment, he wasn’t ashamed. Hell, he and Maya looked good together. His only regret was that they hadn’t done more. Not on camera, of course. But later. Privately. One on one. Naked.

                She’d always looked good naked and he had a feeling time had been especially kind to her. They both had some years on them, which meant experience. Making love with her had been fantastic before. He would guess it would be even better now.

                “What can I get you?” Nick asked.

                Del pointed to Aidan’s bottle and sat down at the bar. “What he’s having.”

                Aidan glanced at him. “Did you figure out what happened with the video? How it got online?”

                “Eddie Carberry got into Maya’s files.”

                Aidan shook his head. “You’ve got to admire her and Gladys. They move with the times.”

                “That’s what I said. We should all be so determined when we’re their age.” Del found himself watching Nick, thinking about his brother’s secret. Not that he was going to ask. Instead, he turned back to Aidan. “How’s business?”

                Aidan’s expression immediately went tight. He put down his beer. “Go to hell,” he said, and walked out.

                Del stared after him, then turned to Nick. “What did I say?”

                “You have to ask?”

                “Yeah, I do. I know he’s pissed. So let’s talk about it. Walking away doesn’t accomplish anything.”

                “So speaks the man who ran.”

                Not how Del would have characterized his leaving town, but he could see how it would have looked that way. “Maybe I learned from my mistakes.”