“What are you doing here?” Her acerbic tone grated.

“I’m here to see Dare.”

“Well, he’s not in.” Then she slammed the door in his face.

He stood staring at the door as her shadowy shape disappeared inside the house.

*   *   *

“What the hell was that all about?” Dare asked as Helen marched past. When he’d heard the male voice at the door, asking to see him, he’d put down his newspaper and walked toward the foyer, only to see Helen slam the door.

“It was no one.”

Well, that was a lie.

“Helen, I don’t need you filtering who I see.”

“Whatever,” she called as she stormed down the hall to her room.

He opened the front door. Standing on the other side was Adam.

His gut clenched. God, he didn’t think it would be this hard seeing him again.

“Hello, Dare.”

“Adam.”

“Helen doesn’t seem very happy to see me.”

Dare gripped the doorknob tighter. “She’ll get over it.”

“I’m here to talk about Ashley.”

Dare nodded. “I’m not surprised.”

“So you do know I’m the other man she’s seeing?”

“Not the whole time. Just since the other day when she told me she’d been seeing her boss.”

Adam frowned and Dare could just hear the cogs in his brain turning. Dare hadn’t contacted Adam in all these years since … painful memories tore through him and he gritted his teeth as he pushed them aside … but he’d kept tabs on Adam. He’d wanted to know that he was all right. That his life was going well.

That he was happy.

This mess with Ashley sure put a crimp in that.

“May I come in?” Adam asked, still standing in the cool evening air, waiting.

Dare glanced over his shoulder, thinking of Helen brooding in her room. Just waiting to be a pain in the ass if he and Adam came inside to talk.

He gazed at Adam, really looking at him for the first time since he’d opened the door. God, he looked good. He could see the hint of sculpted muscle through the T-shirt he wore and his arms were well defined. His chestnut brown hair was swept back from his handsome face and his dark brown eyes were still as deep and haunting as Dare remembered.

And just as full of pain.

“I think it’s better if we go out somewhere.” And for more reasons than Helen’s probability of being a nuisance. Being alone with Adam would be too painful. And too … tempting. “How about a drink at Wanabee’s?”

He grabbed his keys from the bowl by the door, then stepped outside. “We can take my car if you like.”

“I’ll meet you there.”