There were a few boys out on Teddi’s deck; the open French doors let in whiffs of fresh April air and blooming redbuds and a mixture of department store colognes. Teddi liked to keep a rotating selection of hot, young—and generally brainless—boys parading through his brunches. Right then, those boys were enjoying several pitchers of mimosas and laughing and pretending to toss one of their friends off the balcony while he screamed and splashed his mimosa everywhere and was probably having the best time of his life.

And then there was Teddi’s breakfast nook, where he was entertaining two men. Judging by the whispers and the way Teddi’s eyes kept shooting toward North, North had a good guess what their topic of conversation was.

“Oh, North, perfect timing. I was just going to drag you over here and introduce you because you absolutely have to meet these two. This—” He squeezed the shoulder of a slender young man. The guy was pretty in a pouty kind of way; North figured he was the kind that liked to keep you running. “—is Billy Rolker. He’s an actor, really quite good, I saw him in Streetcar at the Rep, and I knew I absolutely had to have him.” Teddi waited just long enough and then added, “For brunch. And this—” He waved a hand at the other man: older, stockier—but muscle, North thought, not fat—with grizzle in his beard. Enough daddy vibes to start a prenatal unit. “This is Tom Gerard. Aren’t they just so cute together? They’ve got the most wonderful story about how they met, you really have to hear it.”

“Hi,” Billy offered, looking up from under long, dark lashes.

Tom pumped North’s hand once. Hard. A warning.

“Tell them about that horrible detective,” Teddi began, squeezing Billy’s shoulder again. Billy was going to be lucky if Teddi let him leave with his shirt on. “Tell them about how absolutely insane he was. I knew him, you know. We met on one of his cases, and he was so horribly rude to me that I—oh my God! Oh my God, North might even know him. North is a detective too, you know. Private, though. Not for the police. That’s why he always looks like something the dog dragged in. I like to think it’s a costume, you know. So the bad guys can’t spot him. But really, he’s quite, quite good. And he’s married to Tucker Laguerre—you do know Tucker, don’t you?”

Billy looked even poutier than before and shook his head.

Tom nodded, though. “We played on the same rugby team a couple of years ago. I didn’t know he was married.”

North didn’t miss the chilly, satisfied smile on Teddi’s face. He didn’t miss the punch at the end of Tom’s delivery. He didn’t miss the fact that, for whatever reason, Tom Gerard was going to be a belligerent asshole.

“Teddi, I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Of course, of course. But I haven’t finished introducing you. Do you see him, over there, the one who is going through my pantry for some reason?”