“Maybe you date crappy men so you’ll always have an excuse for why you’re single,” he said.

“Josh!” Radley said. “You need to work on your filter, honey.” He looked at Sarah. “He’s right, though.”

“Oh, fuck you very much, both of you,” she said fondly. “I’ll text you later. Miracles happen. He could be a good person. See you guys soon.”

She left, and Radley sighed. “If I was straight, I’d marry her.”

“Really?”

“Sure. Maybe. Or not. I don’t know. The idea of sex with a woman makes my testicles retract. What shall we do next, Joshua?”

“I was thinking,” he said. Should he filter this next thing? “Um . . . would you like to live here? Maybe? You could have the third floor. And when you start seeing clients, you could use the space over the garage. But if you don’t want to, it’s okay.”

Radley’s eyes were wide. “That’s a very big offer. Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It’s too big for one person.”

Radley sat back. “Well, Joshua, that’s incredibly kind of you. But you won’t be alone forever. You’ll find someone again.”

“I’m not . . . it’s only been eleven and a half months.” He swallowed. “I would love to have you. If not you, I’d probably find someone else. A tenant or something. I . . . I might be traveling more in the future, and it would be good to have someone here when I’m gone. Dog care and . . . that kind of thing.” He paused. “Companionship.”

Radley sat quietly for a minute. “My lease runs out in March. We’d have to have ground rules about privacy and all that. You might get sick of me.”

“True.” He felt his lips tug in a smile.

“Maybe we can do a trial run. Six months, and if it’s not working or either of us feels uncomfortable, no hard feelings. I mean, I need my own space, too. And I’d insist on paying rent. A token amount, but still.”

“Okay.”

They looked at each other, then Radley leaped to his feet and hugged him. “Oh, my God, this is so exciting! Can I go see my floor?”

Josh laughed, and Radley ran upstairs. “This house is fucking beautiful!” he yelled behind him.

Good. He wouldn’t be alone. Radley never talked about it, but Josh knew money was tight. This would be a win for them both.

As ever, he thought of Lauren. You would love him, he thought. He’s my best friend, outside of you.

In two weeks, it would be their fourth wedding anniversary. And right on the heels of that, the first anniversary of her death.

A year. Would the grief magically lift? Would it get worse? He supposed he was about to find out.