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“Christmas,” Andrew admitted.

“The breakout?!”

“It was one time then. Never anything before that, no conflict of interest on his cases.”

“Are you sure? Maybe that fake dating was the truth, and that’s why you only caught him on one count of burglary.”

“It wasn’t like that. It was Christmas, and then nothing. And then… this thief and everything with Dalton… it started up again.”

“Why? What’s in it for you?” Steven turned to Isaac—question two.

“You mean besides the obvious?” Isaac leered, feeling justified in ruffling him, especially when he grimaced.

“One more question.” Steven stalked closer. “What do you plan to do when this ends?”

When, Isaac noted, not if, and damn it if that didn’t churn his stomach.

He never thought about it ending. Never thought about what they were doing, period, because they didn’t talk about it, had a silent agreement to not poke that bear until forced to.

Steven had no problem shooting the bear in the eye.

“Are you saying you’re planning to force it to end?” Isaac asked coolly.

“No. Though I have to say, Ford, you’re not as duplicitous as I’d been led to believe.”

“What?”

“You have very subtle tells,” Steven said with a… smirk forming? “Most people wouldn’t notice. It’s what caused you to react that interests me, because this isn’t blowing off steam like I thought the other night.”

“Other night?” Andrew turned, shocked, to his brother.

“Family dinner. All that nonsense with you two working together and some ruse about dating. I already wondered. And then I smelled Ford’s cologne. Just like what was all over you the week before.”

“That…” Andrew paled. “That could have been…”

“I’m a detective, Andy. I wish I hadn’t had the truth proven like this…” Steven grimaced again, but his disgust seemed more from having seen his little brother in that position rather than who he’d been with. “I didn’t say anything then because I had to be sure he wasn’t using you, like Olivia again. You’ve had so much faith in him, I didn’t want it to only be because of… nightly activities. Well, not onlynight, apparently.”

Isaac snorted, and Andrew snorted too, and suddenly, being discovered wasn’t so terrible.

“Are you giving us your blessing, Detective?” Isaac asked.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I’m not telling you to stay away from him. I’m not going to tell you not to hurt him either.No relationship ends without someone getting hurt. But when it does—ifit does,” Steven stepped into Isaac’s space with clear warning, “don’t twist that to your advantage. Don’t be the man I thought you were. For once, I’d rather be proven wrong.”

Isaac tried very hard to not react to the lightness in his chest caused by Steven correcting himself with that elusive ‘if’. He hadn’t considered this ending. But he hadn’t considered it not ending either.

“I was in the neighborhood and wanted to check in if anything new had come up.Don’trespond to that.” Steve scowled when Andrew made an amused face. “When you get a line on the classifieds ad, let me know. This is just inane enough of a plan that it might work. I guess you two don’t make the worst team, after all.” He turned to go but added with one final wrinkle of his nose. “Now, go take a shower.”

Andrew laughed.

Left alone once more, the tension alleviated somewhat, but Isaac wasn’t sure what to say.

“Guess I should, um… go do that.” Andrew gestured weakly at the door.

“I have a shower here.”

“Yeah, but then I’d never get out of this building.”

They shared a chuckle, and Andrew paused before moving to leave.