Standard of Care - Book Two (bxb)

---Book Two in the The Way We Love Series---

Luke:
Sometimes, life sucks. Other times, it's really not so bad. Like, when you're watching a movie next to the man of your dreams and you think that anything is possible. Until, the sucky part of life comes back to hit you right in the face.

For me, these two things seemed to chase each other. Every. Damned. Day.

I had been in love with Gardner for over a year. I wanted his attention so badly; I wanted his heart. But, nothing was more difficult than vying for the affections of someone who didn't see me. And, he didn't. Not as anything more than a pseudo younger brother, anyway. Every attempt: failed. Every confession: misunderstood.

Until, the truth came tumbling out into the open. And, it was never something any of us expected.

Gardner:
I had done my best in life to protect the people that mattered most. I had even chosen a career that would keep me on that path with strangers. I wanted to protect, to defend. I wanted to keep everyone around me safe and guarded.

Especially a certain little redhead that had a habit of appearing in my orbit. Luke was everything good in the world: kind, gentle, generous, sincere. Everything he did, he did it with purpose. He was like a lighthouse, guiding our way through the darkness.
Somehow, I found myself wanting to be swallowed by that light. But, I couldn't risk what it would reveal once my shadows disappeared.