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but he hadn’t been able to keep Evan Partridge’s face out of his head, and, yeah, he remembered his name too. Probably wouldn’t forget either one of them for a long, long time.
    “What’d you do this time?” Cole asked.
    “Would you believe I took a customer’s head off?” he mumbled.
    “Little bloodthirsty, were you?” Cole quipped. “Did he need stiches afterwards?”
    “No,” Austin grumbled. “But I was a total dick. The guy was late to pick up his dog, and I’d had a long-ass day, and I lost it.”
    Even Peter made a face at that. “You yelled at a customer? That’s not like you.”
    “I know. And he was gorgeous .”
    Cole chuckled. “And now we know why you’re feeling bad about it.”
    “No, that’s not it. I mean it is, but not really. His dog’s a puppy, and it was his first visit. I think I just lost what could have been a loyal customer.”
    “Are you afraid he’s going to write shit about you on, like, dog blogs?”
    “There are dog blogs?” Austin shuddered at the thought. There probably were. He bent down and scratched Maggie’s head reflexively. Shit. He was screwed. “Have you seen these things?”
    “Of course not.” Cole scrunched up his nose. “Darling, if I’m not painting or making this guy here moan—”
    “Babe,” Peter said with a quick blush.
    “Please. Austin knows what happens when the lights go out. Anyway, the last thing I’d be doing is looking online for dog owner blogs. I’m sure you’re safe.”
    Austin wasn’t really listening to Cole. He was too busy picturing scathing reviews and empty appointment books. He told himself that he felt bad about yelling at the guy because he wasn’t like that. But a large part of him was still afraid that people would hear about his outburst and his business would go under—irrational, but that’s the way his mind worked sometimes.
    “Yeah,” he muttered. “It’ll be fine.”
    Cole tutted at him and told him to drink his tea. Austin tried to push Evan Partridge out of his head for the hundredth time and concentrated on the steady stream of gossip that Cole was chattering about.
    Before Austin left, Cole pulled him through the silent sliding-glass doors to check out their expansive balcony.
    “It’s nice out here,” Austin said. Nice was an understatement, as with the rest of the condo. The day was gorgeous and brilliantly blue. From their balcony, they could see everything, from the Olympics across Puget Sound all the way to Old Town Tacoma on the right and the looming Mt. Rainier. It was incredibly impressive. He was momentarily envious of his friends, hanging out there eating breakfast. But then he reminded himself that he loved them and they deserved everything they had, and so he smiled. “I love how the ocean smells.”
    “I’m glad you like it, babe. But I didn’t really bring you out here to have a nature experience.”
    Austin snorted at that. Cole wasn’t exactly what you’d call one with nature. “Why did you bring me out here, then?”
    “I’m just worried about you, babe. There were too many people at the barbecue to get into it, and I just… want you to be okay.”
    Cole always called him “babe” more when he was worried. Austin figured everyone was concerned about him, since he’d barely surfaced from work for so long. At least Austin could be sure his friends loved him.
    “I’m really just a mess with the business. It’s going well, but it’s so busy and hectic I’m not at the point where I can afford someone to just do paperwork only, and—it’s really boring stuff. I swear. I already told Colleen I’d make it to the next poker game.”
    “I know,” Cole said.
    “Of course you do.” He wasn’t remotely surprised that Colleen had reported back to Cole. It somehow warmed his heart that they were meddling, even if it meant they were talking about him behind his back. “And I will be there. I promise.”
    “Maybe you can take some time to date a little too? It’s