Free (Blue Notes 2)The Melody Thief by Shira Anthony

embraced. It had been nearly six months since Cary had last seen his best friend, and he realized now how much he had missed him.
    “Cary.” Aiden Lind paled as he took in the cast on Cary’s arm. “Damn. What happened? How’d you get hurt?”
    “Minding my own business on a Milan street?” Cary did his best to sound casual. He was pretty sure Aiden wouldn’t buy his bullshit.
    Aiden frowned as they ordered their paninis at the counter, picked up their drinks, and took their seats. “So,” he said, facing Cary across the table, “gonna come clean?”
    “Not much to tell.” Cary really wasn’t up for a lecture. He was hungover and sleep deprived. He adored Aiden but didn’t need a mother hen; his brother was doing just fine in that department.
    “Cruising again?” Aiden leaned over his coffee and glared at him.
    “None of your business, Mr. Happily-Ever-After,” Cary shot back in his snarkiest voice. “Not all of us are pining for domestic bliss.”
    “Since when is it a bad thing to spread some of the happiness around?”
    The waitress came by with their sandwiches. “How’s Sam?” Cary asked, happily taking advantage of the interruption to change the subject.
    Aiden’s face lit up at the mention of his partner. Cary thought it was kind of cute. “He’s great. Nice thing, being the boss. You can take off and nobody can complain. He’ll be here for Thanksgiving since I can’t go home to Philly.”
    “David invited you too?”
    “Yeah. Nothing like Thanksgiving at an Italian villa.” He grinned. “So what about you? Other than getting beaten up, I mean.”
    Cary raised an eyebrow as he bit into his sandwich, which promptly fell apart. Eating panini, like just about everything else, was easier with two hands. As he picked up a fork and began to salvage the mess on his plate, he realized the distraction was a good thing—he wasn’t sure how he wanted to answer Aiden’s question. In the end, he just shrugged.
    “Relationships? Dates?”
    For nearly a minute, Cary just chewed his sandwich and considered the question. He was beginning to enjoy the look of frustration on his companion’s face. “Maybe,” he said at last.
    “Really? Bang-Me-in-the-Bathroom Redding?” Aiden put his hands to his cheeks in feigned shock.
    “You really are a cruel bastard.”
    “I only calls ’em as I sees ’em, man. But do tell.”
    “Not much to tell. He chased away the muggers. Nice guy. Maybe too nice. Doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes, either.”
    “Screwed him yet?” Aiden innocently wiped his mouth with his napkin.
    “Shit, Lind, you’re the worst. Implying that I—”
    “Oh shut up, idiot. Don’t tell me you’re not thinking about that. It’s me, remember?”
    “No,” Cary said with a growl, “I haven’t fucked him yet.” His best evil grin didn’t seem to do the trick. Aiden wasn’t buying any of it. “It’s not for lack of trying.”
    “You mean you haven’t slept with him and you’re still hanging around? What’s up with that? Decided to try dating instead of slumming it?”
    Cary opted for a bit of the truth. “We went to the circus together the other day with his son, and—”
    “Whoa, whoa, whoa! His son ? The guy has a kid?”
    Cary took another bite of his sandwich and chewed it slowly, knowing full well Aiden was about to explode. “Yeah.” He took a gulp of his soda and set it back on the table, causing the table to wobble a bit on the uneven tile floor. “He’s good with him too.”
    “Doesn’t really sound like your type,” Aiden observed. “Does he like music?”
    “I guess. He says so, anyhow.”
    “What does he think about your career?”
    “Well,” Cary said, pretending he didn’t care, “he doesn’t… ah… really know about what I do for a living.”
    “You’re shitting me.” Now Aiden really was surprised.
    “It’s a long story. I sort of told him I was an unemployed musician.”
    “Cary….”
    “I never thought I’d see him