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His taste in books—and just about everything else in his hoht I knew and had worked with for almost a year But then I really didn’t know him at all, did I?

What I saw painted a picture of a s I did, from the types of books he read to the music he listened to—if his T-shirt was to be believed I al for someone, but then I dismissed that idea This was definitely his home, which hy it had been so difficult for him to let ht about that Seeing how he lived and what he loved revealed so much

It was interesting that the outside of his house was so different than the inside—exactly like theshowed the world was a perfect façade, but the truth of hi He was complex, layered, quirky, and kind of a mess As I knew from our duo of hookups, he was also passionate and spontaneous These were all good things Excellent, actually

I was fascinated by hi the man I’d wake up to would be so thrown off by what had happened tonight that he’d totally shut down I et another look behind his façade, or a chance to get to know the real Theo That felt like a huge loss

Chapter 5

The nexttapping onI saas Theo, dressed in a suit with every hair in place

He was standing back and frowning while prodding rowled, “I’m not dead”

His frown deepened, but the poking stopped “I’m well aware of that As a physician, I think I’d know if someone had died in my bed”

“Then why are you poking me with a stick?”

“You’re a very sound sleeper When people are awakened from a deep sleep, they can sometimes behave unpredictably I once had a patient wake up and punch me in the face, purely as a reflex”

I sat up and muttered, “Yeah, I’m sure that’s why he punched you—reflex Not because you were bugging the living hell out of hi a fireplace poker on me?”

“Well, yes But just the handle end” He held it up to showthe sharp, sooty end, which he’d wrapped in a washcloth He changed the subject with, “I have to go to work, so you need to leave”

Just as I’d predicted, he was fully back to being Doctor Theodore Koenig, which uy fro to bed with Doctor Jekyll and waking up with Mr Hyde

I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathrooo in five minutes”