his nose, refusing to give in to his emotions. Yeah, it hurt like a son of a bitch, but somewhere between Gio returning home for good and now, Joker had invested far more of his heart than he’d planned to in them. He hadn’t meant for his heart to get involved. It was supposed to have been a little fun, some hot sex, fooling around, and an eventual progression to being friends. It wasn’t supposed to hurt.
Chip whined again, and Joker shook his head. “We’re gonna be fine. Just you and me, buddy. We don’t need him.” Chip gave him the side-eye, and Joker couldn’t help his chuckle. “Yeah, I know.”
This was better for both of them, and maybe in time, they could be friends. When he got home, Chip sensed something was off, and he was having none of it. He howled and barked at Joker until Joker was forced to tell him to lie down, which Chip did, with his back to Joker.
“Oh, so now you’re going to be pissed at me too?”
Chip huffed but didn’t so much as look at him—little shit.
The doorbell rang, and with a grunt, Joker got up, his heart pounding with stupid hope. He opened the door, his heart sinking when he found a package instead. Picking it up, he frowned at the label. An auction? He hadn’t bought anything—
Oh, wait.
Heading back inside, he locked the door behind him and hurried into the kitchen. The box was extremely well packaged, and inside was another box, this one made of wood and old-looking. There was a little card on top of it dated the night of the auction. The night they’d first kissed. Joker opened the note and read.
It doesn’t matter what it cost. You’re both worth every penny.
Love, Gio.
Opening the box, Joker let out a watery laugh, tears in his eyes. “That fucker.”
What had Gio spent an obscene amount of money on at the auction? Jewelry? No. An old firearm or celebrity trinket? No. Furniture? Nope. A fucking dog food bowl from the late 1920s that belonged to Rin Tin Tin, the famous German shepherd. Fucking Gio had paid who knew how many thousands of dollars on a food bowl for Joker’s dog.
“You bastard.”
He was not going to be one of those assholes who cried after a breakup. No fucking way. Son of a bitch, he was one of those assholes. The tears sprung free, and Joker quickly wiped them away. He returned the stainless-steel bowl to its box and carried it into his bedroom. Chip followed him in, whining at him, and Joker dropped onto the end of the bed.
“You and I both knew we’d end up here one way or another,” Joker told Chip. “His life isn’t our life.”
Chip disappeared under the bed, and a heartbeat later, crawled back out, Jack’s baseball cap in his mouth.
“Guess we know who’s the real brains around here,” Joker muttered. “Come on. Let’s go see Uncle Jack.”
A few minutes later, they stood outside Jack and Fitz’s door. When had he turned into such a sucker? Fuck it. He hated this. Hated feeling like shit, hated the fact he missed Gio already, that he didn’t want to go home to his empty bed tonight. He laughed without humor. When had he become such a clingy, needy fuck?
The door swung open, and Jack stood there, a huge grin on his face and his mouth open, ready to say something teasing until he took in the sight of Joker. His smile fell away.
“What happened?”
“It’s over,” Joker replied quietly just as Fitz appeared beside Jack.
Fitz gasped softly and grabbed him, pulling him into a tight hug. As much as Joker wanted to fight Fitz on this, he didn’t have the energy, so he just wrapped his arms around Fitz and sighed heavily.
“What happened?” Fitz asked softly, leading Joker inside toward the living room. He pulled Joker down with him as he folded himself onto the couch.
“What was always going to happen. He wanted me to be something I wasn’t.”
“I don’t understand.” Jack took a seat in the armchair.
Was he really going to sit here bitching and moaning about his failed relationship? Not like it hadn’t happened before. Of course, it never hurt this fucking much before.
“He asked me to be his date to one of his fancy galas. It was fucking excruciating. I got into an argument with some asshole. I’ve never felt so shit in all my life. Then today, his updated schedule came through, and he’d added