"Yeah, well, I needed to suss you out before showing my face," Ray shrugged, moving over to Asher and reaching for his hand. It wasn't every day he got a cellphone message from a guy who'd wanted nothing to do with him, especially not one asking where he lived.

Lifting Asher's hand, he checked the gold band on his finger, recognizing it immediately. "You weren't wearing this before," he pointed out, twiddling it between thumb and forefinger and looking up.