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from their religion or their family that homosexuality is wrong—a sin. I’m guessing a Catholic Mafia family would launch a full-out attack on anyone who appeared remotely gay?”
    Fucking faggot. Grant didn’t remember when or why his father had spit out those vitriolic words, but they immediately popped into his head. He nodded guiltily.
    Sophie thought for a moment before admitting, “I guess my dad’s hardly the champion of gay rights either.”
    Hunter tilted his head and scrutinized his clients.
    Grant turned away until Hunter began speaking to him.
    “The good news is that one of the best ways to reduce prejudice is to get to know a diversity of people, which can break through stereotypes. Obviously we can’t be friends since we’ve entered into a therapeutic relationship, but perhaps this’ll be an opportunity to learn a bit about homosexuality, if you like. I’ll certainly do my best to answer any questions you have.”
    “How are you so non-defensive about this?” Sophie demanded. “Doesn’t it hurt your feelings that some people refuse to accept your sexual orientation?”
    Stroking his chin pensively, Hunter said, “I used to get really riled up about it, and sometimes I still do. But I’ve also learned, after fifteen years of counseling, that people have reasons for what they do. I may not like it when a client has a different way of looking at the world than I do, but fortunately I get a glimpse of understanding. Surely when you were doing therapy you had the opportunity to appreciate what motivated your clients to behave in seemingly bizarre ways?”
    She twirled a strand of strawberry-blond hair, contemplating what he said. She’d certainly grasped why Logan was so reticent and mistrustful. His father had simply beaten the trust out of him. “I guess so,” she softly agreed.
    “Let’s try to understand each other more, then,” Hunter suggested. “Now that your ridiculous pact is a thing of the past, how about you two ask each other some questions to get to know each other better? Find out what makes the other tick.”
    Sophie found herself bursting with questions, and she had no problem being the first to take Hunter up on his suggestion. She turned to Grant, picking up on a comment he made earlier. “So, you didn’t talk about sex much with your buddies?”
    He shrugged. “There wasn’t much to discuss.”
    “What do you mean? I’m sure you were the big stud. You must have lots of stories.”
    Grant’s face colored as he realized the conversation was taking an undesirable turn. He’d be embarrassed as hell if she learned about his lack of sexual prowess. Trying to throw out something, anything to satisfy her, he mumbled, “I, um, I had some girlfriends when I lived on the base, but I didn’t exactly want to deflower the daughters of Navy officers—not if I wanted to live.”
    Hunter grinned and Sophie asked, “What about in college?”
    Damn. Apparently she was going to ask more questions. “Uh, I dated one girl in ROTC.”
    “What was her name?”
    That question seemed safe enough. “Pamela.”
    Sophie easily slipped into interrogation mode. “Did you have sex with her?”
    Grant’s eyes pleaded with Hunter to rescue him, but the psychologist stayed quiet, sporting a neutral facial expression. He wanted to hear this as well.
    Finally Grant responded. “Yes, but we broke up our senior year.”
    Sophie considered his answer. “You were both in ROTC—were you ordered to go to different assignments?”
    “No, this was before we were deployed. She…” He looked down, nervously clenching his hands together. “She wanted to meet my family. I couldn’t let that happen.”
    “Oh.” Sophie bit her lip, not knowing what to say. She looked to Hunter, who nodded at her, seeming to encourage her to continue. He liked it when couples talked to each other instead of through him, as long as the communication was constructive. And considering their ongoing trust issues, Hunter