He was such a beautiful surprise the day he walked into my life and became my friend.MerrickI'm a good guy. A good friend. A healer to those in pain. I'm honest, trusting, and by all accounts someone with very high moral standards. Or at least I was....until Davis Morgan walked into my life.I promised myself I would be a friend to him, someone he could rely on and trust. I told myself the attraction I was feeling toward my married neighbor was wrong. I refused to fall for a man who by all accounts was untouchable.And then I fell. Oh, how I fell.DavisI'm not a good guy. I'm surly, I drink too much, and I'm stupid enough to believe that if I just hang in there, my marriage will improve. After six years of living separate lives, I still force myself to hope that things will change and we'll be happy once more.But deep down I know better. Nothing is going to change. Grief and loneliness are what I've gotten used to. I'm destined to live out the rest of my life as a sad, bitter man who feels obligated to stay with a woman I no longer love.Friendship is the last thing I have time for and something I don't need to further complicate my life. I sure as hell don't need a nice guy like Merrick Whitley as my friend. Even though I do my best to ignore him, he's determined to forge a friendship between us. But I refuse to let my guard down and trust someone like him. I'm doing just fine on my own.Or, at least that's what I tell myself anyway.His friendship, while unexpected, is something I grow to rely on. I'm connected to him in ways I never imagined I could be. He's someone I can trust. Someone I can confide in. Someone who gives me his whole heart, even though I don't deserve it. With his friendship, and eventually his love as well, he slowly mends all the shattered pieces of my soul and gives me a reason to smile again. Somehow, he knew exactly how to heal me.