Zach remembered the sudden rush of air back to his lungs afterward along with the knots in his stomach. He’d been nervous as fuck, but he’d known he couldn’t let them see it. And he was immensely grateful Cael had shown up when he did.
Things changed but didn’t change after that. Sure, Zach had learned Cael was gay, but it didn’t faze him, and he was still his best friend, but he’d also become a lot more that day. As far as Zach was concerned, that was the day they became family.
Zach’s lips twisted into a small smile at the thought.
“What?” Cael asked, arching one eyebrow, something Zach had never been able to do in his life.
“Oh, nothing,” Zach said, but he couldn’t hide his spreading grin. “You’re just so fucking adorable when you’re in protector mode.” Zach knew how much Cael hated it when he called him adorable.
“Shut up,” Cael retorted. His cheeks reddened a little, and Zach had to bite back his laugh. Cael might look like a big, tough guy, but anyone who knew him at all knew he was a softie.
“Hey, Zach,” Chloe said as she set two thick, ivory ceramic coffee mugs on the table. She filled them each one at a time as she shifted her inquisitive gaze between them. “Welcome back to the world of the living.”
“Thanks. I missed you too, Chloe.”
“I’m sure I’m not the only one.” She winked at Zach, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Food’ll be out in a few. The usual, right?” She didn’t even pause to confirm their breakfast order. “Seriously though, Zach, good to have you back. It’s been hell dealing with Cael, especially these last few weeks.”
Chloe left them to check on another table and wipe down yet another. Zach tilted his head to gesture toward her.
“What was all that about?” Zach asked, grabbing his mug and proceeding to dump sugar and creamer into the steaming liquid, anxious to load the caffeine into his system and kill off the remnants of his hangover. Fortunately, the water and painkiller he’d taken earlier had kicked in on their way over here.
Cael shrugged as he sipped his coffee, drinking it black and barely sweetened. “She’s been acting weird ever since you and Megan split, but every time I ask her, she rolls her eyes and gives me that look like I should already know or something.”
“Hmm.”
“I swear, she and Abbey have been up to something lately. Only I have no flippin’ clue what it is. All Chloe keeps telling me is that I need to take my blinders off, whatever the heck that means.”
“Blinders?” That word reminded Zach of something Abbey said to him once, several months ago. Something about being blind to what was right in front of him, but right after she said it, she’d dropped it, as if it had been a slip of the tongue. “Abbey said something similar to me once.”
“Christ, why can’t women just come out and say what they mean?”
“Because there’s no fun in that,” Chloe interjected into their conversation, setting a plate of fried eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, and toast in front of Zach and a waffle with scrambled eggs and toast in front of her brother. “And I seriously doubt you want me to come right out and say it.”
“Try us,” Cael said.
Chloe glanced at Zach and shook her head, her brilliant, imperfect smile almost ear-to-ear. “Nope. Ain’t spillin’. You two gotta figure this one out on your own.”
“Why?” Cael asked, pulling several tiny paper napkins carefully from the metal holder.
“Because Abbey and I placed bets years ago on how long it would take and we both agreed not to meddle or give anything away. ‘Course, we didn’t think it would take you boththislong. We’ve had to adjust our bets several times.”
“Bets on what?” Zach asked, glancing between her and Cael.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow much like her brother always did, making Zach curse his own. Zach always looked like a fucking idiot whenever he tried to do it.
After a moment of silence and what was pure bewilderment on both their faces—because Zach swore that Cael looked just as confused as he was—Chloe shook her head, giving them the customary, exasperated eye roll.
“Okay, maybe it’s not, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out one of these days. Though I’d prefer it soon, but not too soon. Abbey’s date is before mine, and I’d rather not lose.” Chloe put a yellow slip of paper face down on their table then headed back to the kitchen.
Well, if that didn’t fucking confuse the hell out of Zach.
“Great,” Cael said, stretching one of his legs out under the table and leaning it against Zach’s, probably not even realizing it. “Both our sisters are conspiring against us.”
Zach ignored the harmless physical connection, thinking nothing of it, and picked up his fork and butter knife. “Yeah. You’d think we’d be used to that by now, but what could they have possibly bet on that started years ago?”
Chapter 2
What could they have bet about? Well, Cael had a potential theory on that, but he couldn’t say anything. He was fairly certain it had something to do with the one secret he’d kept from Zach.
