“Shit, Dom. That’s not how you get a date.”
“I know.” Dom rested his elbows on the counter, then dropped his head into his hands.
“Is that when your bike got trashed?”
He nodded without lifting his head.
“So, when do Gabe and I get to meet him?”
Dom groaned.
“Do we get to meet him?”
Dom drew in a fortifying breath. “If I can convince him to go out with me.”
He groaned again when his best friend’s jaw dropped. He knew that would be Chay’s reaction. He wasn’t known for being turned down by anyone he was interested in. He wasn’t even known for having to go after anyone. Men came to him. They always had.
He was definitely out of his comfort zone.
“He never leaves work for lunch, so I’m taking him a picnic.”
Chay raised an eyebrow. “What does he do?”
Dom felt a sliver of pride slide through him. “Keeland is a veterinarian.”
Chay chuckled. “That has to be interesting under the circumstances.”
Dom could see the humor in that statement, and Chay was right. Considering he could shift into a panther, having the hots for someone who treated animals medically was interesting. And weird.
“Is he where you got Henrietta?”
Dom smiled as he thought about the little white fur ball creating havoc in his office. “Yeah, Keeland was rescuing her when I nearly ran him down.”
“When are you taking him lunch?”
Dom glanced at the clock on the wall again. “In about three hours.”
“You gonna make it that long?”
Dom rubbed both hands over his face before dropping them to the countertop. “I don’t know, Chay. I’ll be honest. I’ve never felt like this before. It’s insane. He’s all I can think about.”
“Do you think maybe he could be your mate?”
“I didn’t at first, but now I’m not so sure.” Dom breathed deep. There was something liberating about admitting that. “You know me. I don’t chase guys, but for Keeland, I’d do it in a minute. If he told me to jump, I’d ask how high and then eagerly do it.” He shot his friend a look of total desperation. “How is that normal?”
“If he’s your mate, then it’s very normal. I’d pretty much kill a rock for your brother.”
Well, that was good for his brother, but it wasn’t for Dom. “I don’t know how to woo someone, Chay.”
“The picnic is a good start.” Chay clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a squeeze. “Have lunch with him, but don’t go expecting anything. You’re just trying to get the lay of the land here. When you’re done, come find me and I’ll help you plan your next move.”
Dom nodded. That sounded like a good plan. He could do that. God knew he didn’t have anything else planned after the picnic idea. He was kind of playing it by ear.
“Hey, has Gabriel found anything else out about our brothers?” he asked to get his mind off Keeland and onto something that wouldn’t make him ache with need.
“Nothing yet. We know Rafael is somewhere in the southwest, but we’ve drawn a complete blank onMikhail. It’s like he dropped off the face of the planet about the time he was nine years old.” Chay winced. “Gabe hasn’t said anything, but I think he believes Mikhail might be dead.”
“Fuck.” Dom reached back and rubbed the muscles that seemed to have knotted at the back of his neck. “That’s bad. I didn’t even know I had brothers a couple of months ago, and just thinking one of them could be gone makes me want to mourn him.”
