I tore my gaze away from the delicious smelling beverage and studied him.
“What do you want?”
He smiled like a lying Mc-lying-faced liar. “Coffee with my favorite Reed sister.” He lifted the cups higher.
He was so full of shit. I knew this was a bad idea, but I hadn’t had coffee yet, and I tended to make the worst decisions before breakfast.
“Okay, fine.” I stepped out of the way so he could come inside. “But I know you’re here for something.”
“I am,” he agreed, unzipping his hoodie. “I’m here for coffee. But look at you, Ryder Bailey. That six pack is making me jealous. Also a little turned on, if I’m honest.”
Ryder rolled his eyes and turned toward the bedroom. “Delaney, you want me to bring your pants?”
“Yes.”
Crow watched Ryder walk away, then pivoted on the balls of his feet. “Wow,” he whispered. “Didn’t he grow up nice?”
I grabbed the carrier out of his hands and stomped off to the kitchen. “You’ve seen him in his swim trunks every summer. All that isn’t anything you haven’t seen before.” I pulled one of the cups out of the cardboard and took a huge swallow.
Hot, bitter, with chocolate and caramel to take the sting out of it. Delicious. “That’s my fiancé you’re ogling, Crow.”
“And can I just say how happy I am for you two kids. Starting a new life together, soulmates finally tying the knot. Like some kind of dream come true.”
I narrowed my eyes and gulped down half the cup. The caffeine hadn’t hit yet, but the heat of the drink, and the shifty-eyed god who’d brought it had woken me up. All the way awake.
So awake, I knew what this visit was about. Well, not the details, but the basics for sure.
“What did you do?” I asked.
Crow strolled over, his hands behind his back. His forest-green hoodie was wet at the shoulders but not soaked all the way through. The storm had finally blown itself out in the early hours of the morning leaving a cloudy sky and only spits of rain.
“I brought you coffee,” he said, taking one of the seats at the kitchen island.
“Uh-huh. And?”
“And Ryder too. And one for me. So we can all have a nice cup of coffee together.”
“Why?”
Ryder came through the kitchen with Spud and the dragon pig hot on his heels.
Ryder had changed into jeans and a white Henley shirt under a navy flannel. He came straight to me, kissed me on the mouth, then pressed my favorite pair of jeans into my hands.
“Morning,” he murmured.
I smiled, liking him this close. Liking that freckle on the edge of his eyebrow, the laugh lines at his eyes, the smell of his deodorant mixed with the caramel scent of coffee.
“Morning.”
“Morning, Ryder,” Crow cooed.
“What did you do?” Ryder asked, moving to the door.
Crow made an affronted sound. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Ryder opened the door so Spud and the dragon pig could go outside and do their business. Not that the dragon pig actually did any business, but it liked to trot around in the yard so the other creatures understood that this yard, this house, and those within it were its domain.
“You brought us coffee.” I shoved my legs into my jeans. “It’s five in the morning. I know all the steps to your little dance of unaccountability, so whatever you’re about to tell me is absolutely your fault, and you’re going to have to clean up your mess. Talk.”
