She snorted. “With a big head.”
He grinned and winked at her. “I could make a rude observation right now, but I won’t.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “I said Shaw could sit here. I didn’t agree to you two sitting here. I’m not sure I want to have breakfast with either of you since you stood me up for the last one.”
Eli winced.
“Eli messaged you when he could,” Kellan told her.
“Yes, he did. You didn’t.”
Kellan watched her with interest. “You wanted me to message as well? Why? That doesn’t seem logical when I would have just said the same thing.”
“Feelings aren’t always logical, brother,” Shaw told him.
Kellan nodded. “Oh, I know. My life would be far easier if they were.”
“How do the two of you know each other?” Eli asked.
“Yes,” Kellan said. “How could you have met her? I thought you hadn’t left Duncan’s in days?”
“Oh, we met years ago. Had a wild night in a bar together. There were drinks, bad dancing, and threats of spankings,” Shaw said, with a small smile.
Eli gaped at his brother in shock. “What the hell?”
“Why would you threaten to spank her?” Kellan asked Shaw. “What did she do?”
“Hey!” Arabella said. “Maybe you should be asking him what he did.”
Both Eli and Kellan were now gaping at her. She’d threatened to spank Shaw? Was she a Domme?
No. She couldn’t be, could she? She certainly didn’t give off that vibe. But maybe his instincts were off.
But, no. He didn’t think they were.
And Shaw might not be a Dom, but he also wasn’t a sub. Unless he was keeping it quiet, Eli didn’t think that his brother had ever been interested in BDSM.
So what was going on?
Then she made the best noise he thought he had ever heard in his life.
She laughed.
He’d barely seen her smile. There was an air of sadness around her that could have something to do with her father’s death. But it felt like more than that. As though she’d been sad for years with no light in sight.
And here she was giggling. And then another miracle happened. Shaw joined in. His brother grinned, then he let out a single huff of laughter. It might sound like very little to someone else.
But it was like a miracle to Eli’s ears and he felt his shoulders slump as he let out a relieved sigh.
Maybe Shaw was on the path to feeling better.
And it was due to her.
Something sparked inside him. Growing hotter. Becoming bigger.
It was more than gratitude or appreciation.
It was . . . affection?
