“I understand how important this is, Brooklyn. I’m not trying to place my niece in danger. Stop biting my head off.”
I roll my eyes as my nostrils flare. Kate only calls me Brooklyn when she’s annoyed with how bossy I am. This is important.
I need her to take everything seriously. We don’t have room for error. Logan has lost enough.
“Can I at least speak to her?”
“Ach. Are ya sure yer not going to slip?”
“Ugh, fine. I can’t wait until all of this is over. She’s my best friend, I miss her. I lost her too, Cole.”
“I know, love. I’m not trying to be a dick. I’m just trying to keep them safe.”
“I get it. I heard ya have five guys on Con and me at all times when we’re with the wee one. So unnecessary, but I get it.”
“Unnecessary to who? Ya both mean the world to me. Granda would have done the same even after all— Hey, I need to go. Talk to ya later. Call me if ya need me,” I say quickly as DJ enters the room.
“Hey, ya really made me breakfast?” she says with a smile on her lips.
“Yer stomach was talkin’ in yer sleep. I couldn’t leave ya like that. I was just about to come to wake ya.”
I place the two plates down on the countertop, then open my arms for her to come to me. She’s wearing my shirt from last night. It’s swallowing her, but she looks sexy as hell in it.
I wrap my arms around her and dip my head to take her lips. The memories of this morning and last night have me hard all over again. I’ve never been like this for anyone else.
“How are ya feeling?” I ask as I break the kiss.
“I’m grand. Yer right though, I am hungry.”
“Ach, come eat.”
I take her hand and lead her to take a seat. I can’t keep my hands off her. When I release her hand, I reach for her neck and massage it as I sit beside her. She begins to eat, and I place my hand on her back to rub it up and down.
DJ looks at me with a smile and reaches to place her hand on my thigh. I smile back and tuck into my own plate. This feels so natural, like we’ve done it a million times before.
“Who were ya talking to? Was that Kate?” she asks, breaking the silence.
I nearly choke on the food I just shoveled into my mouth. I punch at my chest, then reach for my glass of water. I don’t want to lie to her, but telling her I was on the phone with Kate could lead to questions.
Questions like when she can see my sister? Logan should be home soon now that we know where he is and LaSalle is working to get him out. I only have to keep DJ and Shauna hidden until he’s back home.
“No, that was Dylan,” I mutter, the lie tasting like shit in my mouth.
However, she’s less likely to care about talking to my younger brother. My stomach sours, and I no longer have an appetite. LaSalle needs to get Logan home soon.
“Oh, he must be so grown up now. Did he ever hit that growth spurt?”
I relax and smile. “Aye, he did. The lad is taller than me.”
“No, ya tell a fib.”
“I don’t. He’s taller than us all.”
“He was such a cute kid. That seems like a lifetime ago.”
“Aye, it does. We don’t leave until the morning. What do ya want to do today? We can do anything ya want. A date, stay in and chill, whatever ya like,” I say as I try to change the topic.
Right as the words are out of my mouth, Uncle Finlay and Morgan, one of the castle hands, walk in with the flowers I ordered for DJ. Four dozen burgundy and white roses. Two dozen in each vase.
