Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Aiden trying not to laugh. I ignore him. Some things are instinct. The long blue line doesn’t go away just because you’re not on duty.
“Everything’s alright,” Aiden says. “Finn here is looking for May. Unfortunately, I don’t know when she’ll be returning.”
Nathan steps closer, clapping a heavy hand onto my shoulder.
“O’Donoghue,” he says. “Make yourself useful and help Aiden carry some furniture, will ya?”
He pats my shoulder and walks into the house like he owns the place. His dog follows.
Aiden watches him go, then looks back at me.
I already hate whatever this is about to become.
He pushes off the doorframe and starts walking across the lawn.
“You heard the man,” he says. “Let’s go.”
I follow him, jaw tight. Because the longer I stand here, the more it looks like she has already chosen.
Chapter 28
Iturn onto my street and immediately notice Finn’s truck parked outside my house, the lifted frame impossible to miss even from half a block away. The sight slows me down, my hands tightening slightly on the steering wheel as I pull closer. By the time I roll into the driveway, everything looks normal. Quiet. No movement outside. No sign of him.
I shut the engine off and sit there for a moment, listening to the silence settle around me before grabbing my bag and heading toward the door.
It opens the second I press down on the handle.
Unlocked.
A faint crease forms between my brows as I step inside, the familiar smell of freshly baked bread wrapping around me almost immediately. Warm, comforting, completely out of place with the stillness of the house. I close the door behind me andmove through the hallway slowly, my boots soft against the floor as I glance toward the living room.
Neptune lies happily chewing on a bone, Skye stretched out nearby with Houston curled along the rug, all three of them calm and content like nothing unusual is happening.
Which somehow feels stranger.
I look up toward the stairs just as I notice Nathan standing at the top landing, arms crossed, watching something inside the guest room with quiet amusement.
“Hello?” I call, climbing the first few steps.
He glances down at me, relaxed. “Hey, May. We’re almost done here.”
We?
Confused, I continue up the stairs, and the second I reach the landing, my steps slow.
Aiden and Finn are in the guest bedroom, standing on opposite sides of the bed, pulling a sheet tight across the mattress, moving in an awkward, careful rhythm of two people trying very hard not to get in each other’s way. The sight is so unexpected that I stare for a second, blinking as my brain catches up.
“What in the hell…” I murmur, staring at them.
Nathan chuckles beside me. “They’re learning to work together.”
I laugh quietly, more amused than anything, and both men lift their heads at the same time. Aiden’s expression barely shifts, calm and steady as always, while Finn’s shoulders tighten slightly before returning his focus to the comforter they’re now spreading across the bed.
“Did you make this happen?” I ask Nathan, still trying to figure out how I walked into this.
He shrugs. “Men are just like dogs. Little training goes a long way.”
I cover my mouth, laughing quietly, and he laughs with me while the two of them finish fluffing pillows, determined to prove something neither of them is saying out loud. Aiden smooths his side with quiet precision. Finn gives his side a quick fluff and then slips out of the room as fast as he can.
