He had a bad track record with hot guys.
“Well, thank you. I think.” Laird chuckled. “But yeah, really. I mean it.”
“Hot guys and I usually don’t have any chemistry. There was this rodeo rider—he’s still one of my best friends—Eli? I adore him.” He sighed softly, just filledwith regret. “We were going to do the deed, and we kissed each other, but it was gross.”
Laird asked, “How can it be gross?”
“You ever kiss somebody, and it was like kissing your brother? Where it was just like, oh my God, I’m gonna die? That was this. I like him so much. He’s one of my best friends. I think he’s amazing. The chemistry is nothing—like, not even a boop on the… Boop scale.”
“Oh, damn. That has to suck.” Laird grinned. “No, that’s never happened to me.”
“Maybe it’s just me.” Devon shrugged, one hand kind of slapping on the table. “Maybe I’m just not meant to have a hot guy. That’s okay. I have my treadmill, I have the triplets and I have knitting. My life is complete.”
He thought he might cry, but he would wait until after pancakes.
“Well, honey, I go the other direction, too. I’m all alpha. At the risk of sounding like a weird werewolf novel, I can kinda tell when an omega is into me.” Laird reached out and covered his hand with one, big, warm, callused one. “Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” What good would it do if he did, anyway? He couldn’t make chemistry happen between two people. It either was or it wasn’t. It was like pheromones—sometimes people smelled good, sometimes they didn’t. It wasn’t right or wrong, it was body chemistry. “How is Mhairi’s baby? How is little Savannah doing?”
Laird tilted his head. “She’s fine. She’s a baby. She’s really cute, I will admit. I mean, she’ll be cuter when she’s older and we can play ball.”
Devon chuckled softly. “What kind of sports do you play?”
It was easier to let Laird talk about himself, and then he could just sort of listen and float.
“I’ve done everything from football to rugby to baseball to tennis.”
He tilted his head. Football, yes. Rugby and baseball, sure. But tennis? He didn’t see it.
Maybe when Laird was small.
“Which one did you like the best?”
“Believe it or not, baseball. I do love to play a good game of baseball.”
Now that Devon could totally see. Baseball players had to be quick and strong, and they really had to be in good shape in all different sorts of ways. Their bodies did many things.
“I can see that. I’m a runner. I used to trail run, but there was a mountain lion… So now I treadmill it.”
“Did you scream like a baby? I would have.” Laird seemed to be laughing more with him than at him.
“No. No, I just froze, and then backed away until he couldn’t get at me with one leap.ThenI ran like my ass was on fire.”
“I was working a fire in Oregon once, and I ran into a big black bear coming out on the trail I was going in on. I damn near pissed myself. Thankfully, he was in a hurry too.” Laird chuckled. “I made it out, but I have to admit I understand why you wouldn’t want to trail run anymore.”
Their food came, Millie setting down steaming plates of pancakes and eggs and bacon and wonderful things. His had sausage, of course.
Devon moaned. “God, I didn’t even know I was so hungry until she just set that down, stomach growls notwithstanding. Thank you, Millie, my love.”
“You are very welcome, my darling.” She bustled off,and Devon proceeded to butter and syrup his pancakes thoroughly. He liked every bite to have both on them.
When he looked up, Laird was watching him and he raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Nothing. I just enjoy watching a man who likes his food. That’s all.” Laird salted and peppered his eggs and his hash browns before adding ketchup to the hash browns.
Devon knew that, like him, Laird probably had a sweet tooth. Ketchup always added that extra bit of sugar.
The pancakes were perfect, and he hummed as he ate them. He hadn’t thought he was going to be able to eat a bite, and he found himself devouring the pancakes.
