Sexy didn’t begin to describe this guy.
“There’s coffee in the pot,” he said, gesturing to the counter. “Eggs and bacon will be ready in a minute.”
Gunner and I shared a skeptical look. Then Gunner shrugged and grabbed us each a cup of coffee. I tentatively sat down at the counter, pulling a stool up and pushing aside a pile of junk mail. The guy turned back to the stove, and I caught Gunner admiring the broad curves and muscles of his shoulders.
“What’s your name, anyway?” I asked, taking a sip from the mug.
“Maddox,” he said, turning around with a couple small plates of food in his hand, then sliding them to us.
The music was still pumping, and the more I woke up, the more it started to grate on me, the thrashing of the guitar like the beginning of a headache. “Could you turn it down a little?” I asked hesitantly, gesturing toward the speaker.
Gunner scoffed. “What are you talking about? This is a classic.”
Maddox grabbed a remote from the counter, hitting a couple of buttons to turn the stereo down. “It is a classic,” he said, “but I only had it cranked up to get you two out of bed. It’s getting late in the day.”
“And that’s why you made us breakfast, too?” Gunner asked sarcastically. “To make sure we had a healthy start to our busy day?”
I flinched at his tone, but Maddox just chuckled, grabbing his own cup of coffee and leaning back against the stove. “I could have just locked the doors and ignored you until you went away. Would that have been better for you, Gunner?”
Gunner just looked down at his plate, then popped a piece of bacon in his mouth.
“Thanks for making us breakfast instead,” I said.
Maddox smiled, then pointed at me. “You’re the polite one. Maybe your boyfriend could learn some manners from you.”
“We’re not boyfriends,” Gunner and I said at the same time.
Maddox laughed again. “Call yourselves whatever you want. But it looked like you both were getting pretty damn intimate on my couch last night.”
“It was just a date,” Gunner said.
Maddox shrugged. “I’ve been on some dates, and a few of them ended up in a pretty similar position to the one you all were in. I just never broke into some stranger’s house to do it. You all from around here or something?”
“Seattle,” I said, but before I could keep talking, Gunner grabbed my knee to stop me.
“What do you care where we live?” he asked.
Maddox shook his head, and I worried that he was going to lose his patience. After a second, however, he just chuckled. “You’re really something else, you know that? Here you are, sitting in my house and eating my food, and you’re still acting like I’m the asshole.” He shook his head one more time, then grabbed a couple of pieces of bacon off the plate. “But it’s not like I want you here in the first place. You’re so eager to get away from me? Fine.” He walked over to the door, grabbing a pair of work gloves that were hanging on a hook and tossing them to Gunner and almost making him fumble his coffee.
“What’s this?” Gunner asked.
“You’re going to help me clear that branch in the road. And as soon as we’re done, we’ll all get exactly what we want.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
Maddox shoved the bacon in his mouth, chewing as he talked. “Your asses, off of my property. Now get moving, Gunner. Your boyfriend is a polite guy, but he’s not going to wait forever.”
