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Ian nodded at Hollis. “I did.”
“Way to bribe your friends, GQ,” Hollis murmured, impressed.
“We didn’t need to be bribed to be here.” It was Rowe’s turn to scowl as he stood up. “Nobody needed to be bribed. This is a part of our mess just as the rest of it was, and I wanted to help get it right.” He smirked. “But breaking stuff is like icing on the cake.”
“Or chocolate in this bun thing,” Noah added before taking another bite. “These are fantastic. I want to eat these every day.”
“I’ll take one of the sledgehammers and break up the cabinets.”
Everyone looked at Lucas when he spoke, and both Andrei and Snow started shaking their heads.
“No.”
Hollis raised an eyebrow at the steel in Snow’s voice.
“You aren’t doing anything that strenuous,” the doctor continued.
“It’s been months, Ash. I’m fine.”
“And you’re going to stay that way,” Andrei said. “I’m with Snow on this one. Those muscles are just now getting used to being worked out again, and you’ve been going pretty hard at that.”
Lucas gave Andrei a look Hollis imagined got him anything he wanted in a boardroom. “You certainly seem to enjoy how that effort pays off.”
“But swinging a sledgehammer? No. Too much impact.” Snow stared at his best friend. “Don’t give me that fucking look.”
“You know how I feel about being babied.” Lucas’s voice dropped and his eyes narrowed.
Snow merely crossed his arms, his expression both domineering and obstinate. He didn’t plan to budge.
And the argument was on.
Hollis snatched another pastry, poured himself a third cup of coffee and sat back in amusement as they argued about who was doing what in his house. He could wait them out because they were going to do whatever the hell he told them to do in the end anyway. Assholes. Too bad he was growing fond of assholes. He glanced at the man next to him and snorted at his own play on words. That particular love went beyond fondness to outright obsession. Ian had the warmest, tightest—he stopped his train of thought fast before he got a hard-on.
He’d never live that down with these guys, and Snow wouldn’t hesitate to let loose some sarcastic remark. Creamy filling spilled over his tongue as he bit through the soft outer layers of puff pastry. Chocolate was the only thing that could come close to taking his mind off his very favorite thing. He closed his eyes and moaned.
“You know, I have these things made just to hear that noise,” Ian murmured from beside him.
“Pretty sure you can make me sound like that anytime. Without chocolate.” And he was back to Ian’s ass. Swallowing back a growl of frustration, he pointed toward Ian’s friends. “You know what I’ve realized? You guys like arguing. No, I think you actually get off on it.”
Ian’s expression was affectionate as he watched them and spoke in a low voice. “My family was cold and quiet.” The air froze in Hollis’s lungs as Ian softly spoke. He never talked about his biological family. “Nobody hugged—there was never any sort of cuddling. And if I said or did anything wrong, I would get the arctic shoulder for weeks. And later, well, anything that even came close to affection often came with a price.”
He paused as Snow got particularly loud, then continued. “The first time Snow hugged me, I didn’t even tense up. I knew he wasn’t after anything. You should have seen what he did to Gratton. Lucas was demonstrative from the beginning, too. I’d never met anyone like them. They weren’t like that with anyone else, either. Even Rowe never shied away from real, full-on hugs, and it used to surprise me a straight man was so comfortable with all of us.” His smirked. “Not that he was ever really straight, we came to learn.”
Hollis eyed the way Rowe had settled back down and against the bigger Noah, who had an arm wrapped around his waist. One of Rowe’s arms was up, gesturing as he argued, but the other was wrapped around Noah’s wrist. “No, not straight.”
“I never cared how he identified. I’m just thrilled Noah came back into his life.” He leaned against Hollis’s arm. “So I love this. Every grouchy, loud, and loving part of it. It doesn’t matter what any of us say or do. Ever. Nobody is going anywhere. Plus, sometimes you just have to discuss your side a little loudly to get things past their walls of stubborn.”
“That their should be our.” Hollis pressed a kiss on Ian’s head. “You have your own brand of stubborn. Which can be hot.”
“Can be?”
“That’s enough!” Jude suddenly yelled.
Everyone went quiet.
“This is ridiculous.” Jude pointed at Lucas. “Snow and Andrei are right. It takes a long time for your insides to heal.” He looked at Hollis. “Because you didn’t expect us, I’m assuming you don’t have all the supplies needed for painting?”
