I made sure he caught my eye-roll before I gave him a shove. In our fifteen years of friendship, Tap had stumbled upon me waving goodbye to one of my hook-ups no more than a couple of times, tops. I’d been even more careful since he’d gotten with Will. Tap’s boyfriend could conjure a wedding cake out of a speck of flour.
“It’s not like that,” I cautioned him. “Thaddeus isn’t a hook-up. He’s a—” I struggled for the right word and finally settled on “—trespasser.”
Tap’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “A trespasser? A trespasser namedThaddeus?” He cupped my face in his big hands. “Exactly how much weed did you smoke last night?”
“Get off.” I freed my face from his grip. “I found the poor guy sleeping in my shed this morning. That’s his car in the compost pile.” I quickly filled him in on the rest of Thaddeus’s story, then waited for his response.
Tap took a moment to reply. “He said it was a spaniel?”
I shrugged. “That or a border collie or something similar. He thought it was black and white.”
Tap replied warily, “Uh-huh. And you think it was?—”
“I think nothing,” I snapped, feeling my face heat. “I just thought it was... interesting. Anyway, that’s how I came to find him asleep in my shed.”
Tap’s heavy sigh carried an air of incredulity. “Only you, my friend. This could only happen to you. And what? You decided the only sensible course of action was to invite the man for breakfast? You know nothing about him.”
I unloaded the last of the pancakes onto the plate and pushed the frying pan off the heat. “Well, I couldn’t just let him walk off, could I? His clothes were still dripping wet, for fuck’s sake. And the tow truck—” My mouth snapped shut at Ziggy’s merry yapping, signalling his imminent approach. I sucked in a breath and turned to find Thaddeus entering the kitchen, hair still damp and wearing a pair of my sweats and my well-wornLawn Enforcement OfficerT-shirt.
Tap leaned close and whispered, “Good Lord in heaven. No further explanations required.”
Hidden by the breakfast bar, I kicked him in the shins while keeping my gaze firmly locked on Thaddeus. The sight of him in my clothes did funny things to my stomach. The last person who’d worn those particular items around the cottage had been James, my ex. The realisation arrived with some unwelcome memories and an unexpected twinge of heartache.
Then again, Thaddeus wasn’t James, and there was a lot to be said for this fresh-faced young man padding barefoot around my house while looking all kinds of sexy. Tap had a point. “Jesus Christ,” I whispered under my breath, my lips not moving. Then much louder, “You look better.”
Thaddeus’s gaze shifted from Tap to me. “I feel better, thank you.” His attention returned to Tap. “Hi there. I’m?—”
“Thaddeus, yes.” Tap proffered his hand. “I’m Tap. And I can see you’ve met Ziggy.” He grinned at the dachshund doinga fair impression of a bouncy ball at Thaddeus’s feet as he begged to be picked up. “Ryder gave me a quick rundown on your... adventures last night.” He grinned. “It’s not often Ry has company for breakfast.”
Thaddeus’s gaze shot to me, and he blushed to the tips of his ears. “It was good of him to invite me. I think breakfast, yesterday, was the last time I ate.”
Tap shot me a shit-eating grin. “Yeah, that’s our Ryder for you. Generous of spirit to a T. Always quick to put out the welcome mat.”
Which was so patently untrue it was laughable. I had little use for most people, preferring to share a beer and my evenings with a few pots of geraniums instead. Mostly, they made a lot more sense. I gave Tap another warning kick, which he dutifully ignored.
Thaddeus shook Tap’s hand. “Just Thad—” He glanced my way. “—contrary to opinion.”
I shrugged. “Personally, I like the longer version. And since you’re the trespasser and I’m the trespassed upon, I’m gonna stick to my guns.”
Thaddeus laughed. Tap, on the other hand, gave me an irksome smirk that I wanted to choke him with.
“Here, I’ll take those.” I indicated the bundle of mud-stained clothes Thaddeus carried and he handed them over. “When we’re done eating, I’ll bag them for you to take home. And like I said, you can ditch the ones you’re wearing when you’re done with them.” Our eyes met for long enough to feel awkward and it was Tap who came to the rescue.
“Grab a seat.” Tap gestured Thaddeus toward the table and picked up the conversation. “I understand I have you to thank for this feast. I’m lucky to get a slice of toast most days.”
Returning to the kitchen, I snorted my disgust at his lie and carried the plate of pancakes to the table. Sliding them out of his reach, I said, “If you’re not careful, that can easily be arranged.”
Tap immediately mimed zipping his lips, which made Thaddeus laugh.
“I find it best to ignore him,” I told the younger man. “Responding only encourages the behaviour. Now, please, help yourself.”
Thaddeus’s gaze swept over the mountain of food. “You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. This is way too much food.”
“Less talking, more eating.” I passed him the plate of bacon. “I love any excuse to cook, don’t I, Tap?” I aimed another solid kick at my friend’s shins, hoping to encourage a suitable response.
He blurted, “Oh yes, absolutely.” He scraped a mound of scrambled eggs onto his plate, adding, “Ryder here is the valley’s more attractive but slightly less accomplished answer to Julia Child.” He smirked my way. “Remember that whole banoffee-cross-pecan-pie-disaster thingy?”
A comment that earned him another boot.
