Page 75 of Shallow Remains

Grey shot him a lethal glare. He’d had to live with Naya choosing another man over him. He could never accept her choosing Lachlan.

Lachlan smirked. “That’s what I thought. Guess that means we’ve both got baggage to deal with, huh.” He laid his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes. “Pot, kettle.” He lifted his fist, opened his fingers as if releasing a microphone. “Mic drop.”

Grey fought back a reluctant grin. “Why are you such an asshole?” he muttered.

“Dunno. Must be genetic.” He opened his eyes to shoot Grey a pointed look. Pot, kettle.

They grinned at each other and just like that, the tension between them was broken.

Lachlan shut his eyes again and settled back into the seat. “Now shut up and let me rest so the meds can do their thing. And put the seat heater on for me, my back feels like I tried to wrestle a feral moose.”

“Sure thing, princess, just let me take care of that for you.” But his lips quirked at the feral moose thing.

He hit the seat heater button and stayed silent as he drove, letting his brother doze. Lachlan could be a typical asshole older brother sometimes, but he was his asshole older brother. They gave each other shit now and then, like most brothers did.

But they also had each other’s back when it mattered. Even when it was hard. Like just now, even if neither of them had liked being called on their shit.

Grey wouldn’t trade the asshole for anything in this world.

THIRTY-EIGHT

Lachlan dropped his gear at the door, phone to his ear as he entered the code into the keypad below the door handle.

“Hey, I just got home,” he said when Maddy answered. “You doing okay?” He’d been gone a lot longer than he’d anticipated.

“I’m fine. How was your day?”

“Long. Picked up a stray kayaker on the way back.” Twice as long because he’d been away from her. It was good to hear her voice. He couldn’t wait to see her. “I’m gonna grab a shower, then I can come get you⁠—”

“That’s not necessary.”

He stopped, deflated by the unexpected rejection. She didn’t want him to go there. She wanted to stay with Blaine. “Okay,” he said slowly, trying to ignore the sting of rejection.

“No, I meant it’s not necessary because I’m already here.”

“What?” He pushed open the door. Maddy stood ten feet away with her phone in hand, a little grin on her face.

He lowered his phone, relief washing over him. Damn, Grey was right. He was in so deep with her and falling more each day.

She cocked her head, that impish smile fading. “What? You thought I wouldn’t want to see you?”

Yeah, that’s exactly what he’d thought. “It’s just been a long day.” The wind had picked up mid-afternoon, pushing up large swells. His back was sore as hell from the constant impact of the hull against the waves, and he was tired after getting only a couple hours’ sleep last night.

“Come here,” he said, opening his arms.

Maddy walked into the hug and wrapped her arms around his back. He winced when she hit a tender spot.

She tilted her head back to frown at him. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m alright. Took a bit of a tumble last night so my back’s a little sore, that’s all.” The rough water for the past couple hours hadn’t done his knotted muscles any favors.

She let go. “Maybe a hot shower will help? I didn’t eat yet because I wanted to wait for you. There’s lots of leftovers.”

“What if we soaked in the hot tub for a while instead?”

“I don’t have a bathing suit.”

She had a birthday suit he was highly interested in but understood why she would feel shy or uncomfortable. All of this was brand new to her. He was honored to be able to introduce her to each new experience.