Page 67 of Double Booked

“I’ll pour you a fresh cup of coffee,” she said to Cole.

“Thank you.”

Cole noticed how easily Tyler had charmed her. He was like that with all the ladies, young, old, and everywhere in between. Of the two of them, Tyler had more game than he did. As a teenager, he’d found it annoying, but now he accepted and even admired his brother.

Eden started dividing the food onto a third plate while Tyler continued talking. “Before you left, you said I was welcome to visit anytime. I have a lot of vacation time built up, so I decided now was as good a time as any. I had no idea you already had a houseguest. How did you two meet, anyway?”

Eden placed a plate of food in front of Tyler. “Funny story,” she said. Then she gave Cole a fresh mug and came around the counter, and sat next to Tyler.

Cole remained standing, thinking this wasn’t at all how the morning was supposed to go.

Glancing up at him, Eden said, “Aren’t you going to sit with us?”

Us? Us was supposed to be just her and Cole. Resigned, he slid onto the stool beside her. He picked up his mug and took a sip.

“Tell me the story,” Tyler said to Eden.

So she did, in more detail than Cole expected, including the part about Patrick showing up.

“Do you think you could have taken him?” Tyler asked Cole.

“Hell, yeah.”

“I’m glad it didn’t come to that,” Eden said, a shadow crossing her pretty face.

“Me too,” Cole said, rubbing her back.

Tyler watched their interaction with a mix of curiosity and surprise. “It’s a good thing my brother was here to look out for you, not that you couldn’t have handled it yourself,” he added.

Eden beamed at him, and Cole rolled his eyes, though his brother did know all the right things to say.

While they were talking, they polished off the food. “Anyone want more coffee?” Eden asked.

“Sure,” Ty replied.

“I’ll get it,” Cole said, standing before she did. He was supposed to be serving her today, and she wasn’t meant to be waiting on his brother. He refilled all three mugs and then started clearing the dishes.

“Cole hasn’t told me much about you. What do you do?” Eden asked Ty.

“I fight fires,” he stated.

Her eyes widened. “You’re a fireman?”

“Yeah.”

Cole was proud of his brother’s occupation, but he worried about him, too. Ty’s job entailed a lot more than posing shirtless with animals for charities, which Cole teased him about mercilessly. He was acutely aware of the danger Ty put himself in daily.

“It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. There’s a lot of sitting around at the fire station waiting for something to happen,” Ty said.

“Not to mention posing with kittens for the local animal shelter,” Cole said, to lighten the mood.

Eden chuckled. “You really do that?”

“It’s all in the line of duty,” Ty said, grinning broadly.

“Just don’t ask to see any of the pictures, or we’ll be here all day,” Cole muttered, only half joking. He didn’t relish Eden seeing his brother’s buff body in or out of his uniform.

“Too bad my sister isn’t here,” Eden commented. “She’s always had a thing for firemen.”