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I turn back to the living room. Something is amiss. I stare at the empty couch. A ruffled blanket.

Right. There are no dogs in here.

Suddenly, I’m wide awake. Fuck. Where did they go?

Heart racing with panic, I storm through his house, softly opening the doors, trying not to scare Morticia and Gomez in the second guest room. I’m about to storm upstairs and wake him up when I notice his front door is ajar.

"No, no, no," I curse under my breath and sprint over to it, pull it open, ready to sprint outside to find them and—

There they are. All five dogs.

Sophia is trotting along the lakeshore, paws muddy, a blissful expression on her face. Soft morning dew floats over the water, soft waves breaking on the shore.

Rose has found a spot to lie in among a pile of crisp, dry leaves, dusted with frost, while Dorothy and Blanche play a lazy round of catch. How they can be this active, this early in the day, I don’t know.

And then there's Dick, having a nap on the porch right by his owner's bare feet. His very hot owner. Who’s very asleep.

I sneak closer, the wooden porch softly creaking under my feet. Oh yeah. He’s in a deep sleep, hunched on his porch couch. His head is propped up on his hand, elbow on the handrest, his legs extended in front of him, and his breath turning white in front of his face.

And this idiot isn't even wearing any shoes. Who goes out into a November morning without even any socks? And how can he sleep? I mean, his feet must be freezing at this point.

At least he put on a sweatshirt.

For a moment, I allow myself to lean against the wall, arms crossed in front of my chest, hands tucked under my armpits to keep warm and watch him. His soft, dark brown, almost black hair falling into his face. His sharp jawline. Soft stubble I’ve never seen him sport before. The relaxed expression on his face.

This is a problem.

When I first came into Evan’s tattoo studio and saw him, I was flabbergasted. I mean, he’s heart-flutteringly hot and his smile is bright enough to blind. He’s almost effortlessly charming. An annoyingly smooth flirt.

But also, Evan’s ex, who I thought was a cheating asshole.

Since it turned out he isn’t, all the butterflies in my stomach are biting their way out of cocoons while I do my best to sew them shut again.

Whether I want it to or not. I can see myself falling for my brother’s ex. The only reason I never allowed myself to even think about it, are my wrong assumptions. Okay, and maybe the way he keeps slipping into a persona to hide his real self.

Whatever the reasons, it couldn't be happening at a worse time.

With a sigh, I sneak back inside and softly pull the door ajar behind me to not let too much cold inside.

It turns out his coffee machine is not as complicated as I thought. The internet helps me figure out how to make a cappuccino within ten minutes, and there’s a foolproof video tutorial. When I return outside, I have two steaming mugs of coffee in my hands and a thick blanket slung over my shoulder.

"Kieran?" I stop next to him and softly nudge his calf with my sock-clad foot.

He blinks his eyes open softly, and his lips stretch into a sleepy smile so sweet and innocent it makes my heart want to jump out of my chest, and emotions I really can't deal with right now clog my throat.

"Morning, Brooke." His voice is raspy and sends goosebumps all over my skin.

"I made you a coffee." I set both mugs down on the porch railing and throw the blanket over him first.

“Thank you.”

"You shouldn't be out here barefoot, you know. You’re asking to catch a cold at this point."

"Oh, trust me. I have regrets. I didn’t mean to fall asleep." He grins and sits up, his face pulling into a pained grimace as he pulls the blanket around his shoulders and his legs onto the couch to tuck his feet under it. "Oh, fuck. I'm getting old."

"No, you’re not. You slept in a shit position on an uncomfortable porch couch,” I point out the obvious, take a seat next to him and hand him his mug.

My attention shifts to the dogs. Sophia has joined the shepherds' game of catch, but she keeps stumbling over her ears. It's adorable. Rose is still napping under her pile of leaves, probably enjoying the freezing temperatures.