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“Nah. Stay.” Gabriel gestured at the counter. “I just made coffee. You want a cup? Where’s Michael?”
She hesitated, then eased into a chair. “He’s in the shower.”
She paused. “Look, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea ”
“Don’t worry, I already have.” Gabriel pulled three mugs down from the cabinet. “How do you take it?”
“With an obscene amount of milk and sugar.”
Déjà vu hit him in the chest, and he hesitated before pouring.
“Me too.” Then he joined her at the table.
She wrapped her hands around the cup and took a sip, just as Michael came through the doorway. Wet hair, clean shaven.
He stopped short upon seeing Gabriel. “I thought you’d be out for a run.”
“Hey, Mike,” he said innocently. “I thought girls weren’t allowed to spend the night?”
“Watch it.”
“At least you’re not wearing her shirt.”
“I think that’s enough.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to fire back, but then Michael stepped up to the table, ducked his head, and kissed Hannah on the cheek.
With enough tenderness that Gabriel didn’t want to mock it.
Just checking up on the investigation, my ass, he thought.
He looked away. “I’m going out in a bit, so you two can have the house to yourselves.” Then he smiled. “Except for Nick.
And Chris.”
“I’ve got to be at work at seven-thirty,” said Hannah. “So I won’t be here long.” Then she jumped and pulled a vibrating cell phone out of her pocket. “It’s my folks, so I’ve got to take this . . .”
But she was already walking down the hallway and stepping out the front door.
Michael turned from the counter with a cup of coffee in hand. “Don’t start,” he said to Gabriel.
“I didn’t say anything. I’m just glad you weren’t jerking her around.” Gabriel paused. “So I guess you don’t have too much baggage after all?”
Michael gave him a look. “Trust me. I do.” He sat down at the table. “She just has enough to match.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means she has a five-year-old son.”
Gabriel went still. “Holy crap.”
“So we’re taking things really slowly.”
“Looks like it.”
This was quite possibly the first time Gabriel had ever seen his older brother blush. “It was late. She slept here. We did not ”
Michael broke off. “I don’t really think I need to explain myself to you.”
