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“What?” I scream into the sudden silence as he stops it.
“I said, good morning,” Brady says, with a grin. “Did you sleep well?”
I climb onto the stool next to Liam, who has gone back to eating his eggs. “Hey, guy,” I say to him, tousling his hair in the way I know he hates, but it reassures me that he’s here and everything’s fine. “I see you got some breakfast. Who made it?”
Liam points to Brady, unable to speak around his mouthful of eggs.
“That’s kinda insulting. I did, of course,” Brady says, pouring the green smoothie into a glass and chugging it. “Who else?”
I eye him speculatively. “I guess I didn’t figure you as a guy who cooks,” I say as he reaches behind him and pours a cup of coffee from a huge coffee machine that looks like something NASA might invent for a space flight.
But I don’t argue when he pushes it in front of me, and I take a huge sip, wishing there was a faster way to get caffeine into my system. Now that I’m paying attention, I can see that the stove and the sink are filled with a lot more dishes than most people—like me—would need to make scrambled eggs and toast.
“I cook,” Brady says with a shrug. “Though not much anymore. It’s more work than I remember. But this guy was hungry, and it seemed like you could use some extra sleep, so…”
“It looks like it was a pretty big effort,” I remark, looking him over and trying not to dwell on the fact that his muscular arms are so well-displayed in a sleeveless tee shirt.
“It takes him alotlonger than it takes you,” Liam observes, drinking his juice and then swiping his mouth with his sleeve. Wordlessly, I hand him a napkin.
“What can I say? I’m out of practice,” Brady replies, pouring another glass of his smoothie. “I used to make breakfast for my brothers and sister all the time.”
I tried to remember if I knew he had siblings, but if Lucy’d ever mentioned it, I’d forgotten.
“How many siblings do you have?” I ask, getting up to skirt the island and get myself more coffee.
“I’m the oldest of five,” Brady tells me after downing the second smoothie. “So I did everything, from changing diapers to screening my little sister’s dates.”
“I bet you scared a lot of guys away from her,” I comment, eyeing his muscles again admiringly.
Stop it, Izzie. This is not helping.
Brady grins. “Let’s just say that being the star quarterback of the high school team didn’t hurt when it came to keeping the losers away from her.”
Like you?The thought comes to me suddenly, and I feel myself getting pissed off, a wave of anger washing over me.
I’d love to tell him that he’s the same kind of loser, leaving Lucy pregnant with his kid so that he could have this lifestyle.
Yeah, he didn’t know, but still…the dick who killed my sister.
I rejoin Liam, who has actually eaten everything on his plate, even the toast. I focus on the coffee in my mug until I can feel the anger ebbing a little.
I look up and find Brady studying me with a slightly perplexed expression. I guess he could tell that my mood had changed. Probably an expert at that, with all the women he’s been with. His PMS detector is probably pretty well-honed.
“Are you finished, Liam?” I ask. “If you are, you’d better get dressed for school. We don’t have much time since I overslept.” I shoot Brady a look. “Since youletme oversleep.”
Brady shrugs. “Hey, it’s not my fault if you don’t know how to set an alarm. I might cook, but I’m not a wakeup service.”
“I’m done.” Liam pushes back from the island and hops down.
“Thank Brady for making you breakfast,” I remind him.
“Thanks!” Liam says, then to my surprise, he adds, “Maybe sometime I can try one of those green drinks? If it’s going to make me as strong as you are,” he adds.
“Sure thing, guy,” Brady says easily, and Liam scampers away.
“Cleanclothes,” I call after him.
Brady watches him leave, then says, “He’s a good kid.”
