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“Don’t listen to this pervert,” Brady said. “You’re way sexier than Patty.”
“Careful, boys,” Heather said. “You’re going to make a girl blush.”
Heather was flirting with us. And Brady was flirting back. I was pretty sure he had a thing for her. I couldn’t blame him. Heather’s scent was surrounding me, making me feel more light-headed than the beer ever could.
Three of us. One nanny. You didn’t need to be analytical to realize the math didn’t work out.
And now she was living with us.
Things are about to get a lot more complicated.
22
Heather
So I was a flirt. Sue me.
I was having fun with the boys. They were easy to get along with. As much as I liked Rogan, there was a seriousness about him that never faded—even when we were together. I guess that came with authority. The weight of leadership on his shoulders.
But Brady was a goofball. And despite his quiet exterior, I was beginning to learn that Asher had a funny streak too. He didn’t joke around much, which made his deadpan jokes a thousand times funnier than if they had come from someone else.
They were also both extremely hot. That was a big factor. I happened to think that a guy’s personality was his most important quality… But sexy good looks had a charm of its own.
As I finished my second beer and retrieved a third, I knew I was going to have fun living here. For all its luxury, I was lonely back at the Four Seasons. Maurice usually worked at night and couldn’t hang out with me. My only other friend was Timmy the room service delivery boy, and I had a feeling he only liked me because I tipped fifty bucks on a twenty dollar bill. Being around these guys was a welcome change.
But there was still one big question I didn’t understand. And since Rogan wouldn’t answer it, I was hoping these guys would.
“All right, I need to get the full story,” I said. “What’s the deal with the kids?”
After sharing a few beers with them, I had learned that Asher had a way of running his fingers through his short blond hair when he was thinking. He did that now. “What do you mean?”
“You each have a six-year-old,” I said. “There aren’t any mothers in the picture. You raise them all together, and Cora calls the boys her brothers. What’s the story of how you guys ended up like this? And don’t brush it off the way Rogan keeps doing whenever I ask. I know it’s personal, but Iamtaking care of them all day. I’d like to understand the whole dynamic.”
Asher and Brady looked at each other. “It’s not too personal,” Asher said.
Brady nodded. “We just don’t ever really talk about it. Guess we take it for granted. It’s weird, huh?”
“It’s a little weird,” I agreed.
Asher twisted on the couch to face me. His knee brushed against my leg, which momentarily caused him to tense. He removed his wire-framed glasses—another gesture I had learned meant he was buying himself time to think—and placed them back on his nose.
“When we were in the SEALs,” he explained, “we had a few… close calls. Brushes with death, you might say. Our missions were getting riskier and riskier. Eventually we lost a teammate.”
“Mark Hopkins,” Brady said with a fond smile. “We called him Hoppy. He fucken hated that nickname.” He raised his beer. “Here’s to you, Hoppy.”
“To Hoppy,” Asher agreed.
I toasted with them and said, “I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone like that.”
“It was difficult,” Asher said diplomatically. “It made us face our own mortality. That’s not easy to do. Navy SEALs are, generally speaking, pretty cocky.”
“Speak for yourself,” Brady said. “I’m as humble as Mother Theresa.”
Asher ignored him. “Not long after Hoppy, we received new orders. The brass were giving us a month to grieve, and then we were getting shipped out on a longer deployment. This was back when ISIS was spreading faster than anyone could keep track of. Lots of rumors were going around. Everyone agreed it was going to be more dangerous than before.”
“Shit’s tough,” Brady said bluntly. “Lost a teammate, then sent back out. I’ll admit it: I was afraid to die.”
Asher nodded. “We all were. None of us had a family. We were single. If we died, we wouldn’t have any sort of legacy.” He sipped his beer. “So we decided to ensure we left something behind.”
