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“Have you even readThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?”
“I tried Turkish delight because of the movie, and that’s all I remember. It was not as delicious as Edmund made it out to be, let me tell you. Not nearly enough to throw siblings under the bus for the White Witch to do her nasty bullshit. Avery can be a pain in my butt sometimes, but I guess he’s worth more than Turkish delight.”
Grady huffed out a laugh. “Read the book, Lake.”
“All right.” He could do that. They probably had a copy at home. He’d ask his mum.
“Are you hungry? There’re leftovers.”
Lake wanted to ask more about Mal and what had happened, but Grady wasn’t being subtle in trying to change the subject. “Sure, I could eat.” As though he’d ever turn down food.
Grady pulled a container from the fridge and turned, shoving it into Lake’s stomach. “Go heat it up in the microwave.”
“What microwave?” Lake asked, glancing around. Unless something was in disguise or could transform like a Transformer, there was definitely no microwave.
“In the pantry.”
Lake shrugged and popped the corner of the lid as he walked. “It smells good. What is it?”
“It’s a meatball and wild mushroom ragout.”
“I have no idea what a ragout is, but I love meatballs and mushroom,” Lake said. He left the food spinning in circles in the appliance and slid onto a stool at the island counter so that he could lean his elbows on it and peer at Grady. His cheeks had a tinge of red, and Lake felt angry all over again. Cheating was unforgivable in any circumstance, and maybe he hadn’t known Grady all that long, but he knew people, and he knew that he wouldn’t have deserved it, no matter what.
“What happened?” Lake asked.
“Lake…”
“Sometimes it’s good to talk about these things!” he protested. Letting things fester was one of the worst responses to any kind of trauma. If there was anything Lake had learned during his time in the military, it was that people that tried to push things down inevitably broke, and the results were dire.
“How do you know I haven’t already talked to someone?” Grady asked. He placed two glasses on the counter and raised a challenging brow at Lake.
Lake mimicked his expression. “Well, have you?”
The look Lake got in response told him that Grady definitely hadn’t talked to anyone about it. Lake spread his arms wide. “I am a vault. Or this is Fight Club. Pick whichever works best for you.”
“Do you think about what comes out of your mouth, or do you just let it fly out?”
“I let it fly out. It’s more interesting for me and anyone else around.”
Grady sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t let him explain, because I already know.”
“Bit presumptuous.”
“After three years, I’d like to think that I knew him.”
“Okay, that’s probably fair,” Lake said. “I’ve never been with anyone that long, but one woman—Sadie—was close. Just over two years.” Sometimes he missed her, but he knew it was just having someone close, having a connection with someone that had been his alone that he missed. Not her. Which said a lot about their relationship, really.
“Yeah? And what happened?”
Lake shrugged. “Not really sure. I’d thought maybe I’d found that fairy tale elusive ‘one,’ and that she’d be part of the plan I had for my future. But she got a job in Perth and decided that was more important. I can’t just pack up and leave, and she knew that.”
“Plan for the future?” Grady asked, the corner of his mouth tipping up in total judgement.
“Don’t laugh.”
“I’m already laughing. On the inside.”
That made Lake laugh, and he playfully gave Grady the finger. “The idea of a family always appealed to me. A house filled with children, a wife, a dog, a white picket fence.”
