return a gift. The next time they’d hooked up, she had shown him just how much she had appreciated it. He was getting hard just remembering that weekend.
She glanced over at him and saw him staring. He figured she knew why. They’d shared a lot of good times together.
“How many biscuits do you want?” she asked.
He swallowed as he held her gaze. “I’ll take as many you want to give me.”
“I made a dozen. I figured if any were left, I could pack them up for you to take home.”
Andrew nodded. “I’d appreciate that. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Then she passed the plate of biscuits to him, and he felt an electrical charge when their hands touched. He knew she felt it, too, because she quickly got up from the table. “I forgot the juice.”
He watched her hurry to the refrigerator to get a carton of apple juice. That was her favorite flavor. His favorite flavor was her. “Nice view of the lake,” he said, trying to lighten the situation.
She sat back down and glanced out the window. “Yes, it is. I’ve been so busy this week, I haven’t had time to just sit here and enjoy it as much as I’d have liked to. That view was the main reason I chose this particular apartment. Although it’s small, it has the two bedrooms and two baths I wanted, including this view.”
He watched her pour syrup on her biscuits and recalled the time he’d poured it on her the same way.
“Don’t worry, I will save you some, Drew.”
He shifted his gaze from the syrup to her face. He felt a definite tightening in his crotch. “Save me some what?”
“Syrup. You’re staring at it like you think I’m going to use all of it. Even if I do, I have another bottle in the pantry. I love the stuff.”
Yes, he knew how much she liked maple syrup. “I couldn’t help noticing how heavy-handed you are with it,” he decided to say, since there was no way he could tell her what he had really been thinking. “You like biscuits with your syrup—not the other way around.”
She laughed. “That is true.”
They continued to eat, enjoying breakfast while exchanging polite conversation. She talked about her grandparents and now knowing what he did about her mother’s death, he appreciated the older couple for being there for her.
No one had been there for him when he’d been a kid. No grandparents, cousins, aunts, or uncles. Both his parents had been only children. Whenever he’d have to go to court as a kid, his mother would show up, but never his father. In a way, that was a good thing. You never knew what day of the week his father would be sober.
“Tell me about your house, Drew.”
He took a sip of his coffee and shrugged, but couldn’t hold back a small smile. “Home ownership is nice,” he said. “My parents never owned a house. They were constant renters. I would hold my breath every month, hoping Mom had made enough for the rent payment so we wouldn’t get put out. That happened once, and it was embarrassing as hell.”
He took another sip of his coffee. Why was he telling her this? Sharing stuff with her that he’d never shared with anyone except the men he considered brothers. He, along with Stonewall, Striker, Quasar, Ryker, Locke, Shogun, and Macayle had been through a lot together. There had been other guys, but those seven were closer than most.
Sharing prison cells, keeping each other motivated, watching each other’s backs—watching Shep’s back—had made them family. And he couldn’t forget about Karl Halifax. A bad-ass if there ever was one, Halifax had been the most resistant of them to Shep’s mentoring, and he’d never fully changed his ways. Although Shep hadn’t managed to turn Karl Halifax’s life around completely, he had gained Halifax’s admiration and respect. He had even come to Shep’s aid a few years ago, when Shep’s wife, Carson, had been threatened and needed help.
And now Andrew was telling Toni about his painful secrets. He wondered just what that meant, but he wasn’t going to worry about it now. He leaned back in his chair and said, “I had my house built from the ground up, after I found a nice piece of property in the subdivision not far from headquarters. I walked into one of the model homes and liked it…with a few minor revisions. Striker jokes about it being too big for one person, but I like it