Hide & Seek - Nicole Edwards Page 0,4

get over this obscene need that made his blood run hotter. Rather than settle, it seemed to intensify day after day. Didn’t matter that they’d already taken their relationship to the next level.

Nine days ago, Brantley had asked him to move in with him. Eight days ago, they’d started moving his things. Seven days ago, he’d officially changed his address. On paper, at least. And now here they were, settling into a routine that was both relatively mundane and oddly exciting. Reese had never lived with a lover before. At times, he had wondered if he ever would.

“Did Autumn get moved into your apartment?” Brantley asked, grabbing two glasses out of the cabinet and moving to the refrigerator.

Reese cast a sideways glance, admired the man from the back, the charcoal gray T-shirt formed nicely to his muscular torso. “She did. The lease’ll transfer to her in December. She was thrilled. Said it’ll cut down on her travel time quite a bit.”

“How’s she likin’ Walker Demo?”

Knowing it was a sensitive subject, he turned his attention back to the sauce. “I didn’t ask.”

“You can, you know,” Brantley said, pausing as he was pouring tea into the second glass. “It doesn’t bother me.”

“I know.” And he did.

Although Reese had damn near fucked their relationship nine ways to Sunday when he panicked after Autumn Jameson, his replacement at Walker Demo, had caught on to the fact Reese and Brantley were exploring this thing between them, it seemed Brantley held no ill will toward the woman. Reese didn’t, either. She’d done nothing wrong by accepting his offer of drinks one night. Completely platonic, of course. The conversation had stayed on the topic of work mostly, but still. Reese had fucked up, more so by ignoring Brantley than asking a woman to have drinks.

“If she has work questions, I’ll be happy to help her out.” Otherwise, he saw little reason for him to interact with Autumn. It wasn’t like he’d known her before she had taken over his position so he could move on to the task force. He saw no reason for them to get chummy now.

Brantley carried their tea glasses around to the other side of the quartz-topped island, then returned to grab silverware while Reese dished their food onto two plates.

“Can you get the bread outta the oven?” Reese asked, grabbing the Parmesan cheese from the fridge.

They moved around the kitchen like they’d been in sync all their lives. When they had settled onto the barstools for dinner, Reese let the conversation lull. He knew Brantley. When it came to food, the man ate with gusto, and Reese had learned not to interrupt until Brantley had dished his second helping.

“What’s on your mind, Tavoularis?” Brantley asked around a mouthful. “I can hear your brain workin’.”

Reese chuckled, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “I talked to Z again today.”

Brantley reached for his tea. “Yeah? What’d your brother have to say for himself?”

“They want us to come to Dallas for Christmas.”

“Breakfast or dinner?”

Reese glanced over. “What?”

“Do they serve breakfast or dinner for Christmas?”

“Dinner.”

“Perfect. My family does the breakfast thing. We can swing through my folks’ place in the mornin’, then hit the road. We’ll be in Dallas in time for dinner.”

Well, that seemed relatively easy, Reese thought.

“What about Thanksgiving?” Brantley asked, picking up his fork.

“What about it?”

Brantley chuckled, chewed. “You haven’t given me an answer.”

Reese filled his own mouth with spaghetti, felt his nerves begin to churn in his stomach.

“They don’t bite, Reese.”

“I know.” He piled in more food. “It’s just…” Chew. Just chew.

“I’ll invite them over here,” Brantley stated. “This weekend. Saturday night. You can cook.”

Reese’s jaw stopped working and the damn rioting bullets began pinging around in his stomach. He grabbed his tea, washed down the mouthful, and cleared his throat.

This wasn’t the first time they’d had the conversation about Reese meeting Brantley’s parents. In fact, he was pretty sure they’d discussed it at least once a day since he moved in, and somehow Reese had managed to avoid giving him an affirmative. Didn’t look like Brantley was going to let him get by with it this time.

“It’s settled then,” Brantley said, reaching for his phone.

Reese set down his glass, then snapped his hand around Brantley’s wrist, making the man laugh.

“I’ve never met the parents before,” Reese said on a rush of air, his gut suddenly churning the spaghetti in a not-so-friendly manner.

“I fuckin’ love that about you.”

A strangled laugh escaped. “Brantley.”

“It’ll be fine. We’ll make it a casual thing. Just my mom