“Okay. I'll be here, wasting away.”
He presses a kiss onto the back of my head. “I think you'll feel better with some more rest.”
The bed dips and I turn my head, resting my cheek against the pillow, my gaze following Everett's movements around the room. He pulls on his clothes and walks out the door. When it closes shut behind him, I sink into the mattress, hating how quiet it is. Sighing in frustration, I get out of bed. I guess he fucking wins this time. My brain is now too awake for me to go back to sleep.
Throwing on my clothes, I wash up in the bathroom and follow the smell of bacon to the kitchen.
“Couldn't sleep after all?” Everett grins my way, laying out more bacon strips on the pan.
“Nope, and it's all your fault.” I sit on a stool behind the kitchen bar.
“That's right, blame my brother for everything, I always do. He makes it too easy.” Connor sits beside me, setting down a glass of what appears to be orange juice.
“Is everyone here a morning person besides me?”
“Nah, I only pretend to be super uppity in the morning so most people will find me annoying and leave me the hell alone,” Connor retorts.
I like this guy. We are more similar than I realized. Who knows, we might become lifelong friends. Ha, if only people like me believed in shit like that. Everett places the cooked bacon on a plate and uses the same pan to scramble a few eggs.
“You hungry, Connor?” Everett looks back, glancing between us.
“When am I not?” Connor scoots his chair more to the right.
“Good point. What about you, Iggy?” Everett's blue eyes sparkle my way.
Fuck, does he have to look so damn perfect all the time? No matter how dirty, beat up, or bloody he is, he's still the sexiest man on earth, and this morning he's wearing my favorite sweatpants.
“A little. I'll take some eggs. Me and bacon have yet to be reacquainted.”
He laughs and fills two plates, only putting eggs on mine. “What about something to drink?”
“A mimosa sounds good right about now.”
He rolls his eyes, placing my food in front of me. “Plain orange juice it is.”
“You're about as fun today as a bag of rocks.” I kick my feet against the counter, unable to sit still.
“You sure that's only today?” Connor grins.
“How about you two eat your food?”
The kitchen is quiet while we are all too busy eating. The eggs are so good, I get up for seconds. I haven't eaten this much in a while. I hope my stomach can handle it.
After Connor collects our dirty dishes and loads the dishwasher, we all head to the living room to hang ornaments on the tree.
“I have a contribution of my own.” I retrieve the white dove from my back pocket and hang it on the tree.
“It's perfect, lggy,” Everett says, smiling.
“What happened to its right wing? Looks chipped.” Connor focuses on the white dove a little too closely.
“Sometimes the world's most beautiful creatures are the ones who are a little wounded. They are usually the strongest and can survive through anything,” Everett says.
My heart swells in my chest when Everett's fingers brush over mine. This man may ruin me before I can fully destroy him, and I'm not sure I'll be able to stop it.
Twenty-one
Everett