I set the tray of egg bites down, peeking at his stomach while he stretched and nearly burning myself in the process. “Just in time to eat.”

He grinned. “Great. I’m starving.”

If I’d drunk that much, my stomach would be turning at the very smell of food. Some people have all the luck. I set out plates and silverware, bringing the food to the table, along with the pot of coffee and a mug for Derek.

I plunked down a glass of water in front of him too. “Hydrate, please.”

“Yes, mother.” He half-rolled his eyes at Liam.

“She’s a fricken miracle worker, that one. She put you to bed last night. Not a scratch on her!” Liam glared at Derek, making him pause while dishing up food. “You should be thanking her.”

“Oh.” Derek stayed quiet as he finished putting his egg bites on his plate. “I’m sorry, Avery. I didn’t realize it was one of those nights. Thank you.” He frowned. “Being around my family…sometimes I get carried away afterwards.” He sighed, raking a hand through his crazy hair.

I slid a cinnamon roll onto my plate and waved him off. “You’ve helped me. I help you. It’s this guy and Greg you should be thanking.” I jerked my chin at Liam. “You’d be sleeping on a bench at the restaurant if I’d had to get you home on my own.”

His voice was quiet, almost gruff. “Thanks, Liam.”

Liam was almost too busy inhaling egg bites to answer. “Don’t mention it. You’ve done it for me plenty of times, and I get breakfast out of the deal.”

Derek’s blue eyes found mine as I sat down. He lifted his fork, almost in a salute. “And thanks for breakfast.”

I nodded and happiness coursed through me as everyone enjoyed my food. We ate in the quiet for a few minutes.

Liam surprised me by breaking the silence. “So, what’d you guys do last night? Before I had to haul your drunk ass to bed, that is.”

I almost gave everything away by rolling my eyes, but I caught myself just in time. Derek didn’t know Liam had been with me in the limo, and we needed to keep it that way. For the sake of the surprise party. I concentrated on eating while Derek filled him in, almost tired of hearing the story already. It was amazing how fast the tale got old.

So I thought about ravioli. Now that I’d found out it was Derek’s favorite, we had to have it at the party. And I knew the one person in the world who made the best—Patty. We’d all finished eating, the guys still sipping their coffee, Derek mid-story. I started cleaning up, racking my brain for a way to steal Patty that didn’t involve seeing my mother.

The kitchen sparkled, the story ended and Liam looked at me with an expression I’d never seen before. An odd mix of admiration and incredulity. Maybe I was finally passing muster.

Time to change the subject. “All right, so what’s Sunday normally look like around here?”

“Football,” they chimed.

I grinned. “Do more people usually show up?”

Derek nodded, tentatively.

My grin widened. “Good, ’cause I think I bought enough food to feed an army.”

Liam turned to Derek with a pointed glare. “I can vouch for that. I had to lug it all up here because someone was still sleeping. And hasn’t given his girlfriend her own key yet.” He drained his cup, setting it none too gently down on the table. “All right, you two. I got things to do before kickoff. I’m out.”

We said bye, then Derek picked up both his cup and Liam’s. He relocated to the island, sliding the empty cup to me and nursing his coffee. “Thanks again for breakfast. It was great. I’ve never had those before. What do you call them?”

“Egg bites.” The silence between us felt awkward, and I didn’t know what to do about it. So I started pulling out ingredients for the different foods I wanted to make. “What time do people usually show up?”

“Around two or three.” He frowned as I put more food on the counter. “What all are you planning on making?”

“Oh, I’ve got stuff for spinach artichoke dip, veggie pizza, meatballs and mini pigs in a blanket.” I wrinkled my nose. “I might have gone a bit overboard. I like to cook when I’m stressed. Do you have a crockpot?”

He helped me find it. “What are you stressed about?”

It was the perfect opening. “Actually, I need to talk to you about that. I kind of need a favor.” Just saying the words made me a nervous, rigid wreck.

Leaning on the counter, he looked at me, every inch relaxed. “What’s up?”

My hands twisted together as I bit my lip, wondering how to phrase my request. “This is going to sound awful. I don’t even know how to ask it without sounding like I’m using you and your status, because hell, that’s exactly what I’m doing.”