Page 132 of Body Check

But when Thad straightened, Gavin caught a glint of something bright in his beard and he turned away with a smile. That fucker. He wassodyeing his hair. Gavin was tempted to chirp him for his vanity, but he was afraid of starting off on the wrong foot. Of accidentally making a tense situation worse with an ill-timed joke.

“Want anything to drink?” Gavin asked instead, walking toward the kitchen.

“I’ll take a beer, if you’ve got it,” Thad said, stuffing his hands into his jeans’ pockets.

“Sure.” Gavin mentally fist-pumped for guessing right. He’d ordered a variety pack from the market earlier. “Uh, grab whatever appeals.”

He held the refrigerator door open and gestured for Thad to help himself.

Thad did, twisted the lid off, then gave Gavin a surprised look when he didn’t take anything for himself. Gavin was fuckingtempted to slug down a few fingers of whiskey, but he’d promised himself, his doctor, and Dakota he’d cut way back.

“Watching your carbs?” Thad asked.

Gavin shook his head. “No. It’s my heart.”

“Yeah,” Thad said, a frown creating deep grooves his forehead. “Dakota said something about that. Where is your boyfriend, by the way? I figured he’d be here to play referee.”

“He’s in the living room,” Gavin explained. “C’mon, let’s head in there to talk. He’s willing to give us privacy if we want it, but I think you’re right that we could use a cooler head than either of ours to mediate.”

Thad shot him a rueful grin and for the briefest second, it was like they were still teenagers sharing an inside joke. Still close. Like nothing had come between them, especially not two decades of mistakes and regret.

Dakota was in the living room, seated on a chair near the window and looking a bit wary as he glanced between them, plainly wondering how things were going. “Hi, Thad. Good to see you.”

“Hey. Good to see you too.”

“Hope the roads weren’t too bad,” Dakota said, his tone careful and polite.

“Nah, the snow is pretty much cleared away.”

Gavin crossed the room, smoothing a hand down Dakota’s hair before pressing a kiss to the crown of his head. God, it was a relief to have him here.

Dakota shot him a fleeting smile when he pulled away.

“So, this is serious then, huh?” Thad asked, glancing between them.

“Yes,” Gavin said, settling a hand on Dakota’s shoulder and squeezing. “It is. I notified the ownership group about our relationship yesterday.”

“Congrats.” It sounded sincere.

“Thanks. Are you seeing anyone?” Gavin asked.

“Not seriously. Just, you know, the occasional hookup here and there.”

Gavin nodded, unsure of how to proceed from here. This was … awkward. Making tense but polite small talk with his own brother was weird as hell.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” he offered, gesturing to one end of the sectional. He took a spot at the other.

Thad settled in, getting comfortable, then wrapped his hands around his beer bottle so hard his knuckles went white. “So, uh, you’re having heart issues? If you’d’ve said liver or kidney, I’d have wondered if you wanted me to donate or something. But you have to be dead to donate a heart, right?”

Gavin managed a faint smile. “I promise I didn’t invite you here to beg for any of your organs. I want to talk.”

“Okay, but the heart thing,” Thad pressed. “You’re kinda freaking me out here, man.”

“You’reworriedabout me?” Gavin asked, genuinely surprised.

“Jesus fuck, Gavin,” Thad muttered before taking a long drink of his beer. “Yes, I’m fucking worried. I know our relationshipis shit now, but I care if you’re havingheart issues, you dumb fuck.”

Okay, well, Gavin probably deserved that.

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