Page 66 of Double Booked

Cole glanced over at Eden, who was sleeping soundly, her blonde hair fanned out on the pillow and lips softly parted. They’d spent most of the previous day in bed, emerging only to eat or use the bathroom. When nighttime came, it wasn’t even a question whether she would stay with him. She hadn’t even gone downstairs for her pajamas and was wearing his Arizona Cardinals T-shirt instead. He smiled at the vision of her lying there, and though he was reluctant to leave the warmth of the bed, he had things to do.

Quietly, he slipped out of the covers. He picked up his pajama pants from the floor where he’d tossed them around midnight, the last time they’d made love. He quickly pulled them on and padded out the door, closing it softly behind him.

He went into the kitchen and got started on the first part of his plan—breakfast in bed. Last night, after she’d fallen asleep, he’d decided to play hooky today. He planned on spending the entire day with her, starting with breakfast, then a trip to Boulder for shopping and lunch, and lastly, a nice dinner in Estes Park.

Once the coffee was brewing, he made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Then he searched through the cupboards and found a wooden tray table. He arranged the food and coffee on the tray and carried it toward the stairs. A knock on the door stopped him in his tracks. He glared at it, visualizing Patrick on the other side. He set down the tray and went to the door. “Go away,” he growled through the wood.

“Is that any way to talk to your brother?”

Cole’s eyes widened. He swung open the door and found Tyler standing there, smiling smugly. “Good morning to you too,” Tyler said, and came inside.

Cole quickly closed the door before the cold air rushed in and cooled off the food. Breakfast. Eden. In my bed. He stared at his brother, still shocked by his presence.

“You made breakfast. Thanks.” Tyler plucked a strip of bacon off one of the plates. As he chewed, a knowing expression spread across his face. “Wait a minute. You didn’t know I was coming, but there are two plates.”

Just then, Cole’s bedroom door creaked open, and Eden stepped onto the landing. Her hair was matted to her face on one side, and she was still wearing his T-shirt, but her legs and feet were bare. Thankfully, the shirt was oversized and covered her to mid-thigh. Still, Cole hated that his younger brother was seeing her like this.

Eden stared at them, looking as shocked as Cole was to see his brother. In the meantime, Tyler grinned, his gaze shifting from Eden to Cole and back again.

“A robe. I need my robe,” she said, sounding flustered.

“I’ll bring it to you,” Cole said. She nodded and backed up, partially hiding herself from view.

Tyler chuckled and snatched another strip of bacon off the plate. Cole frowned at him before he went into Eden’s bedroom and grabbed her robe off the end of the bed. Ignoring his brother, who’d perched on the stool at the kitchen counter, Cole took the stairs two at a time.

Handing her the robe, he whispered, “It’s my brother, Tyler. I’ll get rid of him.”

“I can hear you, you idiot,” Tyler teased.

Eden hurriedly donned her robe. “You don’t have to get rid of him, but you could introduce us.”

“Oh. Okay.” Cole was still discombobulated by his brother’s unexpected appearance and hadn’t considered she actually wanted to meet him.

She tied the sash of the robe tightly and followed him downstairs. They came and stood beside Tyler, who had just taken a sip of coffee and set down the mug.

“Tyler, this is my… My—”

“Girlfriend, Eden Wright. It’s nice to meet you, Tyler.” Eden held out her hand and Tyler shook it, smiling broadly.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

Now that the introduction was over with, Cole jumped right in. “It would have been nice if you called before showing up.”

“I did call, multiple times. When’s the last time you looked at your phone?”

Eden made a sound between a cough and laugh. Then she picked up the mug that Tyler hadn’t drunk out of and took a sip of coffee.

“I don’t remember,” Cole admitted. Sometime in the mid-afternoon, he’d turned his phone off, not wanting anything to interrupt his time with Eden.

“You were probably too busy to check it,” Tyler teased, his eyes dancing with amusement.

Cole glanced at Eden, who also looked amused. Then he turned back to Ty. “So, what brings you here?”

“You invited me, remember?”

Before he could respond, Eden chimed in. “You’re welcome to share some of this food. Cole always makes enough for an army.”

“That would be great, thanks,” Tyler said.