My back is killing me when I wake, painkillers and coffee the only things on my mind when I climb off the couch with a groan. Shit, when did thirty-one start feeling like sixty?
The coffee pot takes a lifetime to spit out the dark brew, and as I wait, I’m seriously tempted to just lean my head down and guzzle it from the machine. With fingers tapping on the counter, I glare at it as if mentally urging it to work faster will help.
It doesn’t.
If the way I feel right now is a clue as to how my day is going to go, then I think I’ll curl back up on the couch and risk permanent damage to my back.
“Hey, Dad.”
And that’s all it takes to make my lips curl up in a genuine smile.
“Hey. Are you hungry? There’s not much in the fridge but I can put in an order for delivery.”
“How about some of that coffee?”
I scoff. “Not a chance, but there is juice in the fridge.”
He rolls his eyes before walking across the room to get a glass out of the cabinet. “Where’s Mom?”
“Still asleep,” I tell him as I’m finally able to lift the coffee cup to my mouth.
It lights the skin inside my mouth on fire, but the pain is worth the infusion of caffeine.
“Maybe some of those sausage sandwiches I like?” Alex says as he pours his orange juice.
I grin, pulling my phone out and opening the delivery app. I know exactly what he’s talking about. It’s a good thing I know what Tinley likes from there as well because as much as I’m anxious to see her pretty face, I’m not going to wake her up to ask what she wants for breakfast.
“Twenty minutes,” I tell him once I get the confirmation on the app.
We both turn our heads when someone knocks on the front door. Alex looks anxious, and I rest my hand on his shoulder to set him at ease.
“It’s fine. You’re safe.”
He stays back, lingering in the kitchen while I head to the door.
I give Deacon a nod as soon as I see it’s him standing there. “Hey, man.”
The door is pushed back open when I go to close it behind him.
“Wait for me.” A frown turns my mouth down.
“What are you doing here?”
Brooks gives me a wide smile. I still haven’t forgiven his ass for flirting with Tinley in front of my house.
“I wanted to meet Alex.” He shrugs, shouldering past me into the condo.
“Alex,” I call. “This is Deacon Black, my boss, and Brooks Morgan, a guy I work with.”
Brooks frowns at the lackluster introduction, but both men shake my son’s hand like he’s grown, neither mentioning the bruises on his face.
“And the reason for the visit?” I prod, a little agitated they’re invading my world when all I want to do is spend time with my family.
“Just swinging by before work,” Deacon says, eyeing the coffee pot on the counter with expectancy.
I head to the kitchen and pour Deacon a cup, smirking at Brooks when he looks affronted that I didn’t pour him one.
“Mugs are in the cabinet,” I say as I walk past him. His chuckle tickles my back, but I ignore it. “And how are things at work?”
“Same old, same old,” Deacon mutters as he takes a sip of coffee. “Wren is in the doghouse, or should I say bird house with Whitney. I think Puff and Simon’s little feud is taking a toll on their relationship. He texted this morning that he was moving into the office.”
I chuckle. Wren couldn’t stay away from his woman for a solid twenty-four hours, so I know better.
“Have they tried—” I begin.
“The bird? Like Puff Daddy?” Alex smiles wide. “Can I meet him?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Deacon says. “He’s absolutely disgusting.”
“He’s hilarious,” Alex counters.
“Who’s hilarious? Oh—” Tinley says as she walks in, stopping dead in her tracks when she realizes it’s not just Alex and me in the kitchen. “Umm, hi?”
Her arms go to cross over her chest, and I know it’s because she isn’t wearing a bra. It concerns me because the guys are here, but also tells me she doesn’t mind me seeing the outline of her nipples if she was going to walk out here with me in the room.
It proves we’re making little steps of progress, and any movement in the right direction makes the prospect of my day better.
“Tin, this is Deacon my boss and—”
“Mr. Morgan?”
Deacon drops his hand to his side when her attention goes to the man she’s already met.
Her eyes flash to mine, anger and betrayal clear on her face. Whatever progress we made just took a couple steps in the wrong direction.
“We were just talking about Alex meeting Puff Daddy,” Deacon offers.
“The bird?” Tinley says, her mouth a hard line because she’s always had trouble not speaking her mind in the moment. “Alex won’t stop talking about him.”
“Can I go meet him, Mom? Please?”
Tinley looks to me, and I give her a shrug.
“I think that’s fine,” she finally mutters, earning a whoop from our son.
“Looks like you’re coming with us, kid.”
Alex is overjoyed as he runs from the room to change and grab some shoes.
Thick tension fills the room, Tinley’s eyes darting between Brooks and me. She doesn’t open her mouth and demand an answer, and I’m certain it has to do with my boss being in the room. She doesn’t want to cause a scene because she’s concerned for how it will reflect on me, and that speaks to her character. God, I love this woman.
Alex is out in a flash, barely saying goodbye to us as they file out of the apartment.
“Coffee?” I ask when she just continues to glare at me.
“You work with that man?”
“I do.”
“So, he didn’t buy my house?”
“Technically he did, but I turned around and bought
