Malachi swung around but said nothing. The silence seemed to arc between them, dangerous and electric, so many emotions charging over his brother’s usually closed face that Sol could barely keep up. But he recognised anger, and he recognised fear.
What the hell could ever make his big, tough brother afraid?
‘I think I prefer the Sol who just beds women and moves on,’ Malachi said at length. ‘You’re acting like a lost puppy. Anouk’s lost puppy, to be exact.’
But despite the way he bit out the words Sol knew his brother well enough to read that there was no malice behind them, and so he didn’t take offence.
‘Sod off.’ He stood slowly and deliberately, then sauntered over to the sideboard and selected another pastry. A show of nonchalance. ‘I’m no one’s puppy.’
‘Not usually, no.’ Malachi shrugged. ‘You’re usually fending them off with a stick.’
‘What? Puppies?’ Sol quipped.
‘Puppies, women, little old ladies.’ Malachi folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. ‘But I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way I saw you look at that one the night of the gala.’
‘Her name’s Anouk,’ Sol corrected instinctively, before realising that Malachi was baiting him. His brother knew her name perfectly well. He’d already used it several times.
‘And I didn’t look at her any particularly special way.’
Malachi twitched one eyebrow upwards, but said nothing.
‘No clever quip?’ Sol demanded when he couldn’t stand the heavy silence any longer.
‘I told you, not this time.’
Sol sized up his big brother. There was something odd about Malachi, and it came back to the fact that the guy was more on edge than usual.
‘What’s going on, Mal?’
‘Nothing.’
‘You’re being cagey.’
‘Not really.’ Mal dismissed it casually. Arguably a little too casually. ‘No more so than you, anyway.’
‘You’re kidding, right?’ Sol shook his head in disbelief.
‘Not particularly.’
‘Fine.’ Leaning back on the sideboard, Sol eyed his brother. ‘Time to tell me something I don’t know, Mal. If you’ve got the balls for it.’
And just like that, they were two kids again, and Sol was pressing his brother on where he’d been that first time he’d done a job for the Mullen brothers.
Just as he began to think it wasn’t going to work, Malachi opened his mouth.
‘I always thought a wife, a family, wasn’t for us. Not after everything with her.’ Sol didn’t answer; they both knew he meant their mother. ‘I always thought I’d done that bit. I’d endured that responsibility. I never wanted to do it again.’
‘But now?’ Sol prompted.
‘Lately... I don’t know.’ Malachi swung around from the window almost angrily. ‘Forget it. I’m just... Forget I said anything.’
In all these years, they hadn’t talked about what had happened. Or about feelings. They were the Gunn brothers. That wasn’t the way they handled their issues. But suddenly, something was different. Not Anouk, of course.
He told himself that would be taking it too far. But...something. Maybe a delayed reaction to hitting his thirties. The incident with Izzy and her family. The responsibility of the centre.
‘Are we capable of it, do you think, Mal?’
His brother frowned. ‘Of what?’