Shatter (Unbreakable Bonds 2)

“Better load up on those carbs,” Jordan muttered as he leaned in close. “He may be an old guy, but he looks like he works out.”

“He’s seven years older than me, so he’s not an old guy.”

“Hell, Jude, you’re an old guy to me.” He wiggled around him, bumped him away from the stove with his hip, and grabbed the entire pan of mac and cheese. “She hardly ever makes this. Says the cheese is too expensive. So this can be my meal.”

“Hell if it is!” Carrick reached around him and grabbed the pan.

“Boys,” Rebecca gave them a sweet smile and stepped between them. She flipped her hair over one shoulder and reached for the tub that Jordan gave up to her with a dumb grin. She winked at Jude and carried the dish to the table. “I think Dr. Frost didn’t get any of this.” She put it on a potholder on the table. “Trust me, doc, you want some of this.”

“You’re a doctor?” Anna asked, her tone squeaky.

“I introduced him as Dr. Frost,” Jude said. “Were you not paying attention?”

“Sorry.” His mother didn’t in the least look sorry. “I was just shocked that you brought someone home. You haven’t since Brian and that’s been years.”

“Oh God,” he muttered as Carrick snickered behind him. Jude hurriedly filled his plate and walked to sit in the chair on the other side of Snow. “Snow doesn’t want to hear about Brian, Mana.”

“I don’t?” Snow asked before taking a bite of the macaroni and cheese Anna had just dished onto his plate. His eyes went wide as he looked down at the next forkful of mac and cheese. “This is something else. I have this friend, a chef. He has a restaurant and I bet he’d love to know about this.”

“Is he as pretty as you?” his mom asked.

Snow grinned. “Way prettier.”

She narrowed her eyes and grinned. “If he’s pretty enough, I might share my mana’s recipe.”

“So… Brian?” Snow glanced at Jude, then back at his mother.

“He was pretty, too. But not so nice.”

“Mana,” Jude growled. “Brian has been out of the picture a long time. He’s not important now.”

“But he was,” she insisted. “You lived with him for three years. Don’t you think your current partner should know about past ones?”

Snow choked on his food.

Jude patted him on the back, but he couldn’t help but laugh. “We aren’t partners—we’re just… hanging out.”

“Oh, I can see that it’s more than that already.” She nodded at Rebecca who sat down next to Jude. Carrick and Jordan followed and for a moment, there was only the sound of forks hitting plates and the clack of Jordan’s utensil also hitting his braces. And Snow’s choking.

Jude winced.

“So Rebecca, have you ever thought about surrogate parenting?”

This time, Jude choked on his food. So did Rebecca.

Anna winked at Snow and this time, when that gorgeous, throaty laugh spilled from his mouth, his head was back, his neck stretched into a long, sinuous line, and Jude wanted his mouth on the man so badly, he began to eat faster. The doc knew she was messing with them, but if he knew the underlying seriousness of the question, he wouldn’t have been laughing so hard.

Still, the rest of the dinner passed with lots of chatter and teasing. Luckily, it moved to Carrick, who had apparently picked up Rebecca for the meal. And Jude suspected the one who’d given her the huge hickey. After he left to take her home, Jude touched Snow’s shoulder, loving when the light blue eyes turned to him. “Do you mind waiting for me to help clean up the kitchen?”

“Not at all. I’ll help.”

“You’ll do no such thing. Guests do not do dishes in my home.” Anna stood up and hurried to the single serve coffee maker Carrick had bought her for Christmas the year before. She loved the thing more than anything else in her house and had an entire drawer filled with different coffees, teas and cocoas. “How do you like your coffee? Are you a coffee drinker, doctor?”

“You can call me Snow. I love coffee. The strongest blend you have. Black. But only if you join me.”

“Is Snow a family name?” She chose a coffee serving and put it into the machine, then turned to lean on the counter.

Snow shook his head. “Nickname. My name is Ashton, but my hair started going gray when I was in my twenties while still in the army. The other guys gave me a hard time about it and gave me the nickname. It stuck. The only person who still calls me Ashton most of the time is my best friend.”

“Ashton is a lovely name.”

“Psst!”

Jude dragged his gaze away from Snow and blinked at his youngest brother.

“You know she’s already picking out baby names,” Jordan muttered around the food he was still shoveling in at a steady pace. He glanced up at Jude. “You are so screwed.” His laughter said a lot about how much he loved the idea.