Take Me Home (The Heartbreak Brothers 1)

He leaned back, sizing her up. “Because we trauma bonded on Sunday. You don’t go through something like that without building a connection with someone.”

“We climbed over a couple of fences.”

“And nearly got mauled by a ferocious dog.” He took a sip of his coffee, raising an eyebrow.

“An incontinent dog who’s lost most of his teeth.”

“See.” A glint of amusement flashed in his eyes. “That’s scary shit.”

She laughed. Couldn’t help it. There was something about him that made it easy to breathe. He was a human oxygen machine, making her feel lighter than air. “Okay, so we’ve trauma bonded. Surely that means you should go easy on me.”

“I’ll go really easy on you.” His voice was sugary low. She could feel it on her teeth. “So why didn’t you tell me who you were?”

“Because you would have asked questions I didn’t want to answer.”

“Cute.” He grinned again. “Let me guess. You thought I’d ask about your sister?”

She tightened her hold on her mug. “Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t need to know about Ash. I’m pretty sure she’s married with kids. Probably living in a huge house a few miles away from here. She volunteers at her kids’ school, maybe for a well-chosen charity or two – nothing controversial. And she spends every Friday at the salon getting ready for date night with her husband.”

Maddie frowned. “How do you know? Have you been asking other people about her?”

“Nope.” Gray leaned back, folding his arms across his chest. She tried to ignore the way his biceps flexed as he did it. “It’s what she always wanted. And Ash always gets what she wants.”

Except you. Maddie blinked at the thought. “I guess that’s not what you wanted.”

He shook his head. “I’m not a small town kind of guy.”

There was no arguing with that. Gray Hartson didn’t belong around here. He was too talented, too good looking, too… everything. He seemed to dwarf everything and everyone he came into contact with.

“So why are you here?” she asked him.

“When dad got sick, Becca asked me to come. So I stopped in on my way home to L.A.”

“Will you be leaving soon?”

He shook his head. “Not that soon.” He looked down at his cup, ran his finger around the rim. “I’m staying in town for a while.”

“How long?” Her chest tightened. She couldn’t quite work out why. Was it fear, excitement, nervousness? All of them seemed to rush through her in a heady cocktail.

Fear because him staying here meant change. It meant he and Ashleigh would see one another again and even though Ash was married, she’d probably entrance him.

Excitement because being close to Gray was like hanging upside down on a gravity-defying rollercoaster. It made her heart race and her blood pump in a way she’d never felt before.

And nervousness? Well she didn’t like feeling out of control. She’d tried that before and fallen low, low, low.

“For a couple of months. Long enough to work on some new songs and help fix up the old house. It needs new pipes and a new roof. I thought I’d help out.”

“Help out how?” Maddie asked. “You gonna supervise the contractors?”

“I’m going to do it myself.” He ran the tip of his tongue across his bottom lip, capturing a bead of coffee.

She had to press her lips together not to laugh. “Yourself?” She tried to imagine it. Grammy award winning Gray Hartson on his childhood home’s old broken roof, a tool belt around his waist… If she took that photo she’d make enough money to pay for her mom’s medications for the rest of their lives. “Why?”

“Dad won’t let anybody else do it. You know what he’s like.” Gray shrugged.

“Have you ever renovated a house before?” she asked him.