Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

She rolled onto her back and I propped my head on my arm.

“So cute.”

“If by cute, you mean gross, then yes.”

She laughed. “They’re not gross. They’re in love. That’s amazing.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s better than the alternative. Although I’ve seen an unhealthy number of butt grabs in my life.”

“You just don’t know how lucky you are. My parents were never affectionate around other people. Come to think of it, I have no idea if they were affectionate in private.”

“They made you.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean they were affectionate toward each other. I never saw them hug or kiss or anything like that. I definitely never saw my dad grab my mom’s butt.”

“You’re not missing anything.”

“I’m sure it would have grossed me out. But I kind of wish I had been grossed out.” She paused for a long moment. “It makes me wonder what their marriage was really like. So much of what I saw was just for show.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

A soft whine came from the other side of the door.

She laughed. “I guess we should let him back in.”

Strangely, I didn’t mind. There were some things her dog didn’t need to see, but I liked having that furball around.

We let him in and he hung out while we got ready for bed. And there was something about all of it that I really liked.

* * *

A wet dog nose in my face was not my favorite way to wake up. I didn’t know how he chose which one of us to torture in the early morning, but he seemed to pick one and leave the other alone. Unfortunately for me, today was my turn for the morning potty trip.

Actually, I didn’t mind too much. It would give Audrey a little extra sleep.

I grunted an acknowledgment that I was awake and peeled myself out of bed, careful not to wake her. Max jumped down, full of energy, and waited by the door while I used the bathroom and tugged on some sweats.

He followed me to the front door. I didn’t bother with shoes. His morning trips outside were always the same—a mad dash to the pee tree and right back inside.

But when I opened the door, he didn’t run for the tree in the middle of the front yard. He paused, ears perking like something had caught his attention. His nose lifted a few times as he sniffed the air. Then he took off at a run and disappeared around the side of the house.

“Damn it, Max.”

I followed. Thankfully when I turned the corner, I found him furiously sniffing the ground.

“What are you doing?”

I was still half asleep, so maybe that was why it took me a few seconds to notice the words on the side of the house.

You don’t see me.

Instantly awake and wary, I checked my surroundings. No sign of anyone but I still had the unsettled feeling of being watched. Max kept sniffing the ground and followed the scent toward the street in front of the house. He definitely smelled whoever had been there.

“Max, come.”

Amazingly, he obeyed. Or he wanted to sniff where the scent was strongest and that just happened to coincide with what I wanted him to do. Hard to tell, but at least he didn’t take off.