Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Coulter stood near the grill, taking a sip of his ice-cold beer and doing his damnedest not to look to his right. If he did, he’d see Alex through the sliding glass door. And if he caught sight of her gorgeous face again, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control the expression on his.
“How’s work?”
His carefully controlled gaze turned to his left as Garrett flipped another burger with ease. “It’s good.” He shrugged. “You know . . . it’s work.”
Two weeks of prepping and planning with your boss, his daughter, and a handful of people in the CIA.
An eruption of laughter drew Coulter’s attention to the far end of the paved patio where the rest of Garrett’s team were sitting.
From what he could see from here, it appeared as though Beckett Stone and Ethan McAllister—aka, Bones and Apollo, respectively—were laughing at something Digger—aka Slade Garrison—had just said.
“How long are you home this time?” Garrett continued eyeing the steaming patties of beef.
“Depends.” Coulter took another sip with a shrug. “This next deal should go through soon, but it’s local, so I’ll be here for the next few days, at least.”
And by “deal” he meant the fictitious sale of the equally fictitious Brittney Owens, which would hopefully result in the arrest and prosecution of one Gordan Fitzgerald Crawford.
“Good.” Garrett nodded.
He sent a set of overly exaggerated puppy dog eyes his brother’s way. “Aww . . . you really do love me, don’t you?”
“Didn’t say that.” The other man smirked. “But it is a lot more fun when you’re here.”
“No shit, it’s more fun. Helloooo . . .” Coulter spread his arms out wide. “What could be more fun than this?”
A bark of deep laughter shook his brother’s broad shoulders as Garrett rolled his eyes with a grin. “You really are an idiot.”
“Hey, don’t be jealous. It’s not my fault I got all the good genes.”
“Whatever, dick.” Garrett started transferring the burgers from the grill to a nearby platter. “If you’re so much better lookin’ than me, how is it I’m the one who ended up with Avery?”
Coulter smiled, remembering when he and his brother first met the sweet woman while on a cruise ship to the Bahamas.
“Don’t fool yourself, bro,” he continued teasing, “If I’d wanted Avery back then, I totally could’ve had her.”
They both knew it was a lie. From the second they’d said hello, Avery’s eyes had only ever been for Garrett.
His brother snorted. “M’kay. You just keep tellin’ yourself that, bro.”
“Okay, fine. The truth is I felt sorry for you that day, so I decided to take myself out of the equation.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
“Am I?”
Garrett picked up the platter of cooked burgers with a wide grin. “Why don’t we go find Avery and ask her?”
His brother started toward the house, but Coulter hurried to catch up before stepping directly into his path.
“You know, there’s really no need to bother Aves with this.” He mirrored Garrett’s attempt to move past. “She’s busy getting stuff ready to bring out here, plus she’s in there with the girls. And you know how they can be when they’re in the middle of one of their gossip sessions.”
Garrett’s knowing gaze immediately filled with humor. “That’s what I thought.” He made a sharp left turn instead and headed for the large outdoor table.
The relief Coulter felt had nothing to do with his sister-in-law. Avery would have laughed, too, because his brother was right.
He was full of shit. He knew it. Garrett knew it. Hell, everyone at this party knew it.
Coulter was the proverbial class clown. The immature one of the bunch. The guy always cracking jokes and poking fun.
What they didn’t know about, what he’d kept well-hidden, was the darkness lying just below the surface. The pieces of himself he kept reserved for a job none of them knew he had.
“Burgers are done!” his brother announced loudly.
The table was surrounded within minutes.
“I gotta say, Falcon . . .” Bones swallowed the rest of his bite before finishing his sentence. “This is a pretty damn good burger.”
Garrett grinned proudly from his seat across the table from the other man. “Glad you like it.”
“He’s right, babe.” Avery sent her husband a smile. “These are probably your best yet.”
Coulter nodded, adding a sincere, “I’m with her.”
Several others jumped in to offer their own words of approval. A moment later, the conversation fell to a low hum.
Coulter and those around him took their time enjoying the food and time with friends. On the outside, he probably looked as though he were totally relaxed and stress-free. But on the inside, he was filled with knots of his own making.
Alex had yet to look his direction or acknowledge his presence in any way. He, of course, had noticed the very moment she’d arrived.
Her aversion to him wasn’t altogether unexpected, but that didn’t make it suck any less. She’d asked for one night, and like a dumbass, he’d been more than happy to agree.
Since then, Coulter had all but convinced himself that he was fine. That he’d moved on. Put his memories from that night firmly in the rearview.
There was only one problem with that little theory.
I’m even more obsessed than before.
“Hey, Colt,” Ethan “Apollo” McAllister called out to him from a few seats down. “Where’d your last job take you? You get to go anywhere cool?”
“Nah.” He shook his head. “I was just in L.A.”
It wasn’t until Avery piped in with a slightly high-pitched, “L.A.? I didn’t know that’s where you’ve been working.” She leaned forward, looking at him from across Garrett, who sat between them. “When were you there? Alex was just in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago.”
Shit, shit, shit.
He couldn’t help but slide his gaze Alex’s way. “You don’t say?”
From over her sister’s head, Alex’s dark gaze narrowed with a warning stare.
Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ve got you.
“Oh, I just got back.” Coulter stuck with a vague version of the truth. “That job’s on-going, but in the meantime, there’s some work-related stuff I need to take care of here in Charlotte.”
“How funny would it have been if the two of you ran into each other while you were there?”
All eyes went to Evie Stone, whose dimples had deepened with her sweet-as-pie smile.
“L.A.’s a big place, darlin’.” Bones sent his wife a wink and a grin. “Even if they had been there at the same time, the odds of them bumping into one another are . . .”
When his voice trailed off, Digger’s deep rumble sounded from the table’s opposite end. “I bet if my wife were here, she could give you the actual numbers.”
“Yeah, where is Shadow, anyway?” Coulter swerved the group’s attention to another topic altogether.
He wasn’t asking for himself. He knew exactly where the team’s technical analyst was and what she was doing. Not that he planned to share this knowledge with the others.
One slip-up’s enough for one night, don’t you think?
He took a long swig of his beer as Digger responded with Shadow’s presumed cover story.
“She’s at the office running something down for Owens.” The muscular man explained. “Before she left the house, she mentioned doing research for a possible upcoming op.”
“Possible?” Bones’ brows dipped inward. “So she’s what? Gathering intel to see if it’s worth our time?”
“You know as much as I do, brother.” Digger shrugged before turning his attention to their hosts. “She said to tell you guys sorry she had to miss.”
“It’s okay.” Avery smiled. “I’ve been around long enough to know how unpredictable y’all’s schedules can be. Speaking of which . . .” She turned to Garrett. “Should we go ahead and tell them now or wait?”
Coulter watched his brother closely, wondering what the two had up their sleeves.
Garrett chuckled. “Don’t think we have much of a choice now that you’ve already brought it up.”
“Brought up what?” Evie eyed the couple across from her. “What’s going on?”
Apollo chimed in before Garrett had time to respond. “Yeah, Falcon. What’s up?”
“Told ya.” Garrett sent his sweet wife a knowing smile.
“You’d better not be thinking of quitting the team,” Apollo growled.
At the same time, Coulter slapped his brother’s upper arm. “Dude, seriously. Just tell us, already.”
He looked to Alex whose head was down.
She knows.
Whatever it was they weren’t saying, he’d bet money Alex already knew.
Garrett chuckled. “Well if y’all will give me a chance to speak, I will.” To Avery, he said, “Actually, you should be the one to do it.”
“It’s okay. You can tell them.”
Coulter groaned, his eyes rolling in an overly exaggerated motion. “For the love of—”
“Okay, okay, okay,” his sister-in-law interjected, waving her hands in the air with a giggle. Sharing another sideways glance with Garrett, she drew in a deep breath before letting it out in a rush. “I’m pregnant,” Avery announced with glee. “Garrett and I are going to have a baby.”
The entire table erupted as everyone jumped to their feet and cheered. Everyone except Coulter—who was still trying to catch his breath at hearing the awesome news—and Alex, who slowly turned her stunning gaze his way.
With everyone’s attention on the newly expectant couple, he used the stolen moment to take her in. Two weeks had felt like two lifetimes to him, and he couldn’t help but stare.
She looked good. Better than good. The woman could wear a burlap sack, and he’d still get hard as a freaking hammer.
But it was a warm, sunny day, and instead of a sack, she’d worn a tank top and shorts. The shirt was white and tight. The denim shorts were fringed at the hem. A few well-placed holes showed hints of bare skin he knew for a fact was smooth as silk.
“So?”
Coulter blinked as Garrett blocked his view.
“Sorry, what?”
His brother grinned from ear to ear. “I said, what do you think about being an uncle?”
“It’s awesome, man.” He stood and gave his only sibling a tight hug. “Seriously. This is great.” He slapped Garrett’s back. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, man. We’re really happy, too.”
They’d barely separated when Avery rushed in for a hug of her own.
“Can you believe it, Uncle Colt?” She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed.