Page 25 of In Another Lifetime

Turning, I punched my code into my security system’s keypad, then I slipped my purse off my shoulder and turned to drop it on the console table near the door. I froze, staring. The small bowl where I usually tossed my keys was flipped upside down. The picture above it tilted crookedly on the nail that mounted it to the wall.

Any lingering arousal evaporated, and I pushed down my fear while I looked around. Nothing else seemed out of place. Nothing to pique my suspicions.

It had to just be Kale and his guys, letting me know they’d been here. My brother had made it clear I was getting more security installed. They must have been here already, and this was just the sort of thing one of them would do.

“Biter,” I muttered, shaking my head and fixing the items. The dish and the frame were completely his kind of mischief, and I’d bite his head off later from ruining my muzzy Dayton mood.

Fifteen

Vale

“You know this is cheating,” I teased Dayton as he set out the food he’d picked up at the deli today.

“It’s a classic, though. Build-your-own subs and salads. It gives us more time for a movie.”

“A movie?” We hadn’t talked about that.

“Oh dear God,” Brennon said, passing by the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and formal dining. Reaching across the countertop, he snagged one of the brownies I’d brought with me. “Day, if you suggest Netflix and Chill, I swear I will be so out or here and I will disown you forever.”

Dayton leveled an annoyed glare at his little brother. “Go pick a movie—and ask Vale if the one you choose is okay with her.”

“Vale wants Day After Tomorrow. It’s her favorite,” the teenager offered, naming the movie I’d often watched as a comfort film in the past. Heck when I needed a stress relief, it was still one of my go-to selections.

“It’s in my top five,” I replied. “I like San Andreas, too. Oh… and The Meg.”

“Not a chick flick fan?” Dayton asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. “The Rock and Jason Statham? It’s girl-porn. Come on.”

He smirked. “Porn, huh?”

“Red, red, red!” Brennan yelled from where he stood in front of the wall-mounted TV in the living room. “Back away! Innocent ears over here.”

Dayton and I chuckled, though his was more of an annoyed groan, and I turned away to get the plates from the cupboard over the coffeemaker. When I opened it, I stared inside blinking at a jumble of basic spices and unopened condiments.

“Looking for something?” Day asked.

“Uh…I was going to grab the plates. I… For some reason, I thought they were in here. Sorry. Not being nosy.”

He blinked at me, much as I must have blinked when I’d stared into the cupboard a moment earlier. Only…he looked a little more shell-shocked, and I knew I’d misstepped again.

“They…used to be there. Until… Well, I think I moved them sometime last year.”

“Well…” I shrugged, playing it off. “Not sure why I assumed they were there. So direct me the right way, and I’ll get them.”

Dayton pointed, and I grabbed three ceramic plates with a swirled pattern that I’d bought from Pottery Barn, once upon a time. Then I snagged the matching cutlery from the metal silverware basket on the counter and took everything to the dining table that Dayton and I had saved nearly a year to buy after we were first married—after he and Melonie had married, anyway.

Get a grip, Vale. This is now, and that was then. Things are going well. Don’t screw it up.

Blowing out a breath, I set the table while Dayton brought over the food.

“Next time, I’m cooking—for real,” I told him, offering it as a challenge. We hadn’t established there would be a next time, but we all seemed so easy with each other, so next time seemed possible.

He smirked. “Ah, my evil plan worked.”

Rolling my eyes at his teasing, I grabbed the lemonade I’d brought from the fridge. “Glasses?”

“Same place as always,” Brennan called.

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