Page 107 of Unbroken

I’d never been a paranoid person, but everything had changed. Now, it felt like he was constantly watching me, lining up his next shot behind his camera lens.

Tato nudged my hand hanging by my side, and I jumped a mile in the air. God, I needed to calm down.

“Let’s go, bud,” I said, waving him along as I walked toward the back door. He trotted by my side and stepped through the door just in front of me. He spotted Devon in the kitchen, and his tail immediately started wagging.

I understood the reaction because I, too, couldn’t contain my excitement. But rather than my tail wagging, I smiled.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, rounding the counter with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. He passed it to me, and I cupped the warm mug in both of my hands. Taking my first sip, I peered at Devon over the lip, but he was looking warily over my shoulder.

Cautiously, I spun around. Shelly was seated in a comfortable chair closest to the front door and only managed a tight-lipped smile in my direction. Farther into the room, Sydney was sitting atop the coffee table, smiling wide and greeting Tato with all the attention he desired.

Then a man stood from the couch, and I realized why both Devon and Shelly looked like they were in pain. He was about my height—almost six feet—and wore a wide smile as he stepped around the couch toward me.

His dark brown hair was messily styled, and thin, wire-framed glasses were poised on his nose. His smile didn’t falter as he stuck out his hand. “Hi, I’m Julian, Sydney’s boyfriend.”

My eyes nearly popped out of my head, but no matter how surprised I was, I couldn’t be rude. I shifted the coffee cup to one hand and shook his outstretched hand.

“Great,” Shelly said abruptly, pushing up from her chair. “Now that everyone’s here, we can eat.”

Her smile as she passed was not an expression she often wore. It was both uncomfortable and annoyed.

“Oh, please let me help, Ms. Graham,” Julian exclaimed. He followed her into the kitchen, and Sydney bounced over to me and Devon. Her excitement was intense, especially when I’d only had a sip of coffee on top of my four hours of sleep.

She clasped my free hand and squeezed it as she squealed. “Blake, isn’t he so cute?”

I put on my best faux smile and nodded. “Thecutest.”

Too enthralled by the introduction of her new boyfriend, she didn’t hear any sarcasm in my response, but Devon did. He coughed back a laugh behind me, and I shot him a warning look over my shoulder.

“I can’t wait for you to get to know him more. He’s so smart andsotalented.” She quickly bounced away, and I watched her bounce directly into Julian’s arms. He was talking Shelly’s ear off, but she was paying more attention to the quiche she was taking out of the oven.

In front of me, Devon’s feelings were uncharacteristically written all over his face. He glared at Julian with his arm still slung over his sister’s shoulder. I rolled my lips to suppress my smile and nudged his arm.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had to tell you this before, but control your facial expression, babe.” I chuckled and sipped my coffee. He’d made it perfectly—a sprinkle of brown sugar and a good amount of cream.

He shook his head and looked down at me, sipping from his own mug.

“I’m guessing neither of you knew he was coming?”

“No. This is thesurpriseshe was so excited to show me, us.”

I shrugged and scratched Tato’s head as he came to stand beside me. “He seems…nice,” I said, struggling for a word that could describe the man I’d only just met. “But he also seems a lot older than her.”

Devon gripped his mug so tightly, I was surprised it didn’t shatter in his hand. Trying to ease his frustration, I looped my hand around his elbow and leaned my head on his shoulder. I smiled when he visibly relaxed.

“He is. That’s a topic we haven’t discussed yet.”

“Something to look forward to.”

FORTY-EIGHT

Blakely

And the awardfor the most awkward breakfast in the entire world goes to…

Sydney stared at Julian like he hung the world, and Julian liked to talk.A lot.

Devon’s hand was permanently attached to my thigh, which he squeezed every time the couple said something that made him want to punch a wall. He ended up squeezing my thigh so much he was likely to leave a bruise.

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