Page 66 of Covert Mission

“Two men are making their way to the porch.”

Oh, man. Seth’s gut clenched. He had a feeling he knew who his unannounced visitors were.

He went to the window and eased the curtain aside enough to identify the men. Yep, just like he thought. “It’s okay.” Not really. He hoped to avoid this. “They’re my brothers.”

“Where do you want to talk to them?”

“Kitchen.” Seth dragged a hand down his face. “We need coffee.”

Teagan headed toward the kitchen. “I’ll start a pot. Rayne needs coffee anyway for her shift.”

Rayne moved toward the stairs. “I’ll wait upstairs. Explaining Teagan’s presence is easier than explaining mine.”

A moment later, a heavy knock sounded on the door.

Seth steeled himself for the confrontation to come, then unlocked and opened his door. He stared at Oliver and Sebastien. “What are you doing here?” he demanded in a surly tone.

His brothers glared. “You inviting us in?” Oliver put his booted foot on the threshold to prevent Seth from slamming the door in their faces. “Or are we doing this on the porch in front of the neighbors?”

He paused as though considering his options, then opened the door wider and motioned them inside. “Kitchen.” Seth led the way into the heart of his home. His heart skipped a beat when Teagan turned from the counter to smile at him. In less than a minute, she’d given her hair the just-rolled-out-of-bed look and somehow came across as sultry and besotted with him. Who was he kidding? Teagan Paloni was flat out hot.

Oliver spotted Teagan first and came to an abrupt halt. Sebastian slipped into the room behind him. Both of Seth’s brothers stared.

Seth held out his hand to Teagan. “Baby, these are my brothers, Oliver and Sebastian. Guys, this is Teagan.”

“Wait.” Oliver turned. “This is your running partner?”

“That’s right.”

Sebastien was the first to recover from the shock. “It’s nice to meet you, Teagan. We were convinced Seth made you up since he never brought you home to introduce you to the family.”

She shook hands with both of his brothers. “It’s nice to meet you both. Please, have a seat. Coffee will be ready in a couple of minutes.”

The brothers sat at the table where Seth joined them. Sebastien frowned at Seth. “You want to do this with your running buddy in hearing distance?”

“She’s more than my running buddy. Teagan is mine.”

More staring from his brothers. “Since when?” Oliver demanded. “The last I heard, you hadn’t manned up enough to ask her for more than a coffee date after your runs.”

“I’ve been working on it for months.”

“Why haven’t you brought her to meet our parents?”

“No time. I’ve been busy.”

“That’s a lame excuse and you know it,” Sebastien snapped.

Teagan brought three mugs of coffee to the table and distributed them. She grabbed another bottle of water for herself and faced Seth. She looked at him, an unasked question in her eyes.

“Stay, babe,” he murmured and patted the empty chair beside his.

“This is a family discussion, Seth. It’s none of your girlfriend’s business,” Oliver said.

“She stays,” he said flatly. “My house, my rules. If you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”

“What’s with the attitude?” Oliver scowled at him.

“What do you expect when you show up at my house this late without calling? Teagan and I had plans.” Sleeping, but his brothers didn’t know that.

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