Page 72 of Unrivaled

“I’m being serious.”

If Grady was the only one who could end up in a friends-with-benefits arrangement with a guy he regularly referred to as Shithead, Jess was the only one who could complain about a woman being nice to her. “Is she, like, Canadian nice, or Minnesota nice?”

Jess groaned. “I don’t know, Grades. She made me a hot chocolate and put my hair in a crown braid. It looks awesome.”

Grady didn’t see the problem. “Is that weird?”

“It is when it’s your ex’s girlfriend!”

“She probably wants you to like her. You and Amanda were always close.”

Jess blew out a long breath. “I guess. I just wish she’d be annoying and unlikable. And ugly.”

Under the circumstances, Grady decided not to point out she’d barely even mentioned Amanda, the love of her life. Let Jess realize she could finally get over it in her own time. “Gosh. Stuck in a ski chalet with two people who are nice and easy to get along with. How will you ever survive?”

She blew a raspberry. “You’re the worst.” And then, predictably, changed the subject. “How’s Florida?”

“Hot. Loud. Chaotic.” Like Max, really. “It’s like being on vacation with a hockey team.”

“Hopefully it smells better.”

There was a shout and a loud splash from outside, and Grady glanced out the bedroom window into the yard. “I gotta go. Shithead’s niece and nephew just pushed him into the pool.”

“You weren’t kidding about the hockey team thing. All right, I’ll talk to you later, Grades. Have fun.”

“Don’t let anyone be too nice.”

He was tucking his phone back into his pocket when Max came in. He must have left his T-shirt and jeans outside to avoid tracking water through the house, because he was wearing only boxers and a towel slung around his neck, and he was still dripping wet.

“So the kids are definitely Lockharts,” Grady said, slightly later than he should’ve because he was having trouble keeping his eyes on Max’s face.

Max threw the towel at him. “Careful or you’re next.” He gave Grady a once-over, his gaze lingering on Grady’s crotch. “Want to help me shower off the chlorine?”

CHRISTMAS EVEunfolded in a flurry of activity. Grady couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent a holiday with so much to do.

He and Max exchanged hot, sloppy hand jobs in the shower. Max came when Grady bit the side of his neck, spurting hot and slick over Grady’s fingers. Grady followed right after him, head spinning.

They spent the next few minutes drying off and unpacking, and then Logan asked Max to watch the kids in the pool while the others prepared dinner. That lasted a few minutes until Nora let Gru outside and he tried to launch himself into the water.

In a flash, Max stood up, cursing, and intercepted the dog with an arm around his middle. Gru yelped and struggled, frantic to get into the pool. “Nora!”

“Fuck! Sorry!” Nora slid the door open again and Max deposited Gru back on the other side of the glass.

Grady glanced at the kids—both in the shallow end, both gaping at their aunt, wide-eyed. “Aunt Nora!”

“I mean fudge!” Nora said. “Sorry.”

Max closed the door again, but Gru just sat on the floor, barking his head off.

Grady kept his eyes on the kids as he asked, “What’s his problem?”

Max sighed. “We’re not sure. Either he has severe FOMO, or he’s convinced that any human in a body of water is drowning and he has to rescue them. Either way, Gru plus swimming equals claw marks.”

Poor Gru did seem distressed, from the sounds he was making. “That’s… sweet but inconvenient. You want me to take him for a walk around the block? Maybe he’ll forget about it.”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

It took a handful of treats to get Gru to leave the house, but once they did, he was happy enough to sniff along the sidewalk and pee on every third bush.

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