Page 73 of Unrivaled

“Seriously, again?” Grady asked.

Gru gave him a look like he was actually being quite restrained.

When they got back to the house, the kids were still in the pool, but Grady lured Gru to the bedroom with another treat and then figured,Fuck it. Gru didn’t know if Christmas was today or tomorrow, and besides, it wasn’t like Grady had only bought him one present. He pulled the brand-new Minions bed out of his suitcase and presented it to the dog. “What do you think, buddy?”

There was a loud laugh and a splash from outside, and Grady thought the jig might be up, but then Gru put tentative paws on the bed and curled up.

Success!

Grady gave him another treat and went back to the kitchen to investigate the dinner situation. “What smells so good in here?”

Linda clacked a pair of stainless steel tongs at him. “Fresh New Brunswick lobster.”

As if on cue, Grady’s stomach rumbled and his mouth watered. Suddenly he remembered that he’d skipped lunch. However—“Wait, you brought alive lobsteracross the border?”

Linda chuckled. “Oh, Grady, honey, don’t be silly.” She patted his shoulder and turned back to the stove. “We brought seven.”

Grady might weep with joy.

“Christmas Eve tradition,” Max told him. He and the kids had just come in from the pool. His nose was starting to turn red. “Grandpa was a lobster fisherman.”

What a great tradition, Grady thought. It had only been him and Jess for the past ten years, plus the occasional partner if one of them happened to be in a relationship. The first year after their parents died, Jess tried to make a full turkey dinner, but the bird was half burned and half raw and they ended up ordering Chinese. Grady thought it was kind of funny at the time, but that night he heard Jess crying in her room. For the next year, he spent his limited free time learning to cook so he could take care of Christmas dinner.

They still ordered Chinese every Christmas Eve, though.

Maybe he could convince her to switch to lobster.

“Grades? Hello?” Max waved a hand in front of his face. “Stop looking at my mom like you’re going to propose. You want a beer?”

“I just really like lobster,” Grady said, though he could feel himself flushing. He didn’t want to explain the direction his thoughts had gone. It would bring down the mood. “And yes, please.”

Miraculously, that was Grady’s only lapse of the evening. For the rest of the night, Max’s family kept him busy eating, laughing, and following their absurd sibling rituals. Before dinner, for example, Max and Logan had to arm wrestle for the kids’ benefit, because “My dad’s older, so he’s stronger.” Milo said this so matter-of-factly Grady had to tamp down on a laugh.

“But if they already know that, why do they arm wrestle?”

Carly rolled her eyes. “Because boys are stupid.”

“Carly,” Logan scolded.

“What? Aunt Nora said ‘fuck’—”

“And Aunt Nora’s in big trouble,” Tanya said. Nora nodded along, her expression a passable impression of remorse. “We don’t use that word. Try again.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Carly corrected, “Because boys are ridiculous.”

As Max fairly obviously threw the arm-wrestling match to make his brother look good in front of his kids, Grady couldn’t disagree.

At that point Big Max directed them to set the table, and everyone was too excited about food to dwell on the outcome.

Grady had never tasted a lobster so perfect—tender, juicy, flavorful. Thank God it came in a shell that made it impossible to shove the whole thing in his mouth, or he would have embarrassed himself. “Why is this so good?” he hissed to Max while he was cracking open a stubborn claw.

Max glanced up from his plate. A smile lurked at the corners of his eyes. “Same reason your omelet was.”

Oh, that asshole. “Youruined lobster for me,” Grady accused under his breath.

Max patted him on the thigh under the table. “Payback’s a b—a you-know-what.”

The two of them pulled dish duty after dinner, since everyone else had helped cook. Grady didn’t mind—there was a dishwasher for the plates and cutlery, and washing a few pots seemed like the least he could do. It might have felt strange if not for the time Max had spent at his place in November. Grady had gotten used to working with and around him in a kitchen.

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