Page 12 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

Brock’s finger traced the marble pattern on the quartz counter. “What if she says no?”

Liam withheld the sigh. Were teenage boys always this fearful? Liam may have hated those days, but he’d also had a chip on his shoulder when he’d been a teen. But in Brock’s defense, the boy’s father was an ass. He’d belittled Brock for so long, the poor kid was just learning what it was like to have a support team.

“What if she says yes?” Liam countered without looking up. “What if you guys go out and you have the best time and she wants to see you again?”

“I have no clue,” Brock snorted. “I’m still working on the first date and you’ve already got me on the second.”

Liam laughed and reached for the bowl of flour. Spreading a light coating onto his rolling pin, he eyed Brock. “Have you always been this nervous about asking a girl out?”

Brock’s bright eyes drifted to the floor. He gave a slight shrug. “I’ve never asked a girl out before.”

Well, great. Nothing like making him feel even more insecure. Brock had been living with Zach and Sophie for a year and Liam had been in Savannah for the majority of that time. He’d just assumed Brock would’ve gone out and had more of a social life. Perhaps they were more alike than Liam first thought.

“I mean, I’ve been with groups and we’ve done stuff, but I’ve never flat-out asked a girl to go on a date.”

This was a total game changer. Setting his rolling pin on the counter, Liam rested his hands on the surface and leaned forward. “Listen, when you ask her make sure you are confident. Even if you have to fake it.”

Brock blew out a sigh and came to his feet. “Why do guys always have to do the asking?” he muttered as he searched the cabinet for food. He ended up grabbing a bag of BBQ chips and settled back down on his stool.

“I know of women who ask guys out.” Liam was leaving it at that because his ex had found it rather easy to ask quite a few guys out while they were still together. “But if you ask, that shows you’re taking charge and confident.”

Brock shoved a handful of chips in his mouth. Liam watched as the crumbs fell onto the counter. “Um . . . I’m working here.”

With a mouthful, Brock stopped chewing, muttered an apology, and swiped the crumbs onto the floor.

“Great. I needed you to sweep and mop today anyway,” Zach stated as he entered the kitchen, the screen door slamming at his back.

Brock groaned and took his bag of chips to the other side of the kitchen, thankfully away from the dough. The last thing Liam needed was a BBQ-flavored Danish. He turned to the industrial-sized stainless steel refrigerator and pulled out the container of filling he’d mixed up earlier.

“So what’s this about Macy spending the night at your place?”

Liam nearly dropped the bowl, but managed to get it onto the counter before turning to glare at Zach. Damn it. With a crooked grin and a quirked brow, his brother leaned against the island. Whatever the hell Zach was trying to start, Liam needed to put a stop to it. The last thing he needed was damn gossip spreading about what he and Macy definitely were not doing.

“You told me you shouldn’t give advice on women and you had one sleep over last night?” Brock accused, suddenly not concerned about shoveling in the chips.

Zach glanced between the two. “You went to him for advice?”

And this was just one of the many reasons Liam missed his job in Savannah. The large, posh restaurant had so many employees and they were so swamped, nobody had time to stand around and chitchat like teenage girls. Besides that, nobody cared. He’d always done his job and gone home. End of story.

Now that he was back, suddenly everyone wanted to know about his business . . . and his overnight guest, which sounded so much more interesting than what truly happened.

Liam jerked the sealed lid off the filling. “She came by the store late last night to do some work, she got a migraine, and couldn’t drive. That’s all.”

Brock snorted in disbelief.

“Don’t you have floors to clean?” Liam growled.

“They’re not going anywhere.”

Yeah, Brock fit in perfect in the family with his quick wit and snarky comebacks. Damn if Liam wasn’t proud that the kid felt so at home here he could just be himself.

But Zach wasn’t easing up. He continued to stare, waiting on more of an explanation. Damn nosy family. And Liam loved them. He couldn’t help but love this crazy bunch—he just wished he had some privacy.

“You can stand there all day,” Liam told his brother. “But that’s the entire story. How did you know, anyway?”

“Ran by Knobs and Knockers earlier. I asked Macy if she was feeling all right. She just didn’t seem like herself.”

Liam scooped the filling onto the dough. Stubborn woman was going to make herself worse if she didn’t slow down. How did she expect to keep going when she was clearly burning both ends of the day trying to prove she could handle the store? She could more than handle it or her father wouldn’t have entrusted it to her. But she was determined to kill herself to prove a point.

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