Chapter 22

Being quiet in the kitchen in the morning was something Brady had had to get used to. Most days, he was up before his hosts, and he didn’t want to wake them as he went about making his coffee and grabbing a bagel or toast on his way out the door.

The morning after he’d had dinner with Noelle, he walked into the kitchen to see Rob there already, sipping some coffee with his robe on over his pajamas, staring at his phone, a groggy look on his face.

Studying him for a moment, Brady tried to figure out what was going on. “Good morning,” he said.

Rob looked up, his eyes bleary, and said, “Good morning. How are you this morning, Brady?” He stifled a yawn.

“I’m good,” Brady said, thinking that was truer that morning than most days. He was looking forward to his lunch meeting, getting on with the Christmas event planning, and of course seeing Noelle and Po