Darby woke up with Harry standing on her chest like he did every morning. His high-pitched meowing was especially annoying today. She was too tired for his shenanigans. She rolled him off her and on to the floor, when she realized that she smelled coffee and there was someone in the kitchen, humming - a man, humming in her kitchen? She looked over at the other side of the bed and a tidal wave of memories of last night came flooding in. She sat straight up and realized Devon was not in bed. Oh my God, where is he? In a panic she went flying down the hall, but made a u-turn back into the kitchen where the most beautiful man was humming and cooking - making pancakes. It was Devon and he looked fine – fabulous even. She ran to him, not thinking about how she looked, just so absolutely thrilled to see him alive, thriving and gorgeous. She hugged him like she hadn’t seen him in years and her eyes started to well up.
“Oh my God, you’re okay. I was so worried. Are you okay? Are you...” she stopped speaking and hugged him again.
“It’s okay, I’m fine. Apparently I had a very skilled nurse at my side all night,” he said and smiled slyly.
Her expression was that of utter shock. Then another realization hit her. His hair was wet. He’d taken a shower. “Oh my God, you took a shower?”
Now his smile turned to surprised confusion as one eyebrow lifted towards her. “Was I not supposed to?”
“Of course, I mean, no, I mean your wounds, they’re too deep - you could get a really bad infection. Take your shirt off, let me see,” she demanded.
Both eyebrows rose now, in amusement, as he said, “But can’t you wait? I’m making pancakes.”
“Ha! Ha! You and your brother should go on the road with that comedy act! Now take off your shirt!”
“You are even more beautiful when you’re demanding.” Realizing she wasn’t going to budge on the subject, he added, “You won’t like what you see.”
He pulled the t-shirt off. This gorgeous man, trying to make pancakes, was standing there with barely any evidence of having been shot by a crossbow just 12 hours before. A tiny purple indent was visible, but it was hardly noticed after she saw his flat six-pack stomach and broad chest. He must have enormous upper body strength as his biceps and pecs were perfect specimens. He was as flawless as a stone sculpture.
When she came to, after gawking, she shook her head in disbelief. “But...that’s...umm...how did...uhh.” She plopped down into the kitchen chair, bewildered. “I need coffee,” she finally said.
Devon turned and threw the burning pancake in the trash. He opened the cabinet and got a cup and poured some coffee for her. She stood up and grabbed the handle of the refrigerator and pulled out the fat free creamer. Sitting back down in front of her coffee, she added the creamer. Every so often she looked up at him and his flawless chest in disbelief.
He grabbed his t-shirt and gestured to her. “Do you mind if I put my shirt back on now?” he said, smiling. She nodded with a tinge of regret.
“I know there are some things I need to explain to you, but we don’t have to do that right now. There are a few things I’d like to know too, but let’s just enjoy this moment. Have some pancakes – you do like pancakes, don’t you?” he asked, concerned all of sudden.
“Umm…yeah, I mean, who doesn’t like pancakes? Right?!” she said, still trying to shake off her bewilderment. “But you might want to make a whole lot more as we have visitors.” She pointed towards the front room. He looked confused now. “It seems that the girl your brother met and the guy my sister met, are one in the same, and they are presently in the front bedroom sleeping – maybe. It’s been a very eventful twenty-four hours.”
“I’ll say!” he agreed.
He finished making about a gazillion pancakes and sat down with a cup of coffee of his own. He gave her that smile – the one he and his brother shared – the one that would ultimately get them anything they desired.
“I was thinking,” he began. He pointed to the front room and made a circle motion and continued after he took a sip of coffee, “that all of us should go up to Halfmoon Bay today, sit on the beach and hash all this out. It seems all four of us are involved now. If my brother has half the feelings for your sister that I do for you, then I think we should all be honest with each other. After that, if they want to stay or go they can do so. I was hoping though, maybe if you still wanted to, after our conversation that is, we could go out on the date we were cheated out of last night.”
She smiled and said, “But shouldn’t someone stay here and watch for the software engineer slayers?”
He started to laugh. “Software engineer slayers? What the heck is that?”
“Well, your brother and I talked a bit after you were injured, and he was very adamant about not telling me anything about you, him, or your family. In an attempt to understand what he was telling me and not telling me, we...I...well, maybe he better explain. Either way, shouldn’t we be on the look out for Terrence Paine and his men?” she said.
“Wow, I’m not even sure how to respond to that. You seem to know a lot, and nothing at all, all at the same time. I’ll tell you what, I will talk to my brother, and find out how much your sister knows and how much you know, then we will all get together so that everybody knows the same information, okay?”
“Oh, thank God, because if I had to go through another round of Pooba Paine, the Van Helsing guy, and the other software engineer slayers, I don’t think I would survive.”
Looking extremely entertained and perplexed, he agreed, “I’m confused just hearing that part; no wonder you’re confused. As for Terrence Paine, I don’t think we will hear from or see anything from him or his goons for at least a few days, so a one day reprieve should be okay.”
Then, suddenly serious, he looked at her and said, “I just hope when you know the truth, you will still want to be a part of our lives, because after the last couple of days I just can’t imagine anyone else being by my side.”
She swooned and blushed and smiled all at the same time. “After the last few days, I don’t think there is anything in heaven, on earth, or even the netherworld that could keep me away from you,” she said.
He beamed and his glorious, heartbreaking smile was as bright as the sun.
“Okay then, I’ll feed Harry and take a shower. You go wake the lovebirds, talk to your brother, and we’ll see if we are all in agreement about Halfmoon Bay. Okay?”
“Sounds like a plan.”