Page 98 of Steady Stroke
“Don’t.” He kissed Lincoln. “Mind if I shower first?”
The fatigue hanging off Emmett like a second skin kept Lincoln from protesting separate showers. “Go for it. I’ll wait here and plan all the ways I’m going to ravish you later.”
Emmett smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Instead of dwelling on that, Lincoln checked his phone for messages while Emmett left the room. Texts from Melody and Dominic, asking how the wedding went. He group-texted an update to both of them, plus Roxy, so she didn’t totally pounce on him when he got home. Then he played a game on his phone while he waited for the shower.
Hot water and shampoo hadn’t done much to reenergize Emmett. He slunk into the room and got dressed like an old man. Lincoln tried not to dwell on that too much while he took a quick shower. The weekend had probably worn him out. Anxiety attacks were stressful, plus all the driving. He just needed his own bed and a good night’s sleep.
Emmett wasn’t in their room, so Lincoln threw on shorts and a T-shirt before going downstairs. Zelda had breakfast going, and Lincoln helped himself to a mug of coffee. He tracked Emmett down to the living room, where Starr was watching something on TV. Emmett was staring in that direction from the couch, but seemed totally zoned out.
“You look like you want to go back to bed,” Lincoln said as he eased down next to him. “Coffee?”
“I’m okay.” Emmett leaned in so their shoulders touched. “Tired.”
“No kidding.”
“You up to driving home today?”
“You can’t.”
Lincoln shrugged. “I mean, technically I could, but we dorun the risk of vertigo causing us to crash, and I’d like to avoid anymore car wrecks for at least a few years.”
Emmett’s epic frown assured him that his attempt at humor had fallen totally flat. “I’m okay to drive, I promise. No more wrecks. Don’t even joke about that.”
“Okay, I’m sorry.” He squeezed Emmett’s knee, because both of his hands were tucked tight in his lap. “I shouldn’t joke about that stuff.”
“You’re right. It isn’t funny.”
Zelda called out that breakfast was ready. The TV went off and all three of them herded to the kitchen table for scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast. Emmett slowly choked down a few bites of egg and a single triangle of toast, and Lincoln wasn’t the only one to notice.
“You feeling all right this morning, sweetheart?” Zelda asked.
“Really tired,” Emmett replied. “Delayed reaction to yesterday’s stress. I’m just . . . ready to go home and rest.”
“I understand. Now if you aren’t up to driving today, you say the word. Robert will drive your car, and I’ll follow down in ours to retrieve him.”
“Oh my, no, you don’t have to do that. I’m fine to drive, I promise. But thank you for offering.”
“Of course. You’re dating one of my kids, so that makes you family.”
Lincoln’s chest swelled with pride at her words—not only being referred to as one of Zelda’s kids, but her complete acceptance of Emmett in their lives.
“Thank you,” Emmett said. His voice was rough, and Lincoln swore he was blinking back tears. He squeezed Emmett’s thigh beneath the table. Emmett met his gaze with his first real smile of the day. “You too.”
He kissed Emmett’s cheek. “I hover because I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Emmett seemed more energetic after breakfast. Definitely not his old self, but some of the fog had lifted, and they played board games with Starr until eleven. The drive south wasn’t too bad for a Sunday in July, since a lot of the weekenders were heading in the opposite direction. Traffic got worse once they hit the shore, and Emmett pulled up in front of Lincoln’s house a little after three.
“You want to come in for a bit?” Lincoln asked when Emmett left the engine idling.
“Not today. Honestly, Linc, all I want to do is faceplant in my bed until tomorrow.”
Lincoln wanted to point out that he could easily faceplant in Lincoln’s bed and sleep as long as he wanted, but something in Emmett’s eyes made him keep quiet. Emmett seemed almost desperate for some time apart, and Lincoln wasn’t such a jerk that he’d deny him that. Even couples needed alone time.
“Okay. Call me, though, if you need anything. Even just to talk.”
Emmett nodded, then leaned over the console to kiss him lightly on the mouth. “Thank you for this weekend. Despite the stress, I loved so many parts of it.”
