Retired rugby player in relationship with retired American Marine.

As headlines went, Gray didn’t mind the one greeting him when he opened the link Hamish and Wyatt had both gleefully emailed to him. Fucksticks. Caddock’s solicitor appeared to have made at least a small impression on the papers. The article was far kinder and less sensationalised than all the ones before it had been.

Of all the rugby players, Caddock had the least tolerance for the press. He’d apparently worked hard to shut them down when they’d begun to follow his young nephew around at school. It was easy to understand why the man refused to play games with journalists.

He was on his second cup of coffee when a timid knock had him going to answer the door. “Alice. Alex. Up early this morning, I see.”

The twins shuffled a bit before stepping into the cottage. They made their way into the kitchen, sitting on the stools around the island. He smiled at the two whispering together while he started to make breakfast.

“Beard guy?”

Gray glanced over his shoulder to find Alex had bravely stepped over to him. “Triangle toast this morning?”

“Yes.” Alex nodded repeatedly. Both twins preferred their bread cut into triangles; they liked square edges on things. “Are you okay?”

Gray blinked at the question that he’d barely heard, what with Alex whispering it with his head down. “I’m fine.”

“Sure?” Alice darted over to stand beside her brother, identical looks of concern in their pale blue eyes. “It’s okay to be not all right.”

Gray turned away from the stove to stare at the twins. “Did you two read the article about Scottie and me this morning?”

“Maybe,” Alice said while her brother nodded yes again.

Before he could address the twins’ concerns, another knock on the door interrupted. Scottie wandered by to answer it—dressed in his jeans and one of Gray’s USMC T-shirts. He returned to the kitchen a few seconds later with his brother, Silus.

“It’s the wonder twins.” Silus waved at the two blonds before grinning cheerfully at Gray, who gave a sigh of resignation before pointing him toward one of the empty stools. His smile widened with the offer of breakfast. “I’m a university student. I never say no to free food.”

Gray put Alex in charge of the toast while Scottie poured coffees for everyone—except Alice, who wanted tea. He wondered in amusement when he’d adopted three grown-up children. “We’re having bacon, sausage, and a mushroom and Fontina frittata. Any complaints?”

Four heads shook in unison to give him his answer. It was clear from the hushed conversation between the brothers that Silus had seen the article as well. He’d apparently gone to Scottie’s flat first, then to Gray’s cottage when he couldn’t reach either of them on their phones.

“I told you to turn your phone on.” Gray chose to ignore the fact that he’d left his off as well. “We’ll be overrun with people by the time I’m done with breakfast. You better put more coffee on the pot and hand me some more bacon.”

In the short time it took him to get the frittata in the oven, Gray’s prediction proved to be accurate. Even though they’d immediately turned their phones back on, many of their friends dropped in to check on them. Only the ones who’d known about the article beforehand stayed away.

The majority of them left relatively quickly to get to work, though they all managed to steal food on their way out. Aled and Wyatt chose to stay to eat breakfast with them. Gray grumbled but had to admit the show of solidarity touched him. Alice and Alex disappeared into the garden with their plates, overwhelmed by all the unexpected interruptions; the autistic twins didn’t handle changes to their normal routine well.

How the hell has breakfast with me become part of their routine?

“Tell the A-team to meet me in my greenhouse whenever they're ready.” Aled thanked Gray for breakfast and dragged his husband out of the cottage. “No rush, though. I’m sure they’ll need some time to calm their nerves.”

“I’m going to be late for class.” Silus stole the last piece of toast and frittata from Scottie’s plate. He dodged his brother, who made a grab for his breakfast, and raced for the door. “Thanks for the food.”

“We’ll do the dishes.” Alice reappeared with her brother close behind. She picked uneasily at the dishrag in her hand for a minute. “Are we in the way? We can leave.”

Gray’s brow furrowed at the obviously uneasy twenty-year-olds. “You’re both welcome in my cottage any fucking time of the day or night.”

“Maybe not when we’re actually fucking, though.” Scottie leaned forward to whisper in his ear so only Gray could hear him.

Gray placed his hand over Scottie’s face and shoved him out of the kitchen while the twins giggled behind him. “Go get changed.”

“Beard guy?”

After Scottie disappeared down the hall, Gray spent several minutes alleviating the concerns of the two autistics. He wanted them to feel welcome in his home. They eventually settled down, but still insisted on doing the dishes for him.

Running late himself, Gray joined Scottie in the shower. He barely had enough time to actually wash and change. The twins had cleaned up and left when they returned to the kitchen.

When Gray arrived at Ruck, he gratefully accepted the coffee his manager handed to him. He’d apparently brought drinks for everyone. They had their daily meeting about the upcoming menu plans. He believed clear communication kept the restaurant running smoothly.

With the meeting out of the way, Gray started to prepare the tasting for the staff. He ensured everyone had a bit of what they’d be serving throughout the week. It helped them explain the menu to customers better.

“Voodoo?” Gray spotted the former Navy SEAL, Cole Willis, who worked with Wyatt and Hamish, chatting up Yara by the front door. “She is way too good for you.”

Cole flipped him off cheerfully before winking at Yara. “See you at six.”

Gray watched the six-foot-three Haitian-American saunter out of the restaurant. He glanced over to find Yara watching Cole leave. “Military men are nothing but trouble.”

“Aren’t you one of them?” Yara smiled brightly at him. “He’s lovely.”

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose. Young love. “Careful with his heart. I’d hate to see a grown man sobbing on my doorstep.”

“His heart?”

Gray pointed toward the now closed front door. “He’ll lose both his head and his heart over you.”

“I’ll be kind,” Yara promised with a laugh.

Leaving young love to run its course without his interference, Gray made his way back to the kitchen to start his prep for the day. He couldn’t quite shake the feeling that they hadn’t heard the last of the drama from the morning news. Nothing he could do about it in any case.

“Gray? Are you in here?”

“In the walk-in.” Gray continued grabbing ingredients and placing them into the large pan that he’d grabbed on the way into the freezer. He stepped out to find Hamish waiting for him. “Go away, Hamster. I’m busy.”

“Nice. Here I am doing a favour for you, and you tell me to bugger off.” Hamish held up a bag, which he shook gently. “Akash sent over a bunch of spices for you. Shall I take them back?”

“I’m attempting a few new dishes this coming week. Your better half offered to share some of his inventory with me.” Gray grabbed the bag before setting it on the stainless steel countertop with the rest of the ingredients. “Well? What’s on your mind? You didn’t come here to play gofer.”

“I might’ve.”

Leaving Hamish to his thoughts, Gray started prepping the ingredients. It took almost a full five minutes before the silence was broken. His old boss cleared his throat a few times before Gray finally set his knife down.

“What?”

“Are you serious about Monk?” Hamish held his hands up when Gray swung around to glare at him. “Easy. I’m not making judgements about him. Did you read what he said to the reporter?”

With a tired groan, Gray reached the absolute limit of his patience of hearing about the article. It had been a topic of conversation all through breakfast. He had no intention of spending the rest of the day dealing with it.

“You have an office, Ross. This isn’t it. Get your ass out of my kitchen.” Gray turned his back on Hamish, picking up the knife to continue prepping. “Well? I can still hear your breathing.”

“I’m not making any judgements,” Hamish insisted.

“Did I say you did?” Gray cleared his throat roughly. “Look, I know you and Scottie didn’t exactly get off to a great start. Fuck. He was a complete asshole to Akash. I’m not going to claim he’s magically become Mother Theresa, but he’s grown up quite a bit. I don’t owe you or anyone else an explanation of how serious our relationship is.”

“Defensive much, old man?”

Gray set his knife down for a second time and returned his full attention to Hamish. “We’re both too old for this shit.”