“None of this is making sense. You’re talking in riddles,” Mav said, his mood growing more sour.

“I think your brother is in serious trouble. I think he’s been there for a while, and I know he needs you boys. He’s just too stubborn to admit that even to himself.”

The statement made the room go silent as the three brothers looked at each other.

“He knows all he has to do is ask and we’ll be there for him immediately. But he doesn’t want our help. He wants to be on his own,” Maverick said.

Sherman gave them all the look he used to give them when they were younger. It was a look that had quickly put them in their place. Just because they were technically adults didn’t mean he wasn’t still their uncle, didn’t mean they didn’t respect what he had to say. They hung their heads as they tried to figure out what to say next.

“We don’t just love our family when the going is easy. We love them through the darkest hours. It’s our job to show Ace he will never be alone. That’s what will make him come home,” Sherman told them.

“We can love him and still give him the space he wants,” Nick said.

“I know space isn’t truly what he wants. I think it’s what he thinks he needs, but the reality is that he needs his brothers. You’ll want to be there for him before it’s too late.”

“Then tell us what to do,” Mav said.

“You’ll know. Just be ready when he calls.”

With that, Sherman stood up and left as quietly as he’d entered. Mav looked at his brothers and no one spoke. They still felt as lost as when they’d first entered the room.

By the time Mav left, he realized he hadn’t solved a single one of his problems.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

Night was falling as Maverick stepped up to Lindsey’s door, his heart thundering for some odd reason. He held a single red rose, a bottle of her favorite white wine, and chocolate-covered strawberries, which she had admitted were her guilty pleasure.

He’d been trying to pull away, to make the end of their relationship so much easier to bear, but he couldn’t seem to do what had to be done. He cared about her—but more than that, he was drawn to her. It was beyond a physical need—it was an obsession.

After the reading of his father’s will, he’d sworn he would never marry. Heck, he’d had no desire to wed long before that reading. But since being around Lindsey, the word forever had been creeping into his mind more and more. That wasn’t what he wanted. At least he didn’t think so. Still, there he was, standing on her doorstep, thinking of no one other than her day in and day out.

Tonight he was letting some of that go. Tonight he was going to make her feel special, cared about, give all that he was able to give to her, possibly even leave a piece of his soul behind with her. That’s all he could do in saying good-bye.

Maybe he shouldn’t draw it out. It might be better to just cut it off clean, but he didn’t think that was the way to do it with Lindsey. If he showed her what she meant to him, then it shouldn’t hurt so badly in the end. The transition would be smooth.

He would convince himself leaving her was right.

And the sex was just sex. Sure, it was heavenly—unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. But he was sure he’d had that same thought before. He might not be able to remember having that thought, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t felt it. His mind was just muddled from being with Lindsey for a while now.

Taking in a long, soothing breath, he knocked, telling himself he was a fool to feel as nervous as he did. It was just one more night the two of them were together—no different than any other time in the past month.

The door opened much more quickly than he’d been expecting. Maybe she too felt something different in the air.

“You’re early,” she said, a touch of uncertainty in her eyes. It broke his heart a little. She could feel the shift between them. It was more than obvious.

“Because you are a sight for sore eyes. I needed to see you,” he said, without even thinking about it. She was wearing a red sweater with lipstick to match, and a long black skirt with a slit up the side, a bit of her thigh on display. His mouth was watering. “Beautiful. You are so damn beautiful.”

Her big brown eyes widened before she smiled at him in that way that made him lose control. She opened the door wider to invite him in.

“You look pretty suave yourself, Mav. I don’t often see you wearing a tie,” she said as he stepped through her doorway.

“It’s our first time going to a nice place. I wanted to show you I can be civilized—though I’d rather not do it too often,” he told her with a wink before holding out his gifts. “Let’s have a toast before we leave.”

“That sounds nice,” she said, accepting the rose, lifting it to her nose, and inhaling before moving to the counter and grabbing a small vase to put it in. “This smells divine. Thank you.”

He hadn’t been planning on buying her flowers, but he’d passed an outdoor stand and saw the containers with red roses. The flowers had reminded him of her lips, and he’d just grabbed hold of the one and couldn’t put it back.

He had a picture in his head of trailing the velvet petals across her smooth skin. And just like that, he was hard and wanting. It was a good thing they were leaving the cottage. His hunger for her was insatiable.

“Sit down. I’ll pour us each a glass,” he told her, surprised when she actually listened and moved over to the small living room. She took a seat, watching him as he fumbled with the wine opener.