Had Audrey been that someone?

“That was the day he started trying,” Brick said. “You convinced him to give me a shot.”

“He would have eventually. A person can only be around you for so long before discovering your ridiculously big heart and your Dudley Do-Right complex.” Testing him, she poked him in that mile-wide chest. “Do you miss them?” she asked. “Your grandparents.”

He nodded, toying with a strand of her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “I do. I didn’t have a lot of time with them, but I’ll always be grateful for the space they made for Spence and me. They gave us a home when we needed it. Paid for Spencer’s college when I couldn’t.”

She caught the note of shame and zeroed in on it.

“You were twenty-four, Brick. What twenty-four-year-old can afford to send their little brother to college? Hell. What twenty-four-year-old is capable of raising a teenager?”

“Spence was my responsibility.”

She shook her head. “He was your parents’ responsibility. And when they couldn’t or wouldn’t step up, you did. You two were meant to come here. Meant to build a relationship with your grandparents.”

He studied her but said nothing.

“Pop gave you the money to start up the Tiki Tavern because he loved that you fell in love with this place. They left you their home because they knew it was your home. They were so proud of you. Remember the summer you named a sandwich after Pop and a drink after your grandma? They went in once a week just to order their namesakes and support you. Mackinac is where you belong. Whatever brought you here was just showing you the way home.”

“Come with me,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Where?”

He cupped her face in one hand, crowding her against the counter. “I need a shower.”

“I already had one,” she whispered, mesmerized by the way he looked at her. “Not—not that you were inviting me to join you. Unless you were?”

His head dipped lower, and he brushed his nose against her cheek. “I just need you close.”

She didn’t know what was more terrifying, the prospect that he’d changed his mind or the fact that he hadn’t. Yet.

“Okay,” she whispered. “What about the sandwiches?”

“Later.” One word, and he had her tingling from head to toe.

He let her deliver one of the sandwiches to Spencer, who was still on a call in the dining room, before pulling her up the stairs behind him. Spence flashed her a thumbs-up, and she blushed to the roots of her hair.

Brick’s bedroom was the largest of the six. It was at the back of the house on the second floor, with windows that overlooked the backyard and the house next door.

The bed was a massive four-poster with a headboard with sexy leather inserts and not nearly enough pillows in Remi’s opinion. The windows were framed by thick curtains in a dark navy, probably chosen for function—blocking out early morning sun after a long bar shift—rather than fashion, but they still worked.