Gavin hadn’t seen as much as he would have had he not been yelling at the top of his lungs while looking for his brother. But he had seen enough to let him know what’d been going on.

Seth yanked his shirt over his head and combed his fingers through his hair in an attempt to get it to lie down. “I didn’t lock the front door after Lois left. I didn’t even think of it. That’s on me.”

“It was still daytime when she left. I didn’t think of it, either.” That surprised her a little now, given Kouretas’s visit to the front gate and his second attempt to get onto the property when Lois arrived, but Tia didn’t really expect him to walk into the house. That would be going too far even for someone like him, especially when Seth was around. But it was more than that. She’d been too consumed with how terrible Seth was feeling to be concerned for herself.

“Are you okay?” he asked, before starting toward the door.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Go talk to him. But I think I’ll go take a long shower. I’m not eager to face him.”

“Sorry for the unwelcome surprise,” he said with a rueful expression. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to come down.”

She let him go first, then peered over the banister to make sure the coast was clear before darting into her bathroom and locking herself in.

“Dude!” Gavin said as soon as Seth walked into the kitchen. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“You could’ve rung the bell.” Seth kept his voice low so that there was no chance Tia could hear them.

Gavin lowered his voice, too. “I did. You didn’t answer, but your car was in the drive, so I assumed you were sleeping—until I checked your bedroom. When you weren’t in there, I thought for sure you’d be working.”

“With Maxi’s bird talking at all hours of the day and night, I think I’ve quit paying attention to the sounds in this house. I didn’t hear a thing.” Hungry, Seth opened the refrigerator to get out the milk.

“You were probably worn out,” Gavin said, joking.

Seth shot him a dirty look when he couldn’t keep a straight face, which only made Gavin laugh harder.

“What’s going on between you two?” his brother asked.

“Nothing.” Seth replied firmly to let Gavin know he didn’t want to talk about what had happened with Tia.

Gavin lifted his hands as though at gunpoint. “Fine. I’ll say no more. But...seriously, I’m proud of you, bro.”