He sighed. “I’ll show you when we get there,” he said, gazing around the room to pick out the least busy area of the gym. He wanted her to be comfortable. The treadmills were empty, so he decided to start there first. A little cardio to begin their workout was a great way to get her heart rate up.

Adam had barely settled on the idea when a man’s voice rang out from behind them. “Adam?”

Recognizing the voice immediately, his feet stalled beneath him. He didn’t need to turn around to know who was standing behind him. Michael had always had impeccable timing.

While Adam used to be close to his older brother, their relationship had been strained ever since Adam began medical school. Probably because Michael had followed in their parents’ footsteps and pressured Adam to do the same. That had only led to some resentment on Adam’s part.

He’d hoped Michael would take his side and defend his right to make his own career choices. After all, he was Adam’s older brother, and that would’ve presented a united front. But that wasn’t what had happened.

Instead, Michael had left his rebellious little brother hanging precariously by his fingertips out on a shaky, unstable limb of their family tree. A limb that his parents had threatened to take a chain saw to when he’d told them that he’d dropped out of medical school. They hadn’t actually disowned Adam, as they’d threatened, but their harsh words had hurt. Much like his older brother’s lack of support.

Michael had always been competitive. Hell, that was where Adam had gotten his own competitive streak from. He’d learned it from the person he looked up to the most. But the one time Adam had needed his older brother, Michael hadn’t been there for him.

That day, his brother had made his choice. And it had been the wrong one, as far as Adam was concerned.

He dropped his arm to let go of Preslee and pivoted to face his brother. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Beside him, Preslee stiffened at his curt tone, probably because she’d never heard it before. At least not this particular one.

Michael smiled at him though. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. I thought I’d drop in for a visit and see what my little brother has been up to.”

“Why?”

“Maybe you missed the part where I said you were my brother.”

Adam chuckled sardonically. “Nope. Didn’t miss it. But since when did you give a shit about that? You sure didn’t back when I needed—”

Michael raised his hand. “This isn’t the time or place for that talk.”

Adam’s jaw clenched. “Then why are you here?”

“It’s simple,” Michael said, shrugging. “I missed my little brother.”