That was true enough. He’d brought four new employees on board for RipeBox where he now ran personal security. Plus three new people for Stone, and they were about to start a short-term contract with a local bank, protecting some wealthy investors flying in to be wined, dined, and shown Chicago real estate. Coordination would be fun—not— since those guys each had their own security, and bodyguard teams all tended to be control freaks. Luckily, the details would be Charlie’s headache. Nolan had stepped away from day-to-day team operations so he could be home with Fynn most nights.
The back door of the house opened, and Micah stepped out, followed by several of Fynn’s lab coworkers. Micah had a foil gift bag in hand. “Where do you want this?”
“Table over there,” Amelia told him.
Micah hovered, though, eyeing Fynn. “How did the software test go?”
“It’s his birthday,” Nolan protested, sure the effort was futile. “Shop talk can wait.”
“It’s not actually my birthday yet,” Fynn pointed out.
Nolan hadn’t forgotten, but his team was going to be tied up starting tomorrow, so it was party two days early or never. “Adds to the surprise, right?”
“Yeah. About that.” Fynn tugged on Nolan’s shirt. “In a normal surprise party, the guests are terrible at hiding and can’t help making noises, so the birthday person isn’t actually startled. There’s probably a law against doing it with trained ninjas.”
Nolan grinned. “Not in my books.”
“The test?” Micah nagged.
“Oh yeah. The test.” Fynn turned to his brother, pulling a sad face.
Nolan wasn’t fooled, but Micah began frowning. “What? Do you need to recalibrate? Do we have to put off the launch?”
Slowly, Fynn allowed a smile to creep across his face. “Nope. Went perfect. Adding the software to ’CadoBox4 has been accomplished. The PearPerfection extension is a go.”
“Oh, thank god.” Micah glared. “You had me worried.”
“Wouldn’t want you to take me for granted,” Fynn told him.
Nolan felt like Micah did that already, but he had a rule not to meddle between Fynn and his brother. Much. He put an arm around Fynn and steered him down the garden toward the gift table. “Come check out your loot.”
“Why is the table down here?” Fynn let himself be guided past the patio with its barbecue and along the vegetable bed to the far end behind the screening fence.
“To keep the gifts away from food and fire,” Nolan lied. He glanced back. Micah had started to follow them but been headed off by Amelia.Good work.
Despite the crowd now digging into food up by the house, the far end of the garden with its tall, wide-canopied maple tree felt secluded. Nolan liked this property. The house itself was smallish with two spare bedrooms, one serving as his office and the other available for someone guarding Fynn when Nolan had to be away from home. The cushy basement held a big screen TV, a LEGO table, and a panic room Fynn calledmassive overkillbut which eased Nolan’s worries when he was gone. The best part was the almost-acre of grounds, all privacy-fenced. He could feel the way Fynn relaxed in their garden.
Fynn grinned up at him. “You could give me my special present back here. We’re kind of out of view.”
I plan to.Although the gift wasn’t what Fynn was thinking of. That would wait till tonight.I lied. The best part of this house is the huge walk-in shower with five showerheads, a bench, and sturdy grab rails.He’d demonstrate his appreciation of Fynn in there later. For now… “Check out this one.” He pointed at his clumsily wrapped gift.
Fynn laughed. “That’s exactly the size of the ’CadoBox4. I thought we should make the design more vertical. Reduce the countertop footprint. Except fruit’s more likely to bruise when inserted upright and since we were planning the pear extension, handling was important. Pears are so delicate. I’ve thought about increasing the cushioning factor of the lining. There are some new materials—”
“The gift?” Nolan nudged. Not because he didn’t enjoy hearing Fynn race off on a new idea, but he was close to holding his breath, and that had limits.
“Oh yeah. I wonder…” Fynn pushed his glasses— an exact replica of the pair he’d lost— up his nose and peered at the card, then glanced over his shoulder. “From you? What is it?”
“Open it.” He didn’t hold his breath, but he did lock his hands behind himself in parade rest to help with waiting.
Fynn ripped the paper off the outside. “Hey, itisa CadoBox4. Wait, this isours. I recognize the scratch from when I accidentally dropped the knife-block.”
Nolan did too. That hadn’t been his favorite moment, rushing into the kitchen to find Fynn hopping around dripping blood from his foot. Luckily all Fynn ended up with was a small scar.
“You gave me a used ’CadoBox?” Fynn stared at him.
“Look inside.”
Fynn opened the curved top and blinked. Nolan knew what he saw. Down inside, on the washable mesh cradle, sat a blue velvet box. Without reaching in, Fynn said, “I’m not much for jewelry. Awkward in a lab.”
