The only reason he did know that it was Saturday was because Tess had had the funeral to see to, and it was Axel and Elias who'd been up for the burial rotation. He'd watched them leave the house in the Suburban and the newly repaired transport van that morning.
After the funeral, Deacon, Elias, and Dante finished a solid workout in the gym. When they'd finished, they took quick showers in the locker room and coded themselves into HQ. They heard Colin laughing the moment the door popped open with a tiny click, and when they entered the room they found him working at one of the computer stations, but he had the volume turned high for the cameras inside the house.
"What are you doing?" Deacon asked, instantly recognizing Tess's voice.
"Tess is baking cookies," Colin said. "The smoke alarm just went off. I think she caught the oven on fire."
"How does she keep doing that?" Deacon asked, grabbing a bottle of water and taking a seat at one of the workstations.
"Hey, that's Miller," Elias said, very interested all of a sudden. "You shouldn't be listening to their personal conversation."
"That Elias guy is an interesting character. He'd make a fabulous hero for one of my books. He's sexy and funny . . ."
"You were saying?" Colin asked as Elias turned up the volume a little.
"Quiet," Elias hissed. "I'm trying to listen."
"That's wrong," Deacon said. "She would kick your ass all over the place if she found out you were doing this."
"I don't see you putting in earplugs," he shot back. "Maybe because you want to see if Tess thinks you're as spectacular in bed as Miller thinks I am. Lord, that woman is a temptation no man could resist."
"She's managed to resist you for months," Dante said.
"That's because I haven't tried. It's hard to resist all this charm when it's coming at you full force."
"Just like every other cocky SEAL I've ever met," Colin said. "Care to put a wager on it?"
Deacon rolled his eyes, and then caught Tess's words-"Just never with an actual man."
"Holy shit," Deacon said, leaning forward.
"Poor girl," Dante said sympathetically. "Maybe we should find this Henry and make sure he has a bit of an accident."
"This place could use a little excitement," Colin said. "I'm in."
Deacon wasn't sure what he was doing, but the direction of the conversation had him racing out of the room and up the other set of stairs that led to the casket warehouse. He didn't want the others hearing whatever Tess was about to say. He pressed his thumb to the keypad and the door that led into the casket warehouse swung open.
He'd spent most of the day away from her, determined to give her some space and put some distance between them, hoping she'd be thinking of him like he'd been thinking of her. But knowing that a man had never pleased her as she should've been pleased made him angry and unreasonably possessive all at once.
He knocked once on the kitchen door and then stepped inside without an invitation. Both women stared at him in surprise. They were sitting in the same position they had been in when he'd been watching on the screen, but up close he noticed the flush in Tess's cheeks.
"I need to talk to you," he said to Tess. "It's really important. Come riding with me."
"You're not extending the length of my bathroom renovation, are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "You said four weeks."
"I don't know why you're so obsessed with timelines. You're getting a new bathroom out of it."
"Timelines are essential to life. And so are showers. I want my space back."
"Speaking of, we should probably fix the floor of your bedroom before your bed falls through. Might as well do all the renovations at once."
"Except I won't have a place to sleep."
"There's always slumber room number one," he said, lips twitching.
"I don't mean to interrupt," Miller said. "But what the hell is going on here? I feel like a third wheel. Should I leave y'all alone?"
"Yes," he said.
"No," she said at the same time.
Miller turned to look at Tess with a twinkle in her eye. "Never mind my earlier question. I think I have it figured out."
"We're having girls' night," Tess said to Deacon. "Thank you for the suit, by the way. It was very nice."
"Did it fit?" he asked.
"Perfectly."
He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm an excellent measurement taker."