Isn't It Bromantic (Bromance Book Club #4) by Lyssa Kay Adams

            “Do you even know how to cook, girl?” Claud grumbled.

            Elena shot Claud an are you serious? look over her shoulder.

            “Anyone can make pancakes,” Claud said dismissively.

            “I’ve been cooking since my mother died when I was nine,” Elena said, setting the plates on the island so everyone could get their own. “Vlad’s mother taught me how to make all of his favorites. I don’t suppose you know to make pirozhki? Or maybe kholodets or Pozharsky cutlets?”

            As she spoke, the guys did that talk-with-their-eyes thing again.

            Elena returned to the stove and turned off the burner. Then she piled the finished syrniki on a platter. “You are all welcome to eat with us,” she said, setting it next to the stack of plates. “I’m going to go wake up Vlad.”

            Neighbor Cat followed her upstairs. Vlad’s bedroom door was still partway open from when she’d checked on him after she woke up. She tiptoed inside and found him in the same position as this morning, which was the same position as when she’d checked on him last night. Flat on his back, leg propped up on the pillow, his head turned slightly to the left.

            “Vlad,” she whispered, creeping up next to the bed. His breathing didn’t even change. “Vlad.” She said it louder, bending closer to him. He turned his face the other way with a deep breath. Dammit. Elena pressed her hand to his shoulder and gave it a small shake. “Vlad.”

            His eyes flew open. “What? What’s wrong?”

            Elena jumped back. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

            He dragged a hand across his face. “No. I’m fine. What time is it?” He focused on her face then and rose up on his elbows. “What’s wrong?”

            “Your friends are here.”

            He narrowed his eyes. “Did they say something inappropriate?”

            “What? No. But I think there’s going to be a food fight with the Loners.”

            “They are all here?”

            “Yes, and I swear Claud just put a hex on me.”

            The corner of Vlad’s mouth curled up in a tired smile as he reached a hand up to rub his whiskers, which had grown overnight officially into a beard—the wild, unkempt kind—but the ruggedness was offset by the tired softness of his eyes. Neighbor Cat leaped onto the bed, rubbed against him, and began to purr. Elena couldn’t blame her. If she had a chance to curl up next to Vlad, she’d probably purr too.

            Vlad absently scratched the cat’s ears.

            “Does this one have a name?” Elena asked.

            “Angel. She lives across the street.”

            “She was in your bed this morning.”

            A powerful yawn split his mouth wide, and he stretched his arms high over his head as he sat. “She is a good girl,” he said. “One of my favorites.”

            As if Vlad had ever met an animal he didn’t like.

            He swung his legs off the bed and nodded self-consciously to the bathroom. “I need to, um . . .”

            Oh, right. Bathroom stuff. All over the world, other married couples were perfectly unembarrassed about nature’s calling, but Elena’s cheeks blazed like she’d just stuck her head in a pizza oven. She handed him his crutches and hovered nearby as he slid one under each armpit.

            “I’ll just wait out here?”

            He avoided her gaze. “Sure.”

            She turned away as he shuffled to the bathroom. He used the foot of his crutch to shut the door behind him. Moments later, the toilet flushed and then water splashed in the sink. It lasted for a minute, and she realized he was brushing his teeth.

            She turned around when the door opened again. He came out looking rough and vulnerable at the same time. An insane, overwhelming urge to hug him nearly propelled her forward from her safe spot by the bedroom door. Instead, she backed up so he could pass by. She followed him to the stairs, and then he let her pretend to help by giving him an arm to hold as he went down on one leg. Not because he really needed the help, but probably because she’d yelled at him yesterday for coming down the stairs alone.