“Hey.” Hudson greets us and gives us each a quick one-armed hug. “Where are your other two?”
“Maven is on her way with Dallas, and Lexi isn’t coming. She has a date,” Piper says, and Riley looks up from his video game controller.
“A date?” he asks. “With who?”
“A guy she met at her Pilates class. She didn’t seem too excited about it, though,” I add when his face falls, and Piper and I exchange a look.
“Oh.” Riley glances back at the TV. “Good for her.”
“Anyone want a drink?” Hudson asks, and we walk into the kitchen where Maverick is busy setting up the line of food.
I haven’t seen him since we got home from our road trip, and my heart races at the sight of him.
He glances up from a veggie tray and smiles at me. There’s still a bruise on his cheek, just under his eye. His nose is still swollen, and his hair is a little longer than usual. There’s something about his features that tell me he’s exhausted, but he’s still gut-wrenchingly gorgeous.
God, I’ve missed him.
Not just his hands and his fingers and the corner of his mouth I like to kiss right before he comes.
I’ve missedhim.
His jokes and his laugh and how he holds me close to his chest before we fall asleep. We’ve graduated to more regular sleepovers, and I’ve missed the way he looks in the early morning light with a pillow crease on his forehead. A little drop of drool on his cheek. Bleary eyes and wandering touches.
“Hey, Piper,” he says, and he walks around the corner of the island to give her a hug. He moves to me next, and when he wraps me in his arms, the weight on my shoulders eases.
I didn’t realize how much I needed him until he wasn’t there, and excitement sparks in my chest as he rests his hand on the small of my back and doesn’t pull away.
“Hi, Emmy girl,” he murmurs softly.
“Hi, pretty boy.”
“Did you have a good day?”
I nod into his shirt, the threadbare cotton that smells like cedar and apples and the hint of chocolate. “Better now.”
“Me too.”
I missed you. I missed you. I missed you.
I pull away. “Do you need any help?”
“Nah, we’re all good. I’m going to call the masses in here in a minute. You should grab a plate before everything gets picked over,” Maverick says.
“You all and your appetites.”
“Says the girl who eats three pints of ice cream a week,” Piper teases. “I swear our freezer is just a Ben and Jerry’s stash at this point.”
“Boys! Dinner’s ready!” Maverick yells, and there’s a stampede of feet.
“Dammit,” I curse, grabbing a plate and moving to the front of the line. “A little warning next time, Miller?”
“I gave you plenty of warning, Hartwell. I said a minute. You know how long that is, right?”
“Doyouknow how long that is?”
“I have excellent time management, and I haven’t had any recent complaints.” He pops a grape in his mouth and points to the charcuterie board. “No strawberries tonight, so you’re good to take whatever you want.”
There haven’t been strawberries since the first time I showed up all those weeks ago, and still, it does something to my insides when he tells me it’s all clear. It makes me feel gooey and warm and like a giggling teenager who has a crush on the hottest boy in school.
