"Right." His voice was tight. "Show me."
When he finished, it was lopsided but functional. Mae hugged him—longer this time—then ran off toward her room.
Sloane appeared in the doorway. "She asked about marriage, didn't she?"
"Yeah."
"She asked me first. What'd you say?"
Hog was still staring after Mae. "That I—" He stopped. "I said yes."
Sloane studied him. Something in his face made her pause. "Okay."
A few minutes later, we shared our goodbyes. Mae hugged us both. Liam shook Hog's hand.
"You're still coming Saturday?"
"I'll try."
Outside, the snow was thick. Hog looked back at the house, then immediately pulled out his phone. He checked messages while walking to the truck.
"That was—"
"Yeah."
"The kale was still terrible." His laugh was off. Distracted.
I kissed him where anyone could see.
"Let's go home."
We pulled onto the highway, and twenty minutes of silence passed between us. Only the engine, wipers, and our breathing.
I rested my hand on his thigh. Higher than before.
Hog's breath caught. "Rhett."
"Yeah?"
"What're you doing?"
"Nothing." I traced circles with my thumb and felt his muscle tense under my palm.
"That's not nothing."
"You're right. It's not."
"We're on a highway."
"I noticed."
His hands tightened on the wheel. "You're—fuck. You're doing this on purpose."
"Maybe."
"We've got forty minutes. I can't—"
"You could pull over."
