She appeared gratified by his statement. “You look tired.”
“That’s because I am. You look well rested.”
“That’s because I am. Your hair’s longer than usual.”
“I know. It’s bugging me.”
Britt tilted her head, peering at him closely. “I’d sort of forgotten about the pinpricks of light blue in your eyes.”
“I’d sort of forgotten that you have a few tiny freckles on your cheekbones.”
“You forgot about my freckles?”
“I admit that I did.”
“I’m scandalized,” she said. “Have you lost weight?”
“Maybe a couple of pounds.”
“Did I gain weight?”
“Definitely not.”
“That’s what you’d say even if Ihadgained weight.”
“Yes,” he acknowledged. “Because I’m no dummy.”
Her pale pink lips ticked upward at one edge. “You’ve been gone a really long time, Zander.”
“I know.”
“And you were very far away.”
He gave a nod.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” The words felt stupidly small. Like calling Mount Rainier a hill. Until he’d left her behind, he’d had no idea he could be as desolate as he’d been without her.
She stepped back and set her hands on her hips. “It’s ... sort of ... scrambling my brain to see you again.”
“Yeah.” After such a long time, it was surreal to be here. With her. The last eighteen months had changed him, but he selfishly hoped that they’d changed nothing about her. While he’d been gone, she’d been going about her small-town routine, the same small-town routine she’d been going about for years. Which is why he’d been able to convince himself that he wasn’t missing anything in her life that he couldn’t bear to miss.
“I was expecting you to sleep until noon today,” she told him.
“I should have.” He’d only been able to string together four hours of sleep after reaching the Inn at Bradfordwood, the bed-and-breakfast Britt’s mom owned, in the middle of last night.
“What happened? Couldn’t stay asleep?”
“Nope.”Because I couldn’t wait to see you. “Jet lag bites.”
“How long did it end up taking you to get here from Tokyo?”
“The trip from Tokyo to Honolulu and from Honolulu to Vancouver took twenty-eight hours. Then I rented a car and drove the rest of the way.”
“Brutal.” Britt linked her arm through his, and they walked in the direction of Sweet Art. “I’m glad you’re home, but I’m sorry that it’s for such a sad reason.”
“I am, too.” Three days ago, his aunt Carolyn had called him in Japan to tell him that her husband, Frank, had died suddenly. The news had gut punched him. Uncle Frank had been like a father to him for well over a decade.
