Ryder made some kind of noise I could barely hear over the fan roaring above us. He stepped into me, his whole body fitting behind me. Then his mouth was at my ear and his low, sleep-smoked voice rumbled, “I got this.”
I hesitated. Sure,hecould do this. He was good at everything. But I could do this too. Making breakfast was easy. Anyone could do it.
“Laney,” he coaxed.
I thought about pushing it. Insisting I could deal with a very normal-world, regular-person disaster that lots of people dealt with every day. But his body was strong and warm against mine, tensed and waiting for me to let him jump in and take over. I relaxed against him and held my hands up in surrender.
He moved the egg pan toward the unused back burner, flicked off the front burner, and did something with the sausage to make the breakfast meat stop rocking so wildly. He shifted sideways, moving me into the curve of his arm, practiced as a dance move.
I went with the motion, and he quickly got everything settled: smoke put out, pans arranged, toaster righted. He switched the fan to a lower speed, and finally off. The silence in the kitchen was suddenly very large.
“Hey,” he said quietly, still holding me, his lips inches from my ear.
“Hey,” I said, defeated.
“How about I take over breakfast, and you take Spud out for a bathroom break?”
“I can do this.”
“I know.”
“I’m capable of doing normal things like normal people,” I said quieter.
His chuckle was low and warm. He planted a kiss on my temple, and his hands on mine lifted, tugged. Then he was twirling me out of the kitchen.
I huffed a laugh, and my mood lightened. How could it not, when I was in the arms of the man I loved, looking up into his sparkling eyes?
We came to a stop in the little hall space between the kitchen and living area.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” he said back. “It’s all going to work out.”
“I know.” I knewwewould work out no matter what.
It was other things I was worried about. I didn’t have a problem dealing with the big stuff.
The god, Mithra, tying Ryder to him even though Mithra pretty much hated me? No problem. Demons fleeing to Ordinary from and angry king of hell who might aim all that anger at us? Can deal. The only Valkyrie in town somehow even grumpier about being short-handed for her community events? Got it under control.
But some things, easy things,normalthings like the wedding or the guest list situation seemed bigger than me somehow. And so much harder to solve.
“How about you take Spud for his walk, and when you come back, we’ll have breakfast?”
“I can cook, you know. I am a normal person. I can do normal cooking.”
“Obviously,” he said. “You are a very normal person capable of cooking so very normally.”
I smacked his hip.
He grinned, and I liked that smile on his face. Liked everything about him, really.
“See you in ten, yeah?” He dipped is head a little and raised his eyebrows.
“I can...”
“Sonormal,” he interrupted. “Got it. And yes, I know you can.” He pointed at the door. “Your espresso’s gonna go cold if you don’t hustle.”
The promise of espresso waiting for me put a jog in my step. I hopped into the entry hall and lifted Spud’s leash from the hook by the door.
