Riley curled up next to him on the couch, her head on his shoulder, cradling the warm mug.
"This is perfect," she said.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Just this. Being here with you." She paused. "Can I ask you something?"
"Always."
"Did you notice how not surprised everyone was? At the party?"
Grant had been thinking about that too. "You mean about us?"
"Yeah. Like, Hannah was thrilled, but she wasn't shocked. Nobody was. They all just acted like it made perfect sense."
"Mark said 'finally,'" Grant admitted. "Like he'd been waiting for it."
"Emily said something similar to me." Riley was quiet for a moment. "It's kind of weird, right?"
"A little."
"I mean, we hadn't seen each other in ten years outside of the annual reunions or briefly running into each other when I visited. You'd think there'd be at least some surprise."
Grant shrugged, not wanting to think too hard about what it meant. "Small town. Everyone probably assumed we'd end up back together eventually."
"Maybe." Riley didn't sound entirely convinced, but she let it drop.
They sat in comfortable silence, Grant's thumb tracing patterns on her palm. Riley told him about the worst grilled cheese she'd ever attempted—burnt on the outside, cold on the inside, the smoke detector going off in her apartment. Granttold her about the time he'd tried to make his mom's Christmas cookies and accidentally used salt instead of sugar.
"Your dad still talks about that," Riley said, laughing. "He said you tried to convince him they were supposed to taste like that."
"I was twelve and stubborn."
"Some things never change."
Grant pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You're one to talk."
"I'm not stubborn. I'm determined."
"That's the same thing."
"It's absolutely not."
Grant smiled against her hair. This. This was what he wanted. Not just the physical stuff—though that was incredible—but this. The easy conversation. The shared memories. The way she fit against him like she was made to be there.
Riley yawned, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
"Tired?" Grant asked.
"A little. It's warm and cozy here."
"We could go to bed."
"Not yet." Riley snuggled deeper into his side. "This is too nice."
They stayed on the couch, wrapped up in each other and the blanket, talking quietly as the fire burned low. Grant felt Riley's breathing slow, her weight growing heavier against him.
"Riley?" he said softly.
