“What is it about you that makes me want to tell you everything?”I sighed.
He shrugged and sat back on the couch.“Whatever it is, I can help.”
I was going to tell him, but I chickened out.“I just heard from one of his ex-girlfriends a couple of months ago.That’s all,” I replied.It wasn’t a lie, either.I had heard from Candy two months ago, but I didn’t tell him that she contacted me because Bill had been threatening her to find me.Those details I was going to leave out.“She was trying to find him to hook back up, and I told her I didn’t know where he was.”I shrugged.“And I still don’t.”
Saint nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.
“What are we watching?”he asked after he carried the empty containers to the kitchen without asking.Again—small thing.Not showy.Just… thoughtful.
I grabbed the remote.“Home Alone.”
He raised an eyebrow.“Classic.”
“Required viewing this time of year,” I said.
We settled onto the couch just as the opening music started.
Pepper hopped up immediately and plopped himself between Saint and the end of the couch.He sprawled out like he owned the place, pressing his paws into Saint until he had to scoot down.Salt stayed on the floor but pressed himself against Saint’s feet.
Saint glanced down at Pepper.
“He’s very comfortable, and that’s where he normally lies,” I said.
Pepper stretched, effectively stealing half the couch.
Saint shifted closer so we both fit, and his arm brushed mine.
His arm came around me without hesitation, and I leaned into him.
Salt sighed contentedly at his feet.
Pepper snored.
Somewhere between Kevin setting traps and the Wet Bandits getting wrecked, my eyelids grew heavy.The warmth of Saint beside me, the sound of his breathing, and the safety of my own space all wrapped around me, and I drifted off to sleep.
*
I woke up to the final scene pressed up against Saint.
Saint hadn’t moved.
His arm was still around me, and his head tipped slightly as he watched the screen.
“You fell asleep,” he murmured.
“Did I?”I asked sleepily.
He smiled.“Yeah.For a bit.”
I stretched and sat up, embarrassed.“Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” he said.“You needed to rest.”
That mattered more than he probably realized.Salt groaned on the floor and stretched out.“I need to get the boys outside.”
Pepper jumped up at the word outside, and Salt stood sleepily.
“I’ll head out too, doll.You need to get some sleep.I’m sure the next five days are going to be crazy at the bakery.”
