“That’s fair.” She left with another deceptively small box.
Jonah finished his donut and went to find Eliza before he got down to business. When he emerged from the bedroom, his shirt was slightly disheveled, and his hair mussed. I tried not to think about them making out on my bed.
Charlie walked in a few minutes later, dangling the keys from the tip of his finger. Our gazes locked as soon as he stepped into the apartment, and I couldn’t help the warm, squishy feeling he brought with him.
“I think these belong to you,” he said in a rumbly murmur.
“Eliza said you had to go all the way to Will’s new place. Sorry about that. It was so far out of your way.”
He took a step closer to me. “It wasn’t that bad. Besides, moving day is kind of pointless if you can’t move your stuff into the new place, right?”
I snatched the keys from his hand, and he somehow managed to entwine our fingers and hold mine aloft.
“You’re right about that.” I was all smiles this close to him. Head-to-toe smiles. Smiles in my eyes. Smiles in my mouth. Smiles in my freaking hair. “Well, thank you. I appreciate your participation.”
His expression turned wicked. “Anytime.”
“Good to know.”
He stepped closer. “Just call me. I’ll be there.”
“I’m for real going to. The loft has high ceilings. And cabinets. I can’t reach everything.”
“I hope you do.”
A throat cleared behind us, and I realized we were just a breath away from each other. We jumped apart like we were made of live wires.
“You guys okay?” Jonah asked suspiciously.
“Never better,” Charlie replied easily.
Eliza popped her head out of the bedroom. “Charlie, can you—?” She saw us standing there like we’d been caught in something torrid, and her face screwed up in confusion. “You guys okay?”
“What?” I gasped, breathless for two different reasons. One was Charlie. The other was everyone watching us. “Oh, we’re not—”
“Excuse me,” Miles said as he moved around me, trying to get to a box behind me.
“Oh sorry,” Charlie and I mumbled at the same time as we were jostled apart again.
Probably for the best.
Now that all the guys were here, things started moving quickly. I handed the keys off to Eliza. Shane, Miles, Case, Jonah, and Charlie started moving the heavy furniture while Eliza, Adleigh, and I came behind them with the smaller, more manageable items. It wasn’t because we were weaker, obviously. It was because we didn’t want to deal with awkward corners and dodging cars across the street.
Plus, someone had to give the men directions.
We stopped for lunch a couple hours later when the pizza arrived. I had promised beer and was happy to run up the street to a nearby liquor store, but Eliza and Charlie grabbed it from the cooler in the bar.
Everyone had gathered in the loft. The furniture had been set down randomly, and other than my bed, nothing was put together or organized. Then all my friends grabbed paper plates stacked with pizza and sat on any available surface, making the very chaotic space even messier. I loved it.
I loved having these people in my new home. I loved feeding and taking care of people I loved. I loved feeling loved. Moving people was an irritating business, but nobody complained or mutinied. My heart was bursting with their generous support.
Adleigh plopped down next to me on the loveseat currently pushed against the foot of my bed. “Anything from Dad yet?”
I balanced my beer on the low windowsill next to me and reached for my phone tucked into the pocket of my biker shorts. I’d missed several texts, but his wasn’t one of them.
“Nope. You?”
“No.” She sighed. “I texted him two hours ago to let him know we would be back and forth between the two places. Just in case he showed up and couldn’t find anybody. But he never texted back. I hope he’s okay.”
