“I thought you were out on a job,” I said, making my way to him.
He pulled me close as soon as I was within reach and pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. “Everything was fine, and I missed you, so I came back.”
I wound my arms around his neck and sank my hands into his hair, brushing through the silky strands.
“Missed you too,” I whispered against his lips and kissed him.
“Stop with the kissing already,” Talon complained from the playroom. “Did you forget this is an office?”
I leaned around Sebastian, watching Talon pretend to drink tea from a cup that was half the size of his hand. He was also wearing a gold tiara and pink bracelets.
“I didn’t, but you seem to. Don’t you have work to do?” I asked, struggling to hold back the laughter.
“Is that glitter on your face?” Sebastian asked, turning us so we were facing Lena and Talon. Luca was still in hiding.
“As a matter of fact, it is,” Talon said, putting his middle finger on the side of his cup, discreetly flipping Sebastian off.
“Excellent. Since you’re watching the kids, you won’t mind if I take Nora out for a bit, right?” Sebastian asked.
“You got an hour. Then I have to meet with one of our suppliers over in Butler,” Talon said, taking another pretend sip from his cup.
“Let me just have a chat with Luca first,” I said and walked into the room.
Luca was hiding under the blanket on the couch, the big lump unmistakable.
I sat down next to him and tapped his legs. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Shmorry, Mommy,” he mumbled from underneath the blanket.
“It’s okay. But no more going through my desk drawers.”
He pulled the blankets back and nodded. “Okay.”
I leaned over and kissed his forehead. “I’m just going out with Sebastian. Talon is going to play with you.”
“Where you going?” he asked.
I looked to Sebastian, who was sitting on the floor next to Talon, Lena standing in front of him, putting glitter in his hair. He’d be finding glitter for the next week if he didn’t stop her soon.
“I’m not sure. But we won’t be gone long, promise,” I said, getting up.
Luca nodded, pulling a Superman comic out from underneath him. He was already lost in a world of superheroes by the time I stood up.
Lena was even less concerned about me leaving, fighting me off when I tried to kiss her goodbye.
“No kissing,” she said, wagging her finger at me.
I grinned at her and blew a kiss instead. She grudgingly accepted it before getting back to her tea party.
Sebastian took my hand and walked me out to his bike, handing me my helmet. “So where are we going?” I asked when I sat behind him on the seat.
“It’s a surprise,” he said before putting his own helmet on.
We drove to the outskirts of Humptulips and turned onto a dirt road. All that was out here were fields and trees and a few farms. I recognized the area, since Stella and Mason lived out this way. I could never remember which dirt road to turn down to get to their place, but I’d been a few times. The kids loved going since Mason had a soft spot for animals and rescued them, meaning his farm was better than going to the zoo.
I watched with interest as we pulled up to an old farmhouse. There was a big shed off to the right, and the two-story house was nestled between huge trees on one side and empty fields on the other.
We parked in front of the porch steps leading up to the front door. I climbed off and removed my helmet, looking around. The ground was covered in long grass and weeds, but the buildings looked to be in good shape.
