But I don’t want to find them too quickly, so I pick up pillows on the couch and move blankets around, talking to myself.
“I bet they’re here. Oh, no... Here? Darn it, not there either. Where are they?” The more I strike out, the louder their giggles get.
When I reach the edge of the couch, my gaze lands on Finn. He leans against the wall, watching me search the room. His arms are crossed over his navy blue shirt, and the muscles in his shoulders and arms bulge against the fabric like they could bust through if he flexed too hard.
His dark eyes scan me from my white eyelet tank top and down my flowy rust-colored skirt, before stopping on my strappy sandals.
My body pulls toward him like I’m a fish on a hook, and he reels me in with little effort.
I stop a foot from him, and he licks his lips. “Hello, Millie.” His voice is like molten chocolate running over my skin, and my body hums with how delicious it sounds.
He lifts a finger, and my breath stops as he touches my shoulder. “Sometimes I think about those butterflies on your dress theday you spilled coffee on me.” He leisurely glides his fingertip along my collarbone, and the featherlight touch leaves a flushed trail of heat in its wake.
When he reaches the hollow of my throat, he makes a soft circle there. My whole body instantly reacts, my mouth popping open and warmth pooling low in my belly. A powerful ache swarms through my veins, and I find myself wishing and hoping he would keep touching me. Keep making me burn like this.
I’m pretty sure my whole body just jumped so far over the friendship line that I’ve lost sight of the boundary.
But I can’t find it in myself to look for it right this second.
His teeth dig into his bottom lip, and a knowing smile blooms on his mouth, like he can see all my thoughts in the air between us.
“Millie,” El shouts from the dining room, her voice bouncing off the walls to reach me. “Are you still looking for us?”
Finn’s concentration on my throat breaks, and he meets my gaze, his eyes sparkling with something I can’t identify. His focus drops to my lips for a beat before he steps back and swallows.
I blink a few times, trying to clear whatever just happened. Forcing a deep breath through my tight lungs, I sneak into the dining room.
Excited whispers sound from under the table, but I want to draw out their suspense, so I start opening drawers in the buffet. Avery and Eloise snicker like they believe I think they’re hiding in a drawer big enough to hold only a few tablecloths.
When I get to the bottom drawer, I close it slowly and whip around. I meet Avery’s wide eyes under the table—and both girls shriek at the top of their lungs, so loud and shrill that I’m sure the neighbors are wondering what’s happening.
I nearly fall over laughing as they crawl between the dining chairs and launch themselves at me between fits of giggles.
“Why’d you scream so loud?” I ask when I finally manage to take a breath, the girls sprawled happily across me.
“You surprised us,” El squeals.
Squeezing the girls closer, I whisper, “Want to make some cookies with me?”
“Yes!” they both cheer, jumping up and running to the kitchen.
I brush my skirt down, straighten my shirt, and run my hands over my hair to compose myself. When I make it to the kitchen, I find Finn standing with his back to the island. Avery and Eloise sit on the counter on each side of him, barely containing their excited smiles.
“We got you something,” Finn says suspiciously, adjusting his glasses.
“It’s a present,” Avery squeaks, wiggling her little body like she can’t stand to hold this inside much longer.
Finn twirls his finger in the air. “Turn around.”
My body follows his orders before I give it permission. As he steps closer, I sense his presence right behind me, the heat radiating from him warming my back.
“I’m going to cover your eyes. Is that okay?” he asks gently, and I’m sure it’s not supposed to sound sexual, but that’s where my mind takes it anyway.
When I nod, he brings his hands over my eyes, and time stops. His scent wraps around me like a woodsy blanket, and I hope it soaks into my skin and stays on my clothes so I can inhale it later. Because right now, the temptation to lean back into his hard body is so enticing that I force myself not to take a breath in case it brings me in contact with his chest.
“Okay, turn back around,” he whispers, and I shuffle my feet toward the counter.
“Now open,” Eloise tells me.
