Her eyes open wide. “How did I not know Garrett was military?”
“Because he doesn’t like to talk about it too often.”
“Hmm.” She stirs the soup. “It was the pot lid’s fault. Not mine.”
The corners of my lips twitch. “If you say so.”
She shoots me a look. It’s half shy and half amused, and something warm curls in my belly. “You should sit,” she says.
Before I do, I light the fire. If I’m gonna relax for a heartbeat, I’m gonna be warm and comfortable.
There’s something domesticated about the scene as I kick off my boots and realize I’m still wearing my leather pants. So, I shimmy them off too, so I’m left in my jeans.
I ease into the chair, suddenly aware that the panic and adrenaline I’ve been riding since the crash left my system.
Because Garrett’s alive.
And Isla’s here.
And the man I love was right. I want to take what I need, but I also want to offer something back.
“Isla?” I say softly.
She glances over her shoulder from the cupboard she’s decided to clean. “Yeah?”
“Earlier…outside the house. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
She turns to face me properly, and I can see the way her breath catches.
“I mean it,” I add. “That moment…holding you…it grounded me.Yougrounded me. You kept me from tipping over and losing my shit.” My throat closes, for a second. “It mattered.”
“Kai.” She blinks fast, and when she looks up to the ceiling, I swear I see the shimmer of tears. “You did the same for me, when Grudge and Smoke appeared and I got overwhelmed.”
“We don’t expect anything from you. Not me. Not Garrett. We just…we like having you around.”
She swallows hard. “I don’t really know how to be around anyone right now.”
“We know. And that’s okay. We’re pretty patient.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly how I’d describe the two of you.” She lets out a shaky breath, a tiny smile tugging at lips I’m thinking long and hard about kissing.
She’ll be the first woman I’ve kissed in a long time. Hopefully.
Something tender suspends between us, reaching out in unfurling tendrils.
Then, the pot on the stove pops loudly, making her jump. And then, she laughs…like, really laughs…and something in my chest cracks wide open.
Because that’s a sound we’ve been missing.
And maybe it’s exactly what this house needs.
16
ISLA
The soup tasted so good.
At least, that’s what Kai reassured me when he inhaled his portion.
