“Don’t ever call me again,” Stone muttered as Stevie approached, Nico right behind her.
“Hey, Stevie,” CJ greeted. “How you been, sweetheart?”
“Good.” Stevie smiled up at CJ, but her attention quickly shifted to Stone.
Their eyes met and held. He got lost in the dark brown depths the same way he had back then. He didn’t want to, but manners had him getting to his feet. He stepped toward her, closing the distance without realizing he was.
She tilted her head back, her eyes locked with his, an expression of surprise on her face.
Heaven help him. Stone was pretty sure this was what an out-of-body experience felt like. As though he was hovering elsewhere in the room, watching this interaction because the emotions that churned within him were too much for his tired brain to process.
“Hey, girl,” he said in a rough whisper.
She swallowed hard. “Hey.”
The soft rasp of her voice caused a chill to shoot down his spine. Because it was awkward not to, Stone pulled her in for a hug, his arms going around her. He swore he heard her gasp softly as she put her arms around him, hugging him back.
And just like that, everything he felt came rushing back, flooding his limbic system. For one brief moment, it was as though he’d never left, like the past fifteen years hadn’t happened, because this—right here with Stevie in his arms—was the only place he’d ever wanted to be.
She smelled incredible. Some spicy, fruity blend—definitely strawberries—that went right to his head. One touch and every feeling he’d thought was lost forever returned, overwhelming him—mind, body, and soul.
Fuck, he had missed her, but he hadn’t realized how much until this moment.
“Good to see you, man,” CJ said to Nico. “Talk atcha later.”
Stone forced himself to release Stevie, meeting her gaze one more time before returning to the booth. His movements were awkward, but he wasn’t sure what to do or say, so he motioned for them to join him. He didn’t sit down—not at first. But then he became self-conscious, so he slid into the booth.
Stevie took the puppy from Nico and set him on the floor. It took only a second before the little fluff ball had his front paws propped up on the booth beside Stone.
“What’s up?” Stone asked the dog, unable to resist the urge to scratch between his ears.
“Sit,” Nico told the dog, gently urging his hind end down to the ground.
The dog sat.
“Impressive.”
“Not really,” Nico said, although he was smiling. At the dog, of course.
“You two sit,” Stone told them, pointing toward the side of the booth that CJ just vacated.
Stevie looked up at Nico as though … what? Was she seeking permission? Or sending him a silent plea for help?
“Didn’t sound like a question,” Nico countered, his gaze bouncing between him and Stevie.
Using his own words against him. Clever.
Stone gestured toward the seat and said, “It wasn’t.”
Something flashed in Nico’s dark blue eyes. He looked at Stevie one more time, and she gave a slight nod. A second later, she shrugged off her coat and scooted into the booth, leaving room for Nico to sit beside her.
“Sit,” Nico told the puppy again.
“He got a name yet?”
“No.”
“Why not?” Stone grinned down at the puppy trying to sit but unable to keep his hind end from wagging uncontrollably.
