She pats his chest when she steps back and says, “Call me Kristy, honey. You’re part of the family now.”
The big smile that spreads across Damien’s face is one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen, and when we follow my grandma inside, I know I’d marry him right this second if I could.
“Hey, Grandpa,” I say when I see him walking into the room.
“Hey, honey,” he says, giving me a big hug as soon as he’s close enough. He looks between Damien and me, and when my grandma says, “Boris, I need you to just listen for a second,” he shakes his head and gives her a quick kiss so she has no choice but to stop talking. When he pulls back, her eyes are still wide with surprise.
“I love you, Kristy, but don’t you dare say another word. I don’t want to know. I’m going to bring some pie to the guards on duty tonight. I’ll be back in about an hour, okay?”
“Okay,” my grandma says and then helps him scoop out several slices before handing him two small containers of vanilla ice cream to go along with it.
When he passes by, he stops to kiss my forehead. “I love you, honey. I just don’t want to know anything that will make it impossible to face my bosses.”
“I understand, Grandpa. I love you too,” I tell him.
He gives me a wink and then walks past Damien while saying, “I’d stop and say hi, but I’m pretending you aren’t here and I didn’t see you.”
“Understood,” Damien says, holding the door open for him so he can make his escape.
“Well, that’s one way to handle it, I suppose,” my grandma says and then claps her hands and grabs some plates. “Okay, who wants some pie?”
Chapter 19
Damien
By the time we leave her grandma’s house, I have a stomach full of pie and ice cream and I’m more convinced than ever that I want to join this family as soon as possible.
“I like having grandmas,” I tell Sitka as I wrap my arm around her and pull her in close to me. “Both of yours are really nice and they love to feed me.”
She wraps her arm around my waist and rests her head on my chest while we walk at a lazy pace, heading towards one of the walking paths that lead down to the beach. It’s dark, but her grandma and mom both have fairy lights strewn all over the back of their houses, so it’s impossible to get lost.
“You’ve really never met your grandparents?”
“No,” I tell her. “My dad’s parents were pretty awful and my mom’s weren’t much better. Based on what little I’ve heard about them, they weren’t worth knowing. That’s okay, though. I get yours now, so it all turned out okay.”
“Both my grandmas really love you,” she says, “And Boris will too once he’s allowed to talk to you.”
I grin at that and lead her over to an Adirondack chair that’s sitting off to the side. It’s in the soft, loose sand and in no danger of getting overtaken by water, so I sit down and pull her onto mylap. The ocean is hidden by darkness, stretching out in front of us with only the crashing of waves reminding us that it’s there.
She relaxes against me while I wrap my arms around her, shielding her from the dropping temperature and cool wind. She’d grabbed a hoodie before we left her mom’s, but when I lean my face close to hers, I feel how cold the tip of her nose is when it brushes my cheek.
“You need to go inside?” I ask.
“No way,” she says. “I’m perfect right where I’m at.”
I couldn’t agree more, so I tighten my grip on her and breathe in the fresh, wild scent of her. “Where’d Nyx run off to?” I ask while dragging my nose along her hair as it whips around us.
“I’m guessing she ran home so she could cuddle up with my mom on the couch. She really loves to snuggle.”
I grin at that and nip at her ear. “That was my immediate thought when you sent me a picture of her. I thought I bet that dog’s a huge cuddler.”
“Yeah, she’s not at all how you expect her to be if you’re just judging her by looks.”
“Oh, I have no doubt she’d rip my throat out in less than a minute if she thought I was a threat to you,” I tell her. “She’s nice to me because you are.”
“Hmm,” she murmurs before tipping her head to give me better access to her neck. “Better keep me in a good mood then.”
The deep laugh she pulls from me is effortless. I’ve never met anyone who makes me feel as good as she does. Whether it’s when I’m buried so deep inside her I feel like we’re one person or when it’s just us goofing around and laughing, she makes me happy. I know that for the rare gift it is, and I’m not the kind of man who will ever forget or lose sight of how goddamn lucky I am to have her.
