She purses her lips and crosses her arms.
“Where’s Creed?”
He scoffs and mimics her. “Somewhere behind me. Don’t you want to know what I brought you?”
Her arms immediately fall to her sides. “You got me something?”
“I did. Close your eyes.” She does so without question. “No peaking.”
She squints her lids even tighter and does a small happy dance as she patiently waits. With a snap of his fingers, a bouquet of angel orchids appears in his hand.
“Okay, open them.”
She gasps, then sticks her face in the flowers, inhaling deeply.
“They’re so pretty. Thank you, Mr. Riven,” she says, then her eyes whip over his shoulder. “Creed!”
He barely has time to adjust before she’s locking her arms around his waist. He awkwardly holds the box in his hand above her head, then stares at all of us like he thought she wouldn’t care for him on his return.
Riven rises from his knee, still holding the flowers, and I bite back the laugh desperately trying to burst out of me. He splays his hand across his chest, and his face contorts in utter disgust.
“Did she just call meMr. Riven?” he asks like it’s the worst thing he’s ever been called.
“She has manners,” Thayla says through her small laugh.
“Taurnshit. She calls Creed, Creed. We’re going to have to work on that. I don’t like this dynamic that’s started. Not one little bit.”
The two of us shake our heads at him.
Amick sets the box down that he carries in and moves straight to Thayla. Her eyes drift shut as he lays a kiss to her forehead.
“How’d everything go?” she asks him.
“As expected.”
“Did you get all my stuff?” Laney asks, stealing our attention once again as she finally releases Creed.
A small smirk tugs at his mouth. “All of it.”
Her entire face lights up, and she peers around him as Derivius, Nero, and Sevryn come in and set down boxes in the living room.
“Lambrit, can I go through all of it and make sure it’s all here?”
He gives her a tender smile. “Go ahead.”
Her arms stretch up for the box in Creed’s arms, and he sets it on the floor for her. Then he has to step over her as she drops to her knees without hesitation and tears the cardboard open.
Childlike wonder is always adorable.
“Thank you all for going for her,” Lambrit says once everyone makes their way to the kitchen.
“No thanks needed at all Lam-the-man,” Riven says, patting him on his back as he slumps into a chair.
We all jerk our attention right back to Laney as an ear-piercing shriek rips out of her.
“I found it!”
The excitement in her voice is immediate and bright.
