I chuckled and moved my hand back to his chest. “Of course. I’ll let you and Little Leo rest.”
“Fuck,” he groaned.
I looked down and saw a bulge in his jeans and snorted.
“Just ignore it. You acknowledged him and now he’s getting mixed signals.”
I kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Leo. They’re going to love to you.”
How could they not?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Leo
Spotting the woman whowas picking us up turned out to be remarkably easy. Standing in the sun just outside the baggage claim terminal was a woman who looked like I imagined Sophia would in twenty years. Sophia sprinted to her and hugged her as I followed along with both our bags, smiling at her joy.
“Mom, this is Leo.” Sophia gestured to me as she let go. “Leo, this is my mom, Laura, and I have to pee so bad—just don’t say anything embarrassing, Mom.”
She sprinted back inside to the bathroom, leaving me alone with her mother. Before I had a chance to wonder if this would be awkward as hell, Laura wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me, speaking quietly. “Thank you for being with her when we couldn’t be. You have no idea how much it means to me that you took care of her that night.”
I hugged her back, my eyes stinging at the thought of Sophia’s traumatic night and her mother’s gratitude. I imagined being so far away from her daughter when that happened hadn’t been easy.
I smiled at her as she let go. “Laura, I love your daughter very much. I promise, when she’s in Boston, she’s safe with me.”
Laura blinked away moisture in her eyes and looked at me quizzically. “Does she know you love her?”
“As of two days ago,” I said proudly.
“Ah, I see,” she said with a chuckle. “I guess changing her flight and getting stranded at the airport worked out for both of you after all.”
Sophia came back and looked between her mom and me, her eyes landing on her mom. “Are you being embarrassing?”
“Of course not, honey. Let’s go, Elena’s been dying to meet this boy who apparently loves you”—Laura wiggled her eyebrows and put her arm around Sophia’s waist—“and Dave promised not to be weird.”
“You told her you love me?” Sophia looked over her shoulder at me.
I shrugged and laughed. “I want her to know I’m committed.”
Laura glanced at me as I fell into step on Sophia’s other side. “I like him,” she said.
I smiled smugly and Sophia rolled her eyes. “That’s just going to go to his head, you know,” Sophia said.
It wasn’t a long drive to Laura and Dave’s house. Sophia and her mom chatted the entire way while Sophia and I sipped the coffees that had been waiting in the car for us. They pulled me into conversation enough that it wasn’t awkward riding in the back seat by myself. I could tell how close they were by Soph’s relaxed demeanor and the way she said everything that came to her mind without blushing once—even when she recapped the story of stumbling upon my father yesterday morning in the hallway. Their openness with each other reminded me so much ofmy own family that I marveled at how we’d found each other across an entire ocean.
My biggest risk of embarrassment for the evening was probably falling asleep while someone tried to talk to me. I was exhausted. After a while, I rested my head against the seat with my eyes closed. It seemed like this day had already lasted twenty-four hours with nothing but a measly nap.
It felt like I’d barely closed my eyes when Laura turned the car off. I opened my eyes to see we were in the driveway of a modest-size, contemporary home and a dark-haired girl with purple streaks in her hair came sprinting out of the front door.
That must be Elena.
Sophia unbuckled and jumped out of the car, immediately embracing her.
“I missed you like crazy,” Elena said as I stepped out of the car. “The boys made me play with their toys all day yesterday because you weren’t there to humor them.”
“I’m sorry, El. I bet you did great,” Sophia said.
Laura moved our bags from her car to what I assumed was Sophia’s car before stopping to watch the girls.
