Page 18 of Grant’s Blaze

Her arms were surprisingly strong as she gripped me tighter around the neck.

“Don’t you dare put me down, mister. Not yet.” That last part came out in a shaky whisper, but then she found strength in her intention again. “Not ever.”

I raised a brow playfully, and shit, it felt so good to be lighthearted about something. “Ever?”

“Never.” With a solemn chin dip, she declared it to be.

And so it was.

Elijah cleared his throat, making us both turn to glare at him.

“Way to ruin a moment, man.”

“Really? You’re going there?” he volleyed. “Christ. All that sap is going to be hard to get off my floor, and I just had these redone.” He scuffed the slate tile with his sock-covered toe.

“Yeah, I noticed when I got here the other day,” I countered. “Wait, was that yesterday? No. Two days ago? Shit, I’m clueless. I don’t even know what day of the week it is. Regardless, floors look good.”

I walked over to my friend with my hand outstretched, and he took it. We did our usual combination of shakes and ended it with a brotherly hug.

“Thank you. For everything. I’ll get the clothes back to you.”

“Pfffft. Don’t stress about it. I’m not going to,” Elijah said.

“Do you stress about anything? Ever?” I teased.

“Nope. Not really.” He chuckled and held the door open for Rio and me.

Once we were outside Elijah’s gate, I stopped abruptly and turned to the incredible woman clutching my hand. Rio looked up and quickly shielded her eyes from the early morning sun, until I stepped one foot to the side and blocked the glare for her with my stance. I would throw my body into oncoming traffic if it meant making her day—a moment—easier for her.

“What is it?” she asked with genuine concern. “Did you forget something inside? Are you feeling okay?”

I threw my head back and laughed. It was a relief, easing some of the tension on the smile that was so big it hurt. “Do you have any idea how happy I am to see you this morning?” I circled her waist, reveling in how she truly felt like a radiant fire after the dark forest in which I’d been trapped for so damn long. “Do you know how happy I am that you came here for me?”

Her eyes sparkled with tiny gold flecks. Her chin jogged up at the same time as her gorgeous lips. “So…I’ll make you a deal, Tree.”

“Name it.”

Her pout was so full and sleek that I barely remembered she was propositioning me. My God, with that kind of an expression, she could’ve asked if I’d help her rob a bank, and I’d have been her eager accomplice.

“Don’t you want to hear the stakes?”

“Nope.” I thought of myself robbing a bank. It was still feeling like a hell of a lot of fun. “Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

“Hmmm, in that case…” she said, now throwing in a devilish tilt to her glossy lips. “I was thinking we probably should get a bigger car. I think Kendall is a little too small for someone your height. And the plumbing in the bungalow is really acting up. I was thinking about putting it on the market, but I’m not sure it will pass inspection. And—”

While she recited the wish list, we were power walking toward her car. Her frenetic energy was buzzing all around her, nearly at an all-time high. I didn’t stop her. It was all too addicting. Too magnificent and familiar and beautiful. And absolutely perfect—until suddenly she stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and nearly pulled my arm from its socket.

“Shit, baby. A little warning if you’re going to stop, yeah?”

“I was waiting for you to interrupt me!”

I shook my head. “Why?”

“Oh, Tree.” As she pushed against me and pressed a hand to my face, a salty wind blew some of her cute spikes against her own cheeks. “I would never expect any of it from you.”

I took a second, searching her face. Those sweet, full contours were better than my first sips of water after getting off the helicopter with Elijah. “But why not?”

She gave me a solid double take. “I was teasing you, Grant. None of that was what I was really going to say!”