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“Ryan told me you left it here, and asked if I wanted to keep it, so I did. Had I known it would bother you so much, I would have had him ship it to you.”

Thorin grimaces, brushing his dark hair behind his ear. “And the song?”

“What about it?” I knew playing it was gonna bite me in the ass, in retrospect.

“Under the same sky? Really? Was that your way of getting back at me or something?”

“Oh for God’s sake, it’s just a damn song, okay?” And a promise you broke years ago. “It’s not a big deal, so why not let it go.”

“You know it’s not just a song, Reese. Why’d you sing it tonight? Why tonight?”

“Je-zus,” I sigh. “They’re words, empty and meaningless words that I wrote when I was in college. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Thorin lowers his head, bringing his mouth to my ear and damn if his hot breath doesn’t make me shiver. “They’re not empty or meaningless, and we both know it.”

Before I can offer a rebuttal, he’s stomping his way back to where the guys are singing, and fooling around with anything that can be a make-shift instrument. And suddenly, I don’t feel like celebrating anymore. Because he’s wrong. Maybe once upon a time those words, under the same sky, held meaning, but life robbed me of that, and now they mean nothing.

Chapter Ten

Reese

Dressed in my parka, I bounce on the balls of my feet with Eli in a baby wrap close to my chest. I don’t want to wake him, but I’m too excited to stand still. After an emotional goodbye to Maggie, and promises that we’ll visit her in Florida soon, Thorin and I walked from departures to arrivals. Mya’s flight landed thirty minutes after Maggie’s took off and she should be coming through the doors any minute. Of course, I keep my eyes on anything but Thorin. It’s been a frosty week since I played at the bonfire, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the weather. He’s been avoiding me all week, and to his credit, quite skillfully. If I walked into the kitchen of the main house, he’d leave, even if it was mid-conversation with Maggie, and on the nights he didn’t have Eli, he was with his band at their rental house. I wanted to ask him why he was behaving like such an ass, but decided to let him stew and come to me if he wanted to talk. Or maybe even apologize for how he spoke to me. I’m many things, but an ass-kisser isn’t one of them. His aviators are in place, and his stance is somewhat menacing—arms crossed over his broad chest, legs slightly parted. When a group of young girls pass him, they giggle, and with shy smiles ask him for an autograph. He rewards them with a megawatt smile, and I have to fight an eye roll. Not because of the girls, but because he’s smiling, and making a few jokes with them, and yet, he’s treated me like a nanny-slash-stranger all damn week. Jerk. The girls mumble giggled thanks you’s, and as soon as they’re gone, he’s back to his surly self. We’re lucky he hasn’t been mobbed, but then again, both Maggie and Mya’s flights were after peak times, so the airport isn’t awfully busy after eight-thirty p.m. Thorin stares ahead, and I sigh. Pick your battles, Reese. There’s a commotion ahead of us, and I hear Mya before I see her. “Listen here you brainless fuckwit, you can give me back my luggage…oh really? How the fuck do you confuse a Louis Vuitton rolling suitcase with a fucking duffel bag…Riiiight….uh-huh…Well, I suggest you take your piece of shit bag, and walk in the other direction before I’m arrested by airport security for assault!…Is that so? Why don’t you try me, redneck!”

I take a few steps closer, but Thorin’s paw lands on my shoulder. It’s the first contact we’ve had in days, and when he lifts his glasses, I find his brows are creased. Well then, looks like someone can show something other than irritation.

“I know her,” I tell him. “Relax.”

A dark head of hair—or rather, a messy top knot—bobbles through the throng of passengers coming in from the arrival’s carousels, and the minute Mya’s eyes land on me, she let’s out an exasperated sigh. And then she’s all but running at me, stopping short when she realizes I have a tiny human cradled to my chest.

“Ohhmigod,” she breathes, blowing a loose strand of raven hair from her face. “I thought that flight would never end. I had a toddler behind me who kept screaming and kicking my fucking chair, little shit.”

I laugh, and give her a side-hug. “I’m so glad you’re finally here!”

Mya drops her luggage—all five bags—beside her rolling suitcase, and leans down to look at Eli. “He’s so small,” she whispers. “And so damn cute.”

A throat clears, and we glance at Thorin. In all my excitement, I momentarily forgot he was there. Strange, considering he’s not the unnoticeable type, but hey, I guess I’m a little pissed at him for treating me like a damn menace. Mya lifts a brow, and pops her hip, but it’s in no way flirtatious. She knows Thorin has been the king of all asses lately. “And you are?” She asks. Her lack of interest makes me hide a smile behind my hand. Of course, she knows who he is, and listens to his bands’ music, but right now, she’s the president of the ‘Thorin is an ass’ club.

“Uh, I’m Thorin,” He replies. Poor guy looks confused.

“Uh-huh.” Mya grabs her luggage and shoves it at him. “Well, Thorin, these bags ain’t gonna get themselves to the car.” I smother another laugh at his shocked expression, and then Mya has her arm around me, leading me to the exit. “God, I’ve missed you, bestie.”

“I’ve missed you too. It’ll be nice to have some real company for a change.” Thorin grumbles something behind me, but I ignore it. When we get to my truck, Thorin tosses Mya’s luggage in the trunk while I get Eli settled in his car seat, and Mya climbs in the back. Thorin walks around, and tosses me the keys. “Drop me off at the guys’ house.”

No please. Just a command. He stomps to the passenger side and gets in, and luckily, Mya is behind him so he’s not privy to her death glare.

“Okay then,” I murmur, getting myself situated in the driver seat. Since Thorin drove us to the airport I have to move the seat waaaay forward, because you know, he has legs for days. I drive out of the lot, and ease onto the freeway, we’re a good hour from Horseshoe Bay. Glancing at Thorin’s profile, I sigh, resigned to the fact that it’s going to be a long drive if there’s nothing but silence. Fortunately, Mya comes to the rescue. Although, from the glance she spares me in the rearview mirror, I know the word ‘rescue’ isn’t going to be applicable.

“So, Thorin,” she starts. “Reese tells me you’re in a boy band.”

Oh dear Lord have mercy.

Thorin glares at me, and then resumes staring straight ahead. “Something like that,” he murmurs, visibly agitated.

“Is it like OneDirection, or more Backstreet Boys? I mean, they’re both cool, and all, but their voices are a bit too whiney for me, and their lyrics are have all the teen angst feels. Not really my vibe, you know?”

God, now I know she’s trying to poke the grizzly bear sitting next to me. I totally should have seen it coming, it’s something Mya would absolutely do after I told her how he’s been behaving since the bonfire. When he doesn’t answer her, she takes that as her cue to continue prodding, no doubt hoping for a reaction. I should put an end to it, but I quite like seeing the big guy squirm.

“What’re you guys called, anyway?” She asks, leaning between the two front seats.