Juni came bundling over with a handful of forks, counting them out as she rounded the table. “One, two, three, four, five.” She smiled up at me. “There you go.”
I grinned at her. “Thank you.”
“You gots it, Motorcycle Man.”
And shit, I touched her dimpled chin, couldn’t stop it, the affection that rose up and took me under.
A flashflood that came from out of nowhere.
Caught me unaware.
Fifteen minutes later, the five of us were sitting around the table eating what was, in fact, the best breakfast in ever in ever.
Straight-up delicious.
But I was pretty sure it was the company that made it unforgettable. My nephew on my right and my girl on my left. Salem’s grandmother sat next to her, and Juni sat squeezed between Mimi and Gage on a high stool since there weren’t enough chairs for all of us.
Juni and Gage prattled nonstop, giggling and stuffing their faces while telling the tallest tales, while I let myself get lost in the feeling.
This sensation that a bad piece of me had gone right.
That maybe…maybe…
“That was incredible,” I said as I took my last bite. I looked across the table at Mimi, like she’d insisted I call her. “I really appreciate you inviting me.”
She smirked, all kinds of knowing. “I don’t think it was me who did the inviting. Some people just head in the direction they belong.”
“Mimi.” Horror flew from Salem’s mouth.
A rough chuckle scraped from mine. Under the table, I set my hand on Salem’s thigh and gently squeezed. Fuckin’ loved the way she breathed out a tiny sound that lit a fire in my veins. I glanced at Salem and then at her grandmother. “Well, I’m just glad the door was open when I got here.”
“Oh, it wasn’t open, young man…it seems you possessed the right key to turn the lock.” Suggestion filled her words, and the old woman flashed this scandalous smile, her face weathered and aged, but it was clear the mischief had never faded from her mind.
I choked out a laugh.
Groaning, Salem covered her face with her hands. “Mimi. Oh my god.”
Mimi laughed low. “Just tellin’ it like it is.”
“Well, I wish you wouldn’t.” Salem widened her eyes at her grandmother when she dropped her hands.
Mimi waved a flippant hand in the air. “Now, what would be the fun in that? Everyone should find the one who can love them up right.”
I had to turn my head and press my mouth to my sleeve to keep from cracking up.
“I gots the love for Gage,” Juni piped in.
“Oh my lord,” Salem muttered, almost sliding under the table in embarrassment.
“Yep,” Gage agreed, sitting up high on his knees and chewing a giant bite of pancake. “I love her all the way to the sky which is even higher than the mountains.”
“Is that so?” I asked him, the kid so damned cute that sometimes it was hard to look at him.
“Yup. We’re gonna get married.”
A chuckle rumbled up my throat. “Married, huh?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Juni said. “We decided last night so I can stay here forever and evers and nots ever go on any new adventures because I don’t want to nevers leave. But no kissing. Blech.”
Juni curled her face in disgust, all while I felt the turmoil slam into Salem. The grief that struck her out of the blue.
I squeezed her thigh tighter and looked at this woman who bore so much pain, those secrets stark in her eyes, like they were trying to fight their way out to me.
Looking for a safe harbor.
Disquiet blustered through the kitchen, the two children completely unaware, while the rest of us were stuck in the reality of a very complicated situation.
A situation my fingers itched with the urge to uncomplicate. Clearing her throat, Mimi stood and gathered Juni and Gage’s plates. “Well, that sounds like a mighty fine plan.”
There was pain in her voice, too, though she was hiding it the best she could by pressing her lips to Juni’s forehead. Juni grinned like mad under her great grandmother’s affection.
I squeezed Salem’s thigh harder, my heart shouting like mad.
I have you, Salem. I have you. And I’m not going to let you go.
Salem and I stood side-by-side at the kitchen sink. In silence, I rinsed the dishes while she loaded them into the dishwasher. A casual comfort had taken us over as we worked together like it was something we did every day.
Mimi about had a coronary with the idea of a guest doing the dishes, but I told her since I had the key, then I guessed it was my place.
She’d cocked me a grin and gave me a pat to the cheek and whispered, “Sly dog,” before she’d sauntered off to see what antics Juni and Gage had gotten up to in the other room.
It was damned impossible not to like the woman.
I angled an eye at the one next to me. Every cell in my body fisted. Yeah, it was impossible not to like her, too.
“What?” Salem asked, redness hinting at her cheek when she caught me staring.
“You’re so pretty.”
Her lips twitched up along with the faint shyness that I glimpsed every now and again.
This vixen who had so many complex layers. I couldn’t wait to peel back each one.
“Pretty, huh?” It was a soft play from her mouth as she gave me a little check of her hip that hit me in the thigh since she was at least a foot shorter than me.
Rinsing the last plate, I handed it to her then grabbed the dishtowel on the counter to dry my hands. Salem placed it into the dishwasher and shut the door, pushing a button to make it spin to life.
Like she felt me staring, which I most definitely was doing, she turned to look at me. This woman who was making me forget every single thing I knew about myself.
I slipped my palm along the contour of her jaw, tipped it up, murmured, “Beautiful. Meaning of it. Every part. This face and this body and this heart.”
“Jud.” My name was affection. A question. Confusion.
“I’m right here, darlin’，” I promised her.
“I see that.” Then she narrowed those eyes at me. “I thought it was my decision what happened in the morning?”
There was a lilting tease that infiltrated her voice.
“Well, see, gorgeous, I felt some kind of uncertainty on your part on how that was going to go down, so I thought I might nudge you in the right direction.”
Her brow arched. “Right direction?”
“One where the two of us meet.”
Reservations slithered across her skin, that gaze dimming with them, though I could feel the rest of her reaching for me. As if she could sink right in.
I hesitated, then asked, “What Juniper said earlier? About the adventures…”
I eyed her as I asked it, already knowing the answer. Moisture filled that gaze, and she blew out a heavy sigh as she nodded. “It’s what I started telling her when I’d rush to pack our things and we’d leave in the night…that we were going on an adventure.”
My thumb traced her lips, and I tried to keep it together, to rein the stampede that was going to trample my soul. “To keep her from being scared?”
She could barely nod.
“You’re amazing.”
She started to shake her head, to pull away, but I forced her to remain looking at me.