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“Oh, sweets,” Eli says a second before his arms wrap around me and I’m crushed against his chest.
He smells like pine needles and fire and I breathe him in as I try to get myself under control. Tears slip free, wetting my eyelashes before they make tracks down my cheeks. I’m probably leaving a wet spot on his shirt, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’ll be okay. You’re never going to get rid of my mom now anyway. We can split her.”
I choke out a laugh, wrapping my arms tighter around Eli’s waist.
“Thanks,” I whisper but I know that he hears me.
We stand like that for a few minutes, until my tears have stopped and I’ve got myself under control. I clear my throat, stepping away from him and turning to grab my coat.
Silence hangs in the air between us and I wish that I could say something to break the tension, but my mind is blank. I grab my coat off the hook by the front door and slip it on.
“Want help with that?” Eli asks and I look up to see him grinning at me.
“Leave all that flirting for your parents.” I close my eyes in pain. “Oh my god, that came out wrong.”
Eli laughs, like a full-on belly laugh, and that sound has me mesmerized. I’ve seen him chuckle and even laugh, but never like this. It’s beautiful but a little shocking after seeing him so stoic for most of the past week.
“Let’s go, sweets,” Eli says, resting his hand on the small of my back as we walk down the stairs and over to his truck.
I gasp when his hands land on my hips and he boosts me up into the passenger seat. Before I can say anything though, Eli is closing the passenger door and rounding the hood.
We talk about his parents and go over our story one more time as Eli drives us back to his house. I’m not sure where I expected Eli to live, but the wood cabin fits him perfectly.
It’s a two-story and the dark wood of the cabin stands out against the white snow. All of the lights in the place seem to be on and with the smoke coming out of the chimney and the snow and trees as a backdrop, it actually looks really cozy. I try to take it all in as he pulls into the drive.
Eli parks out front and hurries over to open the door and help me out. Before my feet have even touched the ground, the front door is ripped open and a tall, slight, energetic woman steps out.
“Hartley! It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she says, hurrying down the front steps.
Eli sighs as he sets me on the ground and closes the truck door.
“Come on, sweets,” he says, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me over to greet his mom.
She meets us over halfway and throws her arms around my shoulders, crushing me in a bear hug. For someone so thin, she sure is strong. She’s got a dark green wool sweater on and the fabric tickles my nose as she continues to squeeze me to her.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Grove,” I say with a small laugh as Eli practically wrestles her off me.
“Come in, come in! It’s freezing out here.”
Mrs. Grove wraps her arm through mine and drags me up the front steps and inside.
“Have you been here before?” she asks me and I look to Eli.
Will it be weird if I say no?
“No, Mom. This is the first time.”
“We’ve been busy over at the bakery. Eli has been helping me get the place up and running,” I tell her and she looks at her son lovingly.
“He’s a good boy. Now come meet Frank. I’m Susan, by the way. You can call me that… or Mom,” she says with a wink.
“Mom!” Eli says exasperatedly from behind us.
“Whatever you’re comfortable with,” she says as she pats my arm and leads me into the living room that’s off the main hallway where a tall man is piling some more wood by the fireplace.
“Hartley, this is my husband, Frank. Frank, this is Eli’s girlfriend, Hartley.”
