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“I used milk,” I admitted.
She pressed her lips to my throat and said, “Try half and half. That’s what you used to like.” She paused. “Where did you find milk?”
I grinned at the sound of disgust in her tone.
“I didn’t find any milk,” I admitted. “They had powdered milk next to the coffee.”
She made a humming sound, then snuggled in even deeper.
I finished off the rest of my coffee and rested the cup on the railing, then utilized both hands by wrapping them around her and pulling her in even tighter to my chest.
We stayed like that for a long time. Me holding her, and her laying her head on my chest and running her fingers absently over my scars.
It was only when I heard her stomach growl that I thought about food.
“You want to go grab some breakfast?” I asked. “Then we can go to the store and load up on groceries for the week.”
She made a reluctant agreeing sound, then stood up from my lap.
With the new position she was in, it put her ass directly in front of my face.
I grinned at her butt and cupped it, squeezing lightly.
She squawked in surprise as she turned around and began to laugh.
“My butt’s sore,” she admitted.
My brows rose.
“From running,” she pushed. “You made me run harder than I wanted to last time.”
I winked at her and stood up, pulling her in close when she would’ve stepped away.
After pressing a hard kiss onto her upturned lips, I let her go and pushed her slightly away when she appeared dazed.
“Frankie, clothes,” I teased.
She jerked as if I’d spanked her again, then rushed away with a large grin on her face.
It was about two minutes into her getting dressed that I heard her talking on the phone.
I’d originally been about to go in there and talk to her, but then I heard her say ‘dad’ and chose to give her time in case she needed it.
Yesterday had been rough.
I didn’t blame her for wanting to talk to her dad.
In fact, I was so deep in concentration that I didn’t hear her come back in until she spoke.
“Cora and my dad aren’t coming,” I heard Frankie say.
I blinked and looked up from the coffee I was making to find Frankie standing in the doorway that led to the back deck.
“What?” I asked. “Why?”
She bit her lip.
“I…I asked them not to come,” she admitted sheepishly.
I felt something inside my chest loosen at the knowledge that she read me that well.
“You knew I didn’t want to deal with that yet?” I asked.
She gave me a knowing look.
“I knew that you didn’t want to talk to me, let alone your family,” she said.
I was already shaking my head.
“I don’t mind talking to you,” I confessed. “That’s never been the problem.”
Her face went soft and sweet.
“I just want a few days to process this while nobody’s around,” I said. “You’re good. You ground me. But them? I think it’ll all be overwhelming.”
She came up behind me and pressed herself against my back, her face burying between my shoulder blades.
“When you’re ready,” she whispered. “But don’t wait too long, Luca. They’ve gone a long time without you.”
I knew they had.
I also knew that it was somewhat selfish wanting to get my head on straight before I told anyone.
I just knew that everything would change once I did.
***
“I’m sorry, but what?” I asked, thinking I hadn’t heard her correctly.
She pointed at a box that had caught her attention while we were shopping for groceries.
“I want to get a metal detector and take it to the beach,” she repeated.
No, I hadn’t misheard her.
“You don’t want to lie out on the beach with your friends?” I asked, just to make sure I was hearing her correctly.
She shook her head.
“Nope,” she confirmed. “I saw a video online of a man that was doing it. They actually rent the metal detector, and the little net-like thing that you can scoop up the sand with.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it.
Then shrugged.
“Fine with me,” I admitted. “But… are you sure you want me to go with you?”
She gave me a sharp look. “Yes, I’m sure.”
I gave her an assessing look just to make sure that she was of sound mind after last night.
“Your friends weren’t very happy when they heard I was coming with you for this trip,” I pointed out. “I really don’t mind staying home while you do that.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“I don’t care if they are or are not,” I admitted. “Honestly, the only reason I came was because of the bullshit that was creeping up at home. To wait for it to die down.”
That was the only reason I came, too. Though, our bullshit was different.
She was having to deal with Cromwell and the crap that he was slinging every day at the office.
