Her cheeks flushed, hot and pink and oh so sweet. It wasn’t hard to bring color to her face. I leaned in to kiss her again, unable to help myself when I heard something that caught my attention. “What’s that noise?” I asked.
“What noise?” she asked, pressing her lips to the corner of my mouth.
“I dunno. Chirping?”
“Well, we are in a tree,” she deadpanned, pulling back. “Birds do live in those.”
“Thank you, smartass,” I said, tickling her until shesquirmed. Honestly, it wasn’t the best idea with her still on top of me. “Doesn’t it sound close to you?”
Cleo sighed, dropping her head against mine before standing and making her way toward the window. “There’s noth—” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “Oh my gosh, come look!”
I pushed to my feet and followed suit, standing behind her and caging her in against the window. “Where?”
“There!” she said, pointing to the small planter box just below where we stood.
Peering over her shoulder, I noticed the small, empty nest tucked away in the corner. “Doesn’t look like anyone’s home.”
Her elbow connected with my stomach. “Now who’s the smartass?” she muttered. “Do you think it’s being used? Maybe we scared them away.”
I didn’t know a damn thing about birds, but the thing looked old. “I dunno, honestly. Maybe?”
Cleo’s bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “That’d be cool. I hope they come back. That way, when you get stuck up here, you’ll have a friend or two to keep you company.”
I moved my hands to her hips, slipping beneath the fabric of her shirt and tickling her softly. “Oh, you got jokes, huh?”
“I didn’t want you to be worried about being alone,” she squealed, dancing out of my hold. “You seemed so worried earlier. I thought it might make you feel better.”
“The only thing that’s gonna make me feel better is getting my ass outta this tree.”
Cleo put her hands on her hips. “You hate heights that much, huh?”
“What gave it away? Was it the months of excuses or the thirty-minute pep talk you just had to give?” I teased.
She tilted her head from one side to the other. “Maybe a bit of both.”
“Well, now you know my fatal flaw. My biggest secret.”
“Oh yeah,” she deadpanned. “I’m sure it would make thefront page of the Ashwood Gazette if I sent in an anonymous tip.” Her hands came up dramatically, framing the fake headline in the air. “Treehouses: Grady Wilde’s Mortal Enemy.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, especially as I saw her own lips twitch in amusement. “Listen, it’s a real fear. Just because you were a bird in your past life?—”
“A bird?”
“—Doesn’t mean tree life is for me.”
“I don’t know about this past life stuff, but…” Cleo shook her head and stepped closer, intertwining our fingers before bringing them to her mouth for a kiss. “I could be your bird right now.”
My brows furrowed. “Is this supposed to be where I say something about being a bird if you’re a bird? Because I need to be honest, I don’t think I want to be.”
She groaned, dropping my hand to cover her face with her own. God, she was so damn adorable. “No, you idiot. Nevermind. I was trying to be cute, but it was stupid.”
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I grabbed her wrist and tugged her closer. She came without effort, wrapping her arms around my waist. Her nose was pressed into my chest as she sucked in a breath. “Lemme try that again…” I cleared my throat and felt her lips twitch through the thin cotton fabric of my T-shirt. “If you really wanna be a bird, then I’ll—ow!”
I looked down at the spot Cleo still had pinched between her fingers. “Don’t be a jackass.”
“I was gonna say I could be your tree, but whatever, but fine. I’ll keep the declaration to myself.”
She quirked a brow. “You know, for someone who is supposed to write music, you seem to be lacking some originality.”
