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“My seat,” she said with a roll of her eyes before looking at us. “The second you left, they decided they were coming too. Clearly we couldn’t let them come alone.”
Before I could ask what she meant by we, Johnny and Einstein came into view. He was leading her with his hands on her shoulders while she tapped relentlessly into her phone, whispering to herself the entire time.
The dark look I sent him when they slid in next to Maverick didn’t faze Johnny. And I knew no matter what I said, he had no plans to leave. Despite the warning to stay away from her, he still didn’t trust Elle.
Johnny had nearly lost his mind the other morning because she’d stayed over. Upending the couch was all he’d gotten away with before I’d put an end to it.
But his rage had only amplified when he’d realized how much she was growing on everyone else. Not that I’d expected anything less.
Anyone who could stand up to an unhinged Johnny would have my family’s respect. Anyone who could make me this happy after Gia would automatically be welcomed by all of them—Johnny not included.
That said, I didn’t want the little time I had with Elle to be shared with my family.
Once Libby was next to me and Diggs had pulled up a chair at the edge of the booth, I took my time to catch all of their gazes—except Einstein’s, who was still working on something. “Is this necessary?”
“Food is always necessary.” Diggs seemed confused that I didn’t know this.
How he didn’t realize he wasn’t wanted here confused me.
“Food,” Maverick agreed, then started slamming his fists on the table. “Food.”
“We’re starving,” Diggs added, leaning across the table and stretching his hands toward me. “You starve us.” The look on my face must have finally registered with him, because he grabbed a sugar packet and sat back. “Actually, I just came for the sugar.”
I turned to Elle and dipped my head closer to hers. “Let’s get out of here.”
“They want to hang out with you.”
When I leaned away, she was looking at everyone with wide eyes, like she was seeing them for the first time. There was a hint of fascination behind the look, but with how close she was to my body, it was impossible to miss the tremors now rolling through her.
“I see them every day. I never know when I’m going to see you.”
She turned to look at me then, a ghost of a smile on her lips. “You’re seeing me now.”
Libby smacked my arm, then pushed against my chest, trying to press me back against the booth. “I’ve dealt with you for the past twenty-nine years. Let me sit next to Elle.”
I never once took my eyes off Elle, silently pleading with her to let me take her from here . . . anywhere where we could be alone.
Yes, she was here. I could see her and touch her, breathe her in and hold her. But that didn’t change anything.
She could disappear at any second. And I would be left wandering around . . . searching and waiting for her to reappear.
If she reappeared.
She didn’t understand the fear that came with being near her and knowing I’d have to let her go.
Before I could remind her of any of those things, she leaned forward, passing her lips along my jaw before she whispered in my ear, “They’re your friends. They’re your family. If a stranger comes in to something that is as close as what all of you have, and pulls you away from them, resentment is going to build. Trust me.”
There was an ache in her words that I felt in my stomach, as if she was talking from experience.
With a reluctant sigh, I lowered my arm to wrap it around her waist and pulled her onto my lap so we could switch positions.
> Before I could slide her to my other side and hand her off to Libby’s twenty questions, she gently grabbed my face in her hands and pressed her forehead to mine. “That night? It meant everything.”
True.
I placed a quick kiss on her lips. “Let Libby talk at you before I decide to take you away from here and keep you to myself.”
Her head tilted back and a soft laugh sounded in her throat, and fuck me if that wasn’t the sweetest thing I’d ever heard.
