She swung open the freezer door and pulled out a gallon of vanilla ice cream as she did a little dip. “Pssh… You know nothing, dear brother. I am the epitome of grace.”
Brinley peeked over at me with those hurricane eyes. Amusement and warmth and that protective affinity streamed out of her.
And somehow, she was the one who saw I felt exactly the same.
My chest tightened.
Tightened to a gutting extreme as I got stuck there under the power of her stare.
Brinley finally pulled away, clearing her throat as she pushed from the table. “I’ll help.”
I did my best not to follow her trail as she moved into the kitchen area.
A vain attempt since Elena tossed the foil cover off the fresh baked pie, dipped a fork into it, and brought it to Brinley’s lips. “Here, taste.”
Brinley obliged, taking it into her mouth, the longest groan rolling out of her.
My brain computed it as the same damned sounds she made every time she came. Like what she was actually moaning was my name.
“This is literal heaven,” she muttered, trying to cover her mouth as she chewed, and gave Meems her baker’s praise.
Meems shrugged, eyes darting to me for a beat before they were back on Brinley. “Stick around for a while and you’ll know how to bake one of those for yourself.”
My logic recoiled against it while my stupid heart shouted, ‘yes, please’.
Brinley lightly chuckled. “I am no baker, Meems. You’d better not get your hopes up so much when it comes to me.”
Slyness crept in Meems’s features. “Oh, sweet one, my expectations are high.”
“I pie!” Kai smacked both hands on his tray, a lucky deterrent from the implications my grandmother was all too eager to toss around.
“Don’t worry, it’s on its way!” Elena sang, cutting a tiny piece and spooning a dollop of ice cream onto the top.
“I get pie,Wena?”
She danced back up to the dining table. Tapped his nose as she set the small serving in front of him. “Absolutely! Because we only get the best things in this house, isn’t that right?”
Elena headed back to the counter, and the second she walked away, Kai picked up the little plastic bowl and basically buried his face in it.
Laughing, I reached across Brinley’s empty chair so I could help him. “How about we do it like this, buddy?” I situated the chunky plastic baby spoon into his chubby hand.
Then Brinley was back, setting a plate of pie and ice cream in front of Brody. “There you go, Brody.”
“You spoil me,” he teased with a grin. But it was soft.
No question, Brinley’d had an impact on every person in my family.
“We all deserve to get spoiled every once in a while,” she said.
“Be careful, or we’re going to get used to it.”
He sent her a wink, though there was nothing flirty to it.
Just approval.
The truth that she fit.
She shifted and set one in front of me.
