AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Win and Max laughed.
“Just save yourself the headache and don’t argue,” Wes advised.
I glanced over Win’s shoulder to Wes. “But it’s not fair.”
“You’re our family,” he said simply.
My eyes shifted back to Win. He was watching me with a soft look on his face that made tears rise in my eyes.
His palm was wide and warm when it wrapped around the back of my head and tugged me down. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss against my temple, then spoke quietly against my ear. “Welcome home, baby.”
My heart fell out right there, dropping into the center of the kitchen, and the three of them talked and moved around like they didn’t even notice it was there. Acting like I belonged.
I hadn’t belonged anywhere in so long.
I sagged against the cabinets behind me, drinking the coffee without even tasting it. Max finished making plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast while Win poured himself some coffee and added too much sugar to it.
Three full plates slid onto the island, one in front of Wes, one where Max was sitting next to him, and then another that Max announced was for Win.
The empty mug in my hand suddenly disappeared, and I tried to snatch it back, but Win set it aside. “Here,” he said, holding out a glass of orange juice.
I glanced at the mug longingly.
“Eat first,” Win said, a plate appearing under my nose.
My eyes nearly fell out of my head. Gasping, I grabbed onto the edges of the white ceramic and stared.
“You like it?” Win asked, a bit of humor lacing his tone.
My eyes snapped up, only to go back to the plate. “You made me open-faced sandwiches,” I said, taking in the two slices of rye spread thin with butter, a slice of cheese, and a thin slice of ham. And it looked like the good kind of cold cut, not the kind I always saw here in plastic tubs. Off to the side of the bread was a small bowl of muesli, which was mixed with yogurt.
“That is not a sandwich,” Max said from across the room.
Win ignored him. “It’s what you always ate in Sweden.”
“You remembered,” I whispered, still staring at the food in awe. I hadn’t had this since I got here. Since I couldn’t really make food in the dorm, I had to eat what was on campus, and traditional Nordic breakfasts were not it. It wasn’t fancy at all, but God, some mornings I’d craved the simple familiarity of this.
My stomach buzzed like it was full of bees, emotion lodged in the center of my throat like a boulder, and all I could do was sit there and stare at the food and wonder how I could eat something so wonderfully meaningful.
Lifting my eyes to Win’s, I said, “Thank you.” Those two words paled in comparison to how deeply I felt.
He seemed to like them just fine, though, wrapping an arm around my waist to lift me off the counter. “C’mon,” he said, and I followed him to the island, orange juice in hand, and he put my plate next to his.
There were only three stools at the island, and he took the last one. It didn’t matter to me, though, because he’d already done more for me this morning than almost anyone. But I didn’t stand. He pulled me onto his lap and then started plowing through his plate of food.
I hesitated, staring at the food again, feeling so full already.
“I checked all the labels,” Win said, chomping right beside my ear. “Twice.”
He thought I was worried about my allergy.
Honestly, even if I wasn’t one million percent sure he checked and rechecked every label, I’d eat it because he did this. Because this gesture was worth the risk.
“I know, babe,” I said, voice hoarse.
His excessively loud chomping paused. “Did you just call me babe?”
Yeah, I guess I did.I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Is that okay?”
