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“You think I’m going to turn around and take off after driving for hours in this snow?”
“Next time, call. Or better yet, next time cut the cord and let your almost college-age daughter have a weekend away without chasing after her.”
“I wouldn’t have to chase her if she hadn’t lied to me about where she was going.”
“Hmm, maybe she takes after her mother there.”
Penelope continued as if I’d never spoken. “Just spending time with Gigi and Gramps. Right. That’s why she suddenly wanted to go to Syracuse University.” She flicked a hand through the dark waves dotted with snowflakes that dripped down her shoulders. “Does she think I was born yesterday?”
I cocked a brow. “I’d guess she thought you couldn’t be mature about the whole thing so she elected not to tell you the truth. Seems like ayouproblem.”
“I have to say I really can’t claim to appreciate this new bitter side of you. Why, the Christian I remember couldn’t do my bidding fast enough. You were so…solicitous.” Her hand landed on my arm again as headlights flashed over the drive an instant before Honey swung in too fast, as she always did. I didn’t bother chiding her since I knew she’d probably just go faster to poke the bear.
Penelope didn’t remove her hand. If anything, her claws tightened as the laughing women climbed out of Honey’s car and came to a halt at the bottom of the porch steps.
“Christian? Am I interrupting?”
I removed Penelope’s hand from my arm for her, probably rougher than I should have.
Then again, maybe not.
“Hardly. Honey, this is Penelope, Reagan’s mother. She was just leaving.”
“Mom?” Reagan darted around Honey and up the stairs, her arms full of paper sacks. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Were you ever going to tell me about your little rendezvous here?”
Reagan stopped at the top of the steps and cocked a hip. “Yeah, once I wasn’t living at home anymore, and you couldn’t say anything one way or another.”
My gaze connected with Honey’s. To her credit, her face showed no emotion whatsoever, and she had set down her bags to pull out her phone. I stepped around Penelope and picked up Honey’s bags before turning to take Reagan’s as well. “Let me have those.”
“Strong man.”
Clearly, I wasn’t the only one who heard the feminine note of appreciation in Penelope’s voice because Honey stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Honey. I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”
“Penelope—” I started, not catching Honey’s drift right away.
“Yep. Didn’t hear it. Oh, well.” She turned to Reagan and smiled. “Ready to help me make that tart?”
Reagan looked between Honey and her mother and hesitated all of five seconds. “Yeah.” She hoisted her purse higher on her shoulder and aimed for the door.
Honey did too but then she stopped in front of me. She took back her bags, set them on the floor, and reached up to grab my face to haul it down to hers.
“Feral,” she whispered to me a minute before her lips crashed down on mine. As hot as her hunger for me was, I was smiling before the kiss ended, simply because I knew she wasn’t jealous so much as staking her claim.
She would always make sure I knew how much she wanted me. And I was duty bound to do the same, which was why I pinched her ass the minute Reagan turned away. I had no desire to traumatize my daughter.
Reagan tossed a quick “bye, mom,” toward her mother, grabbed one of her bags, and hurried inside.
“I got extra strawberries for us,” Honey added softly. She flashed a smile over her shoulder at Penelope, who was wearing an expression that seemed to be a cross between disgust and odd fascination. “He has an insatiable appetite.”
I tugged on her ponytail to bring her mouth back to mine. “I love you,” I mouthed.
That was all for her. I didn’t care what Penelope thought or didn’t think.
She kissed her fingertip and pressed it to my mouth before she picked up her bags and headed inside.
“Little young for you, isn’t she?”
