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His lips are surprisingly pouty and slightly pursed, like he's got a mouthful of words he's holding back. In a move so sweet it makes my chest ache, he leans in and presses his lips to my forehead, right underneath my freshly cleaned cut.
My lashes flutter closed I half-heartedly wonder what it would feel like to be loved by someone like Silas St. James.
7
EVANGELINE
“Hope I'm not interrupting anything.”
Silas flinches at the sound of Dixie's voice. He takes a step away from me so quickly that he slams his knee into the stool with a muted thud.
“Ma, what are you doing here?” Silas asks, his eyes darting toward the doorway.
“Nan!” Hunter exclaims at the same time.
Dixie plants a hand on her hip and arches a brow at her son. “What? I can't come and see my favorite boys now?”
“No, of course you can. You just surprised me is all.” Silas starts gathering the discarded first aid supplies next to me, his gaze firmly fixed on the countertop. He walks around the island, giving me a wide berth like he needs to maintain a certain amount of distance now.
“Mm-hmm. You sure do look surprised,” she says, walking into the kitchen and stopping in front of Hunter. “How's my favorite grandson?”
“Great,” Hunter chirps. “Me and Dad fixed Eve up. Dad even used the owie cream.”
“Well, I'm sure you two did a great job.” Dixie's smile is so full of warmth and tenderness as she looks at him. My heart squeezes a little just bearing witness to it.
Like it usually does, seeing any kind of maternal affection reminds me of Nana Jo. And then my heart squeezes for an entirely different reason. Pain lances through me, acute and quick.
She drops her slouchy black leather purse to the stool in front of Hunter's legs and turns to look at me. I sit up straight under her undivided attention. I've never been more aware of what I'm wearing in my life. Even though it's entirely innocent, I'm still dressed in her nephew's shirt and boxer briefs. While in a compromising position with her son, and actively dating her other son.
Kind of wild when I think about it like that.
But I should've known better than to expect the same kind of judgment I'd expect from my own mother here.
Dixie and Mom might've been friends twenty years ago, but they couldn't be more different.
Her gaze flits around my face, pausing on the corner of my forehead. Logically, I know she's looking at the cut, but it doesn't stop the irrational part of my brain that swears she’s staring at the place Silas's lips were just touching.
Her brows crease together and she finally looks me in the eye. “How you doing, honey? Sleep okay?”
My shoulders relax a little. “Oh, yeah. Bane insisted I take his bed, and honestly, I was pretty tired, so I was out right away.”
Her rose-painted lips curve into a smile. “Mm-hmm. I'm not surprised. I raised all my boys with good manners.”
“I brought Eve some of our cookies, Nan! So we're gonna have to make some more,” Hunter says.
Dixie pats my knee and turns toward Hunter, helping him down from the island. “Well, perfect timing, because I'm here to whisk you away for the day.”
Hunter whips his head toward me, his mouth pinched into a frown. “But it's an Eve day.”
“It sure is,” I agree, flashing him a smile. There's no way I'm going to crush those hopeful little sparkles in his eyes.
“Not today, bud. Eve needs to rest, remember?” Silas says at the same time.
Hunter tilts his head to the side and looks up at me. “Are you too hurt to play with me today?”
Dixie presses the back of her hand to the side of her mouth, smothering her chuckle.
Silas huffs from somewhere behind me. I almost look, just to see if he's rolling his eyes too. It sounded like the kind of noise that usually accompanies a frustrated eye roll, and I just can't imagine him doing it.
