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“Totally.” I laced my fingers with his. “And I’m one hundred percent okay with whatever’s leftover for me.”
“Even if that’s platonic?” Drew asked.
I nodded. “Yup. I’m lucky to have his friendship. If that’s all I get, it’ll be more than enough.”
“Yeah,” Aithan mused, “he’s a good guy.”
“Golden,” I agreed.
“He deserves you, you know,” Drew murmured.
“Maybe. But do I deserve him?”
“I think so, babe.”
32
FRIENDS SAY THE HARSHEST THINGS
I putthe last container of apple-cranberry muffins into the garage freezer and went back into the house. Tapioca flour streaked my Harvard Law T-shirt and my black leggings, and it covered the kitchen counter and floor. I’d won the war, but lost a lot of minor skirmishes along the way. Arching my lower back, I groaned. Batch cooking was an all-day affair and left me stiff and sore from being on my feet and working hard.
“Well, the kitchen ain’t gonna clean itself, Zel,” I muttered and grabbed a clean rag from the basket beneath the sink. I needed to empty the dishwasher and get the dirty dishes outta the sink and off the counter, too.
I’d done a little extra cooking. Brisket was in the slow cooker, biscuits were cooling on the counter, and maple-bacon Brussels sprouts just needed to be warmed up for dinner. Tonight, we’d celebrate an early Christmas dinner with Aithan.
Tomorrow, he’d fly to L.A. I sighed, already missing him.
The doorbell chimed, startling me. Drew and Aithan had gone to the grocery store, and I wasn’t expecting anyone. I padded to the door and saw Tobias grinning at me through the sidelight.
“Hey.” I let him in. “The guys went grocery shopping for me.”
“That’s cool. I actually came to see you.”
“Oh? What’s up?” I led him into the sunroom. “Want something to drink?”
“Nah, I’m good.” He smirked and gestured at my shirt and leggings. “You lose a fight with a bag of flour?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Yeah, but I won the war. Been batch cooking all day.”
“Ahh. That’s why it smells so good in here.”
“Lemme brush this off in the kitchen. Don’t wanna get it all over the house.”
He followed me and paused in the entryway, surveying the room. “Damn, you weren’t kidding about the war.”
I opened the kitchen trash and brushed as much of the flour off my shirt as possible. That shit was ridiculously fine. “No half-measures here.” I refilled my water glass from the fridge filter. “You sure you don’t want anything?”
Tobias shook his head, a soft smile lifting his lips. “Didn’t come by to eat. Came to figure out something.” He caught my wrist. “It’s been nagging me since our last talk, Zel.” That smile turned lopsided, and his dark-brown eyes grew intense.
A thrill skittered up my arm from his touch and spread through my body.
He had long eyelashes, and his eyes weren’t just dark brown. Cinnamon specks and black streaks were scattered throughout the irises, and the outer rings were as black as his pupils. I could get happily lost in Tobias’s eyes.
“What’s been nagging you?” I murmured, captivated by him.
“What would’ve happened if I’d said, ‘Obey’?” He took the water glass from me and put it on the counter beside the fridge. Then he eased our bodies together and slid his free hand into my hair.
His mouth found mine, his lips gentle, coaxing but insistent. This wasn’t the ravenous kiss we’d shared at the townhouse. No, this was seductive and sweet and oh, holy hell, I melted in his arms. Goddamn,the man could kiss.
