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Wouldshe let me?
I think, once she finds out what I’ve been planning, that she might.
Eventually.
I press a kiss to her temple. She doesn’t stir. I should wake her up, but I don’t. I want to sit in this moment and savour it for a little longer. Her head is right above my heart and the steady rhythm of her breathing quickly lulls me to sleep alongside her.
When I wake, I’m alone on the couch and I can hear laughter coming from the kitchen. I frown and sit upright. The laughter sounds familiar.
“…grab the album. There’s definitely a few photos in there of him during his mohawk phase.”
I leap off the couch and storm into the kitchen just in time to see Amber and Nel collapse into a fit of laughter.
“Told you he was up,” Nel says with a smirk.
I scowl at my sister and make my way around the island. Amber is sitting on a stool and, to my surprise, Maya is perched happily on her lap. They both look up at me as I approach. Maya’s face splits into a toothy grin and there’s a soft twinkle in Amber’s eye as her lips lift at the corners.
“Uncle Finn!” Maya cries, scrambling out of Amber’s lap and into my ready and waiting arms as soon as I’m close enough. “Mama said not to wake you up. You were snoring real loud.”
“That’s a lie,” I scoff. “Uncle Finn doesn’t snore.” I lean in and press a quick kiss against Amber’s cheek. “I thought we weren’t going to sleep?”
“No,” Amber says, and I wonder if I’m imagining the slight blush creeping up her neck. “I toldyounot to letmefall asleep. Great job with that, by the way.”
“How long was I out?”
“Not long. Nel and Maya got here about an hour ago.”
“Anhour?” I narrow my eyes at Nel. “Anything she told you is a bold-faced lie.”
“That’s good to know. She was mostly just telling me about what a great brother and uncle you are.” Amber shrugs. “But if she’s such a liar, I won’t pay it any mind.”
Nel barks out a laugh. “I like her.”
“Me too,” Maya pipes up. She’s managed to scale me like I’m her favourite climbing frame at the park and is now sitting on my shoulders, forcing me to march around the kitchen. I knew it was a mistake to watchRatatouillewith her.
I cock a brow at my sister. “Didn’t know I needed your approval.”
And I don’t need it. But it is nice to have.
“Nel was just about to tell me about the house I’m here to work on,” Amber says.
I freeze on the spot and snap my head around. Nel meets my frantic gaze with a smirk and an almost imperceptible shrug.
Relax, the look on her face tells me.Your secret is safe with me.
“I was,” Nel says out loud. “But then we got onto the topic of photos, and I got a little distracted.”
“That’s right,” Amber says, a look of pure glee etched onto her face. “I believe I was promised some mohawk photos?”
I’ve never felt so betrayed. “Look how they’re teaming up against me, princess” I groan as Nel pulls a thick, leather-bound book out of her bag. “It’s not fair, is it?”
“I wanna be on Amber’s team,” Maya says plainly.
“Ugh.” I drop Maya down onto the island and clutch at my heart, knowing how much she likes the theatrics. “Traitors. All of you.”
I can’t help but smile though. A warmth starts to spread through me knowing that my two favourite people in the world like my new favourite person just as much as I do.
“What is this?” Amber asks, ignoring my dramatics in favour of gently tapping the large book Nel has dropped onto the table.
