Page 9 of Breathless

His smile widens as he presses his face into my shirt. Ugh.Gross.

I laugh and squeeze the kids, overwhelmed by how excited I am to see their sweet faces. I’ve known them since they were babies. Held them in my arms as infants. Changed their diapers and patched up boo-boos.

Mila’s hair is longer, and Cody is so big, I swear he swallowed atree.

I’ve never been gone this long without seeing them, and the realization of how much I missed in those six months sends a sharp twinge to my heart. That knife twists when I consider how much more I’ll lose when I head back to Florida like I’veplanned.

Because, really, what are the odds that I tell Logan about my feelings for him and he sweeps me off my feet and tells me he loves me too? Only in the movies. I might be naive, but I’m notdumb.

Blinking back a whirlwind of emotion, I squeeze the kidstighter.

“Good to have you back, Joey,” a deep voice calls out tome.

I grin up at Ethan, who’s always been like an older brother to me. He’s four years older than Logan, and where Logan is the wild, party boy, Ethan is the stalwart familyman.

I drag the kids with me to greet their dad, and then I’m the one squealing when I see my friendTori.

“There’s my maid of honor.” She hauls me to her for a quick hug, somehow managing to avoid the chocolate. She grimaces when she gets a closer look at my clothes. “Codybug, please apologize for sliming this girl withpudding.”

“Sorry, Aunt Jojo.” Two dimples pop out on his chubbycheeks.

The little booger doesn’t look the least bit apologetic. I laugh and brush those thick blond locks out of his face and kiss his forehead. “It’s okay, dude. I’m not gonnamelt.”

He’ll be four next month, but you’d never guess it from his height. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. The Carter men are all over six feettall.

“I huwt my arm.” He holds it up to me for myinspection.

“Aww, sorry, buddy.” I kiss his elbow for safemeasure.

Behind me, a throat clears. “Hey, Joey,” Patrick calls out. “I have a booboo too that’s swollen. Been keeping me up at night. But kisses might make it feelbetter.”

I turn in time to catch Logan elbow his friend in the gut, and Tori snickers. She loops her arm in mine and pulls me down the hall. “Come on. Let’s get youchanged.”

Once we’re out of earshot of the boys, I tug Tori to a stop. Shame, hot and familiar, flushes my cheeks. “I need to do laundry,” I whisper. “I’m not sure I have anything clean towear.”

After giving my cousin a huge down payment for our new business, I didn’t have much left. I had to work overtime last week so I could scrounge the money to afford this trip and didn’t have time to wash anything. With the exception of some underwear, everything in my suitcase is dirty. I thought laundry would be the first thing I’d do when I arrived at my grandma’shouse.

Which your brother sold. You have some real winners in the family,Jo.

Tori shrugs. “No prob. I’m sure I have something you canborrow.”

In her bedroom, she digs around her dresser and tosses me a tank top and jean shorts. Because I have chocolate handprints on my reartoo.

I eye the clothes in my hands warily. Tori is taller than I am, but I have more junk in the trunk. “Not sure I’m gonna be able to squeeze into yourshorts.”

“Try them. If not, I’ll find some sweat pants or something. It’s just sohot.”

In the ensuite bathroom, I change into her clothes and then go wide-eyed when I catch myself in the mirror. “Tor, I can’t go out inthis!”

She sticks her head in, looks me over, and gives me a thumbs up. “Looking good,mama.”

“My boobs are gonna pop out of this top if I bend over toofar.”

She scoffs. “You’re fine. You have a great body, and it’s not like you’re prancing around in a bikini on your way to church.” When she senses my turmoil, a worried expression crosses her face. “I need to do my own laundry or I’d offer you something else. I can grab you one of Ethan’s t-shirts if you’re reallyuncomfortable.”

For some reason, wearing another man’s clothes feels weird. Especially when they belong to my friend’sfiancée.

“This is fine.” I don’t want to be anytrouble.

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