Page 69 of The Last Thing
“Putting the finishing touches on breakfast.”
Leaning up, she presses a soft kiss to my lips, but the softness doesn’t stop the heat. The rush of… something inside me whenever we touch. When she seeks out my comfort.
We break our kiss too quickly, but until we tell Sophia anything, it’s too risky to continue.
Standing up, I hold my hand out to her. “Come on. We’re having a special breakfast.”
“I stayed the whole night,” she murmurs.
“Yeah, you did. And you slept hard. I won’t take too much offense if you tell me Sophia is a better cuddler than I am.”
She blinks at me. “Is Sophia okay? Like… was she weirded out by any of this?”
“No. Our logic was sound enough for her. Plus, I don’t know if you’ve caught on, but shereallylikes you. She’s just happy you’re here.” She slips past, but I reach out and grab her hand, holding her in place as I whisper, “So am I.”
A little shiver runs through her, but she straightens, and I let her go, smiling to myself at the effect I have on her. She can deny her feelings all she wants, but I know they’re there. Whether she realizes it or not, every day, she gets a little closer to letting me in.
I follow Hallie out to the living area, and she stutter steps when she gets to the kitchen and finds Sophia at the table, smiling brightly.
“Breakfast is served. I wish this was all my stomach wanted so I could eat it all the time.”
Three cups are filled with milkshakes, and each one has a plate of fries next to it.
Hallie whirls around and looks at me, emotion dancing in her eyes. “You did all this for me?”
Though I long to cup her cheek and look into those intoxicating amber eyes, I keep my hand tight at my side. Still holding her gaze, but not too intensely, I pour every bit of what I’m feeling into my words.
“Of course I did.”
She swallows hard, then blinks twice and cracks her knuckles before turning back around and smiling at Sophia. “Thank you for helping. And for making sure I slept so good last night.”
Sophia bounces over to Hallie and throws her arms around her. “Thanks for snuggling with me. I liked it.”
Hallie strokes her hand through Soph’s hair and laughs. “So did I.”
The connection between those two is proof that love forms in an instant. It may take longer to grow, but those two formed an instantaneous bond that easily turned into love.
Now I’m hoping I get as lucky.
Hallie yawnsas Sophia heads to her bedroom to get ready. Then she sighs and groans. “I think I’m still hungry.” She aims for the refrigerator. “Is there any more ice cream? Or maybe I’ll go home and make some tater tots.” But as she pulls the freezer drawer open, her eyes go wide. She closes it again and turns toward me. “What is all that?”
I bite my lip as I walk over to her. “I think you know.”
“There are three cartons of my favorite vanilla ice cream in there. Bags of french fries and tater tots. Why?—”
Checking to make sure Sophia isn’t in the hallway, I wrap my arm around Hallie, tugging her close.
“Because they’re the foods that settle your stomach. You should always have what you need, and you’re here more than you’re in your own apartment. And if you run out there, you’ll have some here. I told you I was going to take care of you. This is a fraction of that.”
She stares at me, just stares, emotions flitting through her eyes too fast for me to read.
“Hey, Dad?”
I step back and clear my throat as Sophia walks into the room.
“What’s up, kiddo?”
“Can you put more hair ties on the list? I broke another one.”
