Page 28 of Stolen for Keeps
“Yep. She’s killing it.”
I raised a brow. “Wow. Look at you, talking her up. That’s rare.”
Elia scoffed. “Don’t make it weird.” Then, after a beat, he added, “I don’t know how she does it.”
“If weddings are gonna be a thing, you won’t mind me staying in the background, right?” I asked.
“Well, actually, I was thinking you could be our media manager.”
I shot him a look.
“Or our wedding photographer.”
I nearly dropped the twine, laughing.
Elia grinned. “You’ve got an eye for things. Think of all the happy couples you’d get to?—”
I groaned. “El.”
“Fine, fine.” He laughed, tying off his own bale. “I won’t force you into anything. But hey, don’t you wanna meet new people? Broaden your horizons?”
“My horizon isplentybroad, thanks.”
“Not really,” he shot back. “You won’t find your soulmate by hiding in the barn.”
“What’s wrong with hiding in the barn?” I grabbed the pitchfork and headed for the stalls. The horses shifted, their ears twitching as they waited for dinner.
Elia’s teasing smirk faded as he looked at me,reallylooked at me. That big-brother gaze had changed over theyears. When we were at our lowest, his eyes had been tired, serious, sharp with anger. Now, there was something softer in them. Care. Hope. Maybe Claire had something to do with that.
Maybe the idea of a soulmate wasn’t so wishy-washy after all.
Elia huffed. “Hey. Don’t take me seriously.”
But his tone gave him away. He was serious, just holding back. Like he did want to say something real, but wasn’t sure I was ready to hear it. His serious approach had never worked on me, and he knew it.
I kept working, letting the silence settle between us. I fed the horses, double-checked the stacked bales, and kept an eye onhimso he didn’t overdo it.
The Lazy Moose had always run like a well-oiled machine. And despite all the wedding madness, this was the part that made sense. The sweat, the weight of the work, the sound of the horses shifting in their stalls. Out here, things were simple.
I adjusted my hat, wiping the sweat from my brow as I leaned against the stall.
By the time we dragged ourselves back into the house, exhaustion sat heavy in my bones. The good kind. Earned.
Claire was at the kitchen table, looking just as wiped out but somehow a hell of a lot prettier about it. Dylan was curled up in her lap, his little fist tangled in her shirt.
Elia crossed the room without a word and rested his hands on Claire’s shoulders. She sighed, melting into his touch. He kissed the top of her head, murmuring something I couldn’t hear.
I had to look away.
It wasn’t jealousy. Not exactly.
Just a deep, gut-level recognition that if I ever married a girl, I’d treat her exactly like that.
The way Elia looked at Claire, like she was his home, his whole world…that was what I wanted.
I shook it off and headed for my room. The floorboards creaked beneath my boots as I shut the door and leaned against it for a moment.
It didn’t take much, andshewas back in my head.
