Page 152 of Tangled In Tinsel & Knots
“Well, here I am.” She spreads her arms dramatically. “In the flesh. Surprise?”
He crosses the room in three long strides and sweeps her into a hug so tight her boots lift an inch off the floor. Adelaide lets out a soft laugh against his chest, wrapping her arms around him with the kind of relief that only comes from seeing someone you haven’t in too long.
“No way,” Noel says as he rounds the corner from the kitchen, a beer in hand. “You didn’t warn us you were showing up tonight.”
Kane appears right behind him, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “Adelaide,” he crows, pulling her into a second hug the moment Chris lets her breathe. “Jesus, you always pick the nights with the most going on.”
She snorts. “I like to make an entrance.”
“You like to make a mess,” Noel counters, kissing the top of her head affectionately before tugging one of her curls. “You still dating that asshole from Denver?”
Adelaide rolls her eyes so hard they practically clatter to the floor. “Please. That ended months ago.”
“Thank God,” Kane says. “I never liked his face.”
“You never met him,” she fires back.
“Didn’t need to. His face offended me in theory.”
She laughs while Chris studies her closely, eyes narrowing at the exhaustion she tries to hide. She gives him a look that saysNot here, not yet,and he squeezes her shoulder once, silently promising he won’t push.
Kane loops an arm around her neck, dragging her into his side. “Welcome. There’s loads of food, and we need to eat it before Corn Dog tries to devour all of it.”
Adelaide groans. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Nope,” Noel states.
Her laugh is brighter this time, but there’s still a tension beneath it.
Chris says, “Come on, sis, let me take your bags up to the spare room.”
“I don’t have much,” Adelaide says with a casual shrug that seems slightly forced. “Not staying long, you know how I am. Got places to go, people to meet, adventures to have.”
Chris’s expression tightens. “Right. Of course.”
They disappear upstairs, and I immediately turn to Noel and Kane. “Okay, what is the deal with those two? Because that was weird and awkward and I need the full story.”
Noel sighs, running a hand through his long hair. “Chris basically protected her growing up from lots of bullying she used to experience.”
“But then Chris needed to build his own life,” Kane continues. “And Adelaide wanted independence. So she went her way, and Chris went his. Now there’s this weird tension between them where you can tell they love each other but neither knows how to bridge the gap.”
My heart actually hurts at hearing this. “That’s awful.”
“They just need to talk,” Noel adds. “Really talk, not surface-level how-are-you stuff. But neither of them will take that first step.”
“Well, if she’s staying here, maybe I can help,” I say, already forming plans. “Get to know her, earn her trust, figure out what’s really going on.”
Both of them stare at me with so much affection that my cheeks heat up.
“This is why we love you,” Kane murmurs, pressing a kiss to my mouth. “You immediately want to fix things and help people.”
“Probably unhealthy but we’re working with what we’ve got,” I reply.
We rejoin the party, and soon Chris and Adelaide come back downstairs. She immediately gravitates toward Lily and Ruby, and within minutes, all three women are laughing like they’ve known each other for years.
Noel starts carving the turkey at the dining table, and everyone gathers around to watch and cheer him on like it’s some kind of sporting event. It’s chaotic and loud and absolutely perfect.
Later, after we’ve eaten enough food to feed a small army and everyone is lounging around in food comas, I grab Lily to show her my new Jeep.
