Page 98 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

“So, what do you do, Noah?” she asked, mischief in her eyes.

I smirked at her. I knew all of Kaeli’s friends knew I was a cop, but Kaeli had convinced them all to keep it low key until I went back on duty.

“Just keeping my options open at the moment.”

She smiled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

I looked up when Aiden squeezed in and threw an arm over Amber’s shoulder. I wondered if he was marking his territory. I watched him grin down at her.

“Hey, junkie,” he said.

Alarms went off in my head. Junkie?

Amber scowled at him and pushed him away. “Stop it! You make me sound like a druggie.” Looking at me, she sighed. “He means adrenalin. Not drugs.”

I relaxed. Thank god. “So, you’re an adrenalin junkie?”

She rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Yes,” Aiden countered.

She shoved him again. “I am not.”

“Sure you are, princess. You like doing all sorts of crazy shit. What was the last one? Bungee jumping off the Bridge to Nowhere?”

She crossed her arms and huffed, but she was trying hard not to smile. Aiden seemed to have that effect on people I noticed. I suspected he was a born protector and needed to make sure those he loved were always okay and happy. It was a good trait.

Kaeli appeared at my side and wrapped her arms around my waist. “I’m going to have to go. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

Both Kaeli and her mom had invited me to come with them to celebrate her graduation, but I thought they needed that time just for themselves. It had been hard to say no, but I knew I’d be seeing her later at the party. Besides, I needed to go see my parents about what I’d organized with Walt. I had a feeling they were going to be just as excited as I was.

“Not really, but I need to go see my folks. What time do you want me to pick you up?”

I watched her pout a little before she sighed. “Is seven okay?”

Pulling her into me, I kissed her forehead. “Seven’s perfect. Have a good time with your mom.”

Burying her face in my chest, I felt her softly exhale. “I will. Thanks for coming. I liked having you here.”

I smiled at that. I hoped she was going to like having me around a lot, because I was banking on it.

Saying goodbye to everyone, I slipped out to my car and headed towards Mom and Dad’s place. This was going to be part one of my decider. Part two was Kaeli.

Pulling into the drive, I was surprised to find everyone’s car there but Micah’s. Letting myself in, I found everyone standing around the kitchen.

Mom’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw me, then she glanced around at the others. “Oh my goodness. What’s with all the surprise visits today? Is Micah going to show up next?”

Eli rolled his eyes. “Uh…I live here, Mom…”

Coming over to pull me into a firm hug, she laughed. Damn, I missed this.

“Hi, Ma,” I said, giving her a squeeze before letting her go.

She pinched my cheeks like I was five and walked back into the kitchen, already flittering about to fix me something to eat.

“How was the ceremony?” Dad asked, checking out Mom’s ass as she stuck her head in the refrigerator.

I shook my head at him. “Good. It was weird to be back in a high school, but it was good. She was happy.”

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