57. Chapter Fifty-Seven #2
I smiled at the love and joy all over their faces. “I can’t wait to meet them, either. She… They are beautiful.”
Someone cleared their throat, making me jump. Avery immediately turned to face the unexpected guest, hooking her arm around me and pulling me behind her.
A familiar chuckle filled the air. “Well, that didn’t take long.”
Recognizing Lianne’s voice, I pulled out of Avery’s hold and stepped out from behind her. “Hey.”
“Sorry, Lianne.”
She waved off Avery’s apology as she entered the room. “I get it. Gage still does the same thing with Mom if I somehow catch him off guard.” Lianne shifted her attention to me. “How are you doing? Any less overwhelmed?”
I snickered. “No, but the most recent overwhelming thing was the good kind.”
“Can you handle one more? I promise it’s another good one.”
Once again, I looked toward the entrance of the living room. “Would this have anything to do with the handsome blond gentleman standing in the foyer?”
The man in question grinned and nodded.
I returned my attention to Lianne, smiling. “Would this be your Ben?”
Her entire face lit up in love and pride. “Yes.”
After she waved him in, he walked toward us. “You must be Lynette’s Adair.”
“I am.”
Ben’s smile widened. “Are you more of a hugger or a hand shaker?”
“If you’re good enough for Lianne to keep forever, I’d like to opt for the hug.” He chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, and when I breathed in, I couldn’t help but giggle as I leaned back again. “Why do you smell like lemons and sugar?”
“I made lemon bars for one of the dessert options later.”
My eyebrows went up. “One? How many did you make?”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck, and his cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink. “There are a few.”
Lianne snickered as she wrapped an arm around his waist. “He made four different desserts. Lemon bars, double chocolate brownies, vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and snickerdoodles.”
My eyes went wide. “That’s quite a spread.”
He shrugged. “I know they are house favorites, and I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
This man is so good for Lianne. “It all sounds amazing. I can’t wait to have some.” The dessert menu reminded me of Edith. “Ben, when you were in Colorado, did you have a chance to eat Edith’s cinnamon rolls?”
His entire face lit up in pure delight. “I did, and she recently shared her recipe with.”
I gasped. “You’re the one she shared it with!” There were now several confused people looking at me. “When Edith came to celebrate my birthday and handed me a copy of the recipe as my present, she told me there was only one other person she’d shared it with.”
Ben’s mouth dropped open. “Wait. You have a written copy? She made me memorize it.”
Avery chuckled. “Looks like she might be Edith’s favorite more than you.”
He rolled his eyes. “She still shared the recipe with me. Adair and I are clearly in a league of our own.”
Dinner was everything I hoped it would be, and I was on cloud nine, soaking up all the joy and laughter that filled the dining room.
Peter leaned in after I failed at concealing a sniffle. “You okay?”
I nodded and blinked away the tears. “I never, truly never thought I was going to be here again… alive… happy… welcomed. I’m trying to take all of it in and overwrite some of the bad.”
Peter
After dinner and dessert, Adair and I made it back to her room. Once inside, she suddenly turned and faced me. “Where are you sleeping tonight?”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Connor said I could use his room.”
“Oh.”
There was a hollowness to her tone, and I didn’t like it. “Are you going to be okay?”
Adair clenched her teeth and nodded. “I’ll be fine.”
The way she immediately tensed up made me reach out and take her hand. “Talk to me. What do you need? What would make you the most comfortable?”
A nervous uneasiness flickered across her face as she looked around the room. “Could you sleep in here like we did in Colorado?”
Lifting an eyebrow, I tried to hide my surprise. “You still want me close?”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. Then I stay. I just need to let the team know where to find me should they need to.”
Adair gasped and tightened her hold on my hand. “Are you going to get in trouble? Are they going to assume something is happening between us? I don’t want you to get in trouble. I’ll survive the night alone. Don’t worry abou—”
“Adair!” She froze as I cut her off. “No one is going to judge you for what you need to make it through the night. And I’m not going to be in trouble for staying here at your request. I promise.”
Her face flushed, and she took a step forward, resting her head against my chest. “Thank you.”
Her words mixed with wrapping her arms around me caused my heart to race. For as much as I told myself my care and concern were professional, the lines had been blurring and quickly, and I didn’t know what I was going to do about it.
She lost her husband not too long ago. She’s literally been hiding to stay alive. Don’t be that guy.
None of that stopped me from loving how it felt to have her feel safe in my arms.
After a moment, I leaned back. “Will you be okay while I grab my stuff from the other room and then take a shower?”
Her attention flicked to the bathroom and then back to me before she nodded. “Yeah.”
While I made sure not to dawdle and returned to her room in record time, I took a few minutes in the shower to let the hot water roll over me and help clear my mind. This week had been a wild series of events and today wasn’t any calmer.
I was barely out of the shower when I heard a gasp on the other side of the door. Throwing on my pajama pants, I ran into the room to see Adair desperately trying to breathe normally. I sat on the bed and took her hands in mine. “I’m here.”
She looked up at me and nodded tensely. “I need something cold. I’m not spiraling out, but I don't want it to escalate.”
I nodded. “Cold drink or ice pack? Never mind, I’ll grab both.”
“Thanks… Please be fast.”
I ran out of the room and toward the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water, a can of pop, an ice pack, and a slice of lemon bar.
Between the cold, sweet, or sour, something had to help.
I was about halfway back to the guest room when Ryan and Ellen walked in from the garage, smiling and holding hands.