Chapter Twenty-Nine MAE
Chapter Twenty-Nine
MAE
I couldn't even count how many times I stared at the subject line of that email. I hated the little red dot on the email icon on my phone and my laptop indicating an unread email, but I didn't dare to officially open it. I didn't want Chet to somehow know I’d opened it.
After a last glance at that stupid red dot, I slipped my phone into my purse and hurried through the biting cold air into the airport.
Rowan’s plane was landing, and it was close to midnight.
A light snow was falling outside. I forgot about Chet while I was waiting for Rowan.
It had only been six days, and I'd missed him every single minute of every single day.
I waited impatiently outside the security area. I had checked the arrival times to confirm he was due to arrive on time. Restless, I kept checking my watch.
My heart rattled against my ribs the second I saw him.
He was tall, standing above the passengers filing out.
His eyes landed on mine when he was still behind the glass.
My heart felt as if a ray of warm sun shined upon it after days of clouds.
Moments later, he was weaving his way through the crowd and stopping in front of me.
“Hey, you,” I murmured.
“I missed you,” he replied as he folded me in his arms.
His bag slid off his shoulder and thumped to the floor.
A sense of relief and peace washed through me.
This thing with Rowan was both new and intense but also familiar.
He’d been my friend before, and I knew him.
I breathed in the scent of him, a little crisp and somehow always with a hint of forest clinging to him. Maybe it was a firefighter thing.
I had no idea how long we stood there until someone bumped into me from behind, apologizing as they moved away.
I lifted my head, leaning up to press a kiss on the underside of his jaw. “My car's warm. Do you need to get anything from baggage claim?”
Rowan leaned over and looped his bag over his shoulder while lacing his fingers through mine with his other hand. “Nope. I hate dealing with baggage claim,” he said as he smiled down at me.
I savored the feel of his warm hand around mine. “How was Thanksgiving?” I asked as we walked toward the parking garage.
“It was good. I missed you, but I'm glad I went.”
“How’s your sister?”
“Well, Colbie’s not thrilled with me, but the asshole’s not in the picture anymore.”
I looked up at him. “What did you do, Rowan?”
“Let's get going, and I'll explain.”
A few minutes later, we were in my car, and Rowan's palm was resting on my thigh. After I paid the parking fee and got on the highway, I ordered, “Okay, spill.”
“I got the scoop from my cousin Lucas who's on the first responder crew there. The guy she was dating deals meth with his father. His dad has a history of knocking him and his mom around. Colbie’s not the first girl he's got a history of being controlling with.
I don't know if he ever hit her. She wouldn't tell me, but I suspect he did.”
I whipped my gaze to his before looking back at the highway quickly. “That’s awful.”
“I know. Lucas and I went there and explained we were going to make life miserable for him if he didn't fucking leave her alone. She cried and argued with us about it. It took a few days, but she was speaking to me again before I left.”
I glanced his way. “Okay, I understand, but I can imagine Colbie didn’t appreciate you being controlling about him.”
“Mae, what was I supposed to do? The guy's dealing meth.”
“I get it, I do. I just hope she doesn't take it as a reason to push you away.”
“I know. I don't think she was happy with him. He’s such an ass he told us she sucked in bed. I mean, my god! I don’t even want to think about my sister with anyone, but it says a lot about the kind of guy he is that he’d say that to us.”
“Sounds like he was just trying to be an ass.”
Rowan’s voice was dry. “He succeeded. He’s got problems with the law, and he doesn't want to be in more trouble than he already is, so here’s hoping he stays away from her. I'm pretty sure she didn't see him again after that.”
“All you can do is hope for the best. I know I would’ve been pissed off if someone ordered me around about some guy when I was a teenager.”
“Oh, she had that covered, all right.” A laugh rustled in his throat.
I squeezed his hand where it rested on my thigh. “Did you have a good Thanksgiving meal?”
“I did, and it was good to see the rest of my family. Tell me how your Thanksgiving was.”
“It was small—just my parents and me—but it was nice. I missed you.”
“I'm home for Christmas.”
Hearing him describe Willow Brook as home set my heart to pounding in my chest. I didn't know why, but I was nervous. This was a lot. My feelings about Rowan felt almost too big. We’d known each other so well before when we were friends, and then it all blew up.
Now, all the emotions I’d felt before were bombarding me. They were big and deep.
As if he sensed my internal tumult, he squeezed my hand. “Willow Brook is starting to feel like home. But more than that, you're here. And honestly, Mae, home is wherever you are to me.”
Oh. My. God. I almost melted right there in the car, but I forced myself to focus. It was snowing out, and I needed to pay attention. We fell into a more relaxed conversation for the rest of the drive.
“Are you tired?” I asked as I turned down the road that led to both of our places.
“I’m tired but wired. That’s what travel does to me.”
“Do you want me to drop you off at your apartment?”
“Hell no,” he said flatly. “Unless for some reason you want to drop me off there.”
I shook my head quickly. “Absolutely not.”
A few minutes later, we were walking into my house. I was finally starting to call it my house. Sassafras actually came over and greeted Rowan, circling his feet.
“She even let me scratch under her chin,” Rowan commented as he glanced over at me.
“I think she likes you.”
Rowan cast me a lopsided grin as he straightened and shrugged out of his jacket. “I'll take whatever I can get from her.”
“Did you eat on the plane?” I asked as I hung up my coat and toed off my boots.
“I did, but I’m still hungry. Airplane food isn’t amazing.”
I smiled. “That's why I have a pizza for you. I picked it up earlier and stuck it in the fridge. I figured this way we could just heat it up.”
I started to turn toward the kitchen, but he caught my hand and reeled me to him. “This is why I love you,” he murmured as he brushed his lips over mine.
My belly shimmied, and my heart pounded hard and fast. “Because I got pizza for you?”
“Yes.”
“What do you mean?”
He smoothed a loose lock of hair away from my forehead, tucking it behind my ear and sending shivers chasing down that side of my body. “It's the pizza, but it's not the pizza. It's that you wondered if I would be hungry. It's kind of a small thing, but also a big thing.”
“I understand,” I whispered right before he kissed me again.
When he lifted his head, his gaze coasted over my face. “Can we have pizza after?” His question came in that low voice, the one that never failed to send butterflies twirling in my belly and liquid need spinning in my veins.
“After what?”
“After this.”
He laid another kiss on me, and I forgot about the pizza.