“I’ve missed you, too.” I return the long embrace, exhaling at the first hint of her perfume. It’s a bit like the nostalgia of coming home. “Looks like it all worked out, though?”
“Oh, this?” She waves a gloved hand at the BMW. “Well, yes, I suggested that if they can’t accommodate our reservation, they’d better give us the next best thing for the same price.”
“Your mother has a funny way of ‘suggesting’ things.” Simon pulls his knit hat over his balding head as he rounds the hood of the SUV. “I’m surprised we didn’t leave there in handcuffs. No matter, though. We’re here now.”
I dive into Simon’s lanky body, my eyes burning with overwhelming joy at having them both here after waiting so long.
The front door creaks open and Jonah climbs down the front stairs without a coat, his boots unlaced. “Susan, Simon, good to see you again.” He envelops my mother in a hug that makes her laugh with surprise and then reaches for Simon’s hand to give it a firm shake. “We’re happy you made it.”
“I’m used to more streetlights at night. I had my eyes peeled for a moose.” Simon pops the trunk.
“You’ll see one around here in the morning. Here, I got ’em.”
“They’re heavy,” he warns. “Susan packed.”
Jonah hauls two of the three suitcases out. “How’s this thing in snow, anyway? Better than Calla’s Jeep, I’m guessing?”
My head falls back with a groan.
“What’s wrong with Calla’s Jeep?” My mother frowns at it.
“Nothing is wrong with it. He wants me in a tank.” I shoot an exasperated look at Jonah. He’s relentless.
“At least you wouldn’t be able to drive too fast in that.” He smirks on his way past me and up the path, effortlessly carrying the two cases by the handles, one in each hand.
“My future son-in-law certainly is strong,” Mom murmurs, appreciation in her voice.
Simon grunts as he struggles to heave the last suitcase out of the SUV. “Obviously, he took the much lighter ones.”
I wake to a grating sound, followed by silence, and then again that noisy rattle for another moment before more silence. I smile. Simon is attempting to grind fresh coffee beans without disturbing the entire household. It’s what he does whenever he forgets to prepare them the night before.
I’m eager to get to the kitchen and enjoy my first Simon-served latte in a year. I’ve been anticipating this moment for months.
Beside me, Jonah stirs momentarily at the pulsing sound but then settles again. It’s almost nine a.m. He’s always up by now, stoking the fire and checking the weather reports for the day. But I guess the last week of poor sleep in anticipation of everyone’s arrival has finally caught up to him.
The nightstand clock casts just enough light that I can make out the lines of his handsome face, peacefully boyish in sleep. I study it now, though I’ve long since memorized every detail of it—the mannish cut of his jawline, the curve of the scar across his forehead, the new scar above his eyebrow, the long fringe of lashes a sh
ade darker than his ash-blond hair, the crinkle lines at the corners of his eyes that seem more prominent now than they were when we first met. They only add to his attractiveness.
What will Jonah look like in five? Ten? Twenty years from now?
Still handsome, I’m sure. Probably more so, regardless of the wrinkles and scars that he’ll earn, chasing children on the ground and miles in the air.
“I can feel you staring at me,” Jonah suddenly croaks, a second before his eyelid cracks open. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Because you’re so pretty.”
With a deep groan, he shifts to climb on top of me, fitting his body between my thighs. One hand reaches down to tug my pajama bottoms off.
“Simon is right below us!” I whisper harshly. They probably all are. They’re all suffering from jet lag.
“Then don’t scream like you usually do.” Jonah slides off his boxer briefs. His skin is hot against mine as he pushes inside me without any foreplay. Neither of us seems to need it this morning, though.
The bed creaks noisily as his hips begin moving.
“Shhh!” I scold, but I can’t help the giggle that escapes.
Jonah thrusts harder in answer, and I press my mouth against his shoulder to muffle my moan.