I bring my gaze back up to his as he tilts his head, his mouth opening and closing. “Ahh.” I expect him to let me down, but instead he squeezes tighter and brings his forehead to mine, resting it there. “This is different,” he says.
“It is?”
“Yep… I want to be here with you. I want to be with you all the goddamn time, if I could chain you to my side then I would.” He shrugs. “But I think it may be frowned upon so I won’t do that… but… I would if I could.”
“Wow.” I snort. “You want to chain me up?”
He pulls back, his eye widening. “I didn’t mean it like—”
I shake my head, grinning wide. “I know what you meant.”
He blows out a breath, shaking his head at me before planting his lips onto mine with a quick kiss and then we’re moving again, the fresh air hitting my back before Evan starts to sit, turning me around and placing me in his lap.
“Finally!” Livvy shouts. “I thought you’d never come out of that darn kitchen!”
I shuffle on Evan’s lap, stopping when his hands squeeze me, silently telling me to stay still. I don’t feel comfortable sitting like this with everyone watching, but when I look up, all I see are happy faces that aren’t taking any notice of us.
“I was making coleslaw,” I say, trying to defend myself but we all know that I’m nervous. Why the hell am I so nervous?
“Mmmhmm.” Livvy gives me a knowing look before she stands, walking into the kitchen and coming back with a bottle of beer and a bottle of water, placing them in front of us.
“Thanks,” Evan’s deep voice rumbles from behind me as he picks it up. “How’s the shelter going, Dad?”
Mal leans forward, his eyes sparking. “It’s good, we’ve just had our plans approved for a new block so we’ll be able to house another twenty people.”
“Yeah?” Evan asks, sitting forward and resting his chin on my shoulder. I try to forget about the fact that his breath is skating across my skin as I wrap my hands around the bottle of water and try to listen to one of the conversations going on around me.
“We’re at full capacity all the time at the moment, we had to let a woman sleep in the main room last night.” Mal shakes his head, his mouth in a grim line. “We need more space and quick.”
“I’ll help with the build, and I’m sure the guys will too.”
“Wait,” I interrupt. “What’s this?”
“Dad runs a women’s shelter,” Evan says in my ear.
“You do?” I ask Mal. “I didn’t know that!”
He winks. “I’m a jack of all trades.”
I smile at him, leaning back against Evan as they keep talking about the shelter and the new plans. Evan suggests having a room that can be used for teaching. I lean the back of my head on his shoulder, looking up at him upside down. He gives me a smile: the kind of smile that only I get before he drops a kiss on the end of my nose.
I close my eyes and sigh before lifting up and scanning the backyard. Seb and West stand in front of the grill, flipping burgers and laughing with each other, Cal and Livvy are in deep conversation about trains—I have no idea why they’re talking about trains.
A contented feeling of peace washes through me.
I never thought I’d have this. There were times over the last few years where I was sure I’d never see outside of those walls, yet here I am now, surrounded with people who care about me.
Seb and West carry over the burgers, placing them in the middle of the table before sitting on either side of Evan. I go to stand up but Evan’s arms tighten before he reaches forward and picks up a burger, handing it to me before grabbing one for himself.
We eat as the conversation continues to flow. By the time the sky has darkened, the table is littered with beer bottles and an empty bottle of sherry that Livvy and Mal have been drinking. I keep quiet as the subject turns to when Evan, Seb, and West were kids.
“I’m sure I still have action figures planted down by the plum tree,” West says as he stares toward it, but we can’t make it out now because the bottom of the yard is pitch black.
“Don’t even think about it.” Livvy points at him, her eyes widening. “You’re not to go digging in my yard! I’ve only got the grass growing properly these last few years after you decided that you wanted the grass to be orange and painted it.”
I snort. “You painted the grass?”
“I told you, Gran! It wasn’t me who painted it! It was Evan.”