When Constellations Form (Light in the Dark 4)

I’m putting the forks, knives, and spoons away in the drawer organizer when Xander comes down freshly showered and changed.

“Still want a McGriddle and a McFlurry?” he asks, laying his hands on the island counter and leaning across to me.

I nod. “Yeah, that’s what I want.”

“All right, I’ll be back soon. Jace and Nova are going to come by at some point today to drop Prue off so if they show up while I’m gone don’t freak out—since they can come right in.”

He leans across the counter and kisses me before he leaves.

“Don’t forget my McFlurry,” I call after him, and I hear him laugh before the door to the garage closes.

I finish organizing the utensils, and then start putting away the pots and pans.

By the time Xander gets back with our food I’ve made quite a dent in unpacking everything for the kitchen. I can tell Xander is impressed when he takes in all the empty boxes.

Xander sets the bag of food on our new kitchen table, along with my McFlurry.

I rub my hand along the table before sitting down. “We owe Jace and Nova big for this.”

Xander nods in agreement.

If it weren’t for them, none of our furniture would be here. Most everything—except for our bedroom set—is brand new. Since we were living in the rental with my brother, most things weren’t ours.

“I can’t imagine if we’d gotten back and had no furniture.” I laugh at the thought.

He pulls the food out of the bag and hands me my sandwich.

“I’ll go grocery shopping today so that we actually have food in the house.”

I unwrap my sandwich and hold it up. “This is real food.” I take a huge bite, driving home my point.

He shakes his head. “Maybe to you, but not to me.”

“Well—” I cover my mouth with my hand “—since I hate grocery shopping I’m willing to let you handle that while I continue to unpack.”

He chuckles. “Now it sounds like you’re trying to get rid of me.”

I smirk. “Never.”

“I’ll help for an hour or two before I head to the store,” he says, wadding up the wrapper from his sandwich and throwing it in the paper bag. “We should be able to put a dent in the unpacking in that time.”

“It helps that we don’t have much yet—like little knick-knacks.”

He grins. “I’m sure you’re excited to change that fact.”

“Oh, you know it. Any excuse to shop.” I don’t even try to defend myself anymore. I’m aware I have a serious addiction to shopping. I still have rooms to shop for in the house—like the dining room and formal living room. We were more concerned about the family room and kitchen, as far as getting anything new.

I finish my sandwich and grab my McFlurry.

“Mmm,” I say, swirling my tongue around the spoon. “It’s as good as I remembered.”

Xander busts out laughing. “As good as you remembered?” he repeats, wadding up the trash. “It’s only been like a week since you had one. Two, max.”

I shrug. “It could’ve changed,” I defend.

He shakes his head. “You’re insane.”

“You married me,” I remind him.