And when he spied Nolan finger combing Laurel’s hair before lifting a smug and sappy smile to Jace, he thought Nolan might be having similar thoughts.
Somehow, someway, they had to make this last beyond one superspy mission, because Jace didn’t think he’d be able to handle it if their newfound blessings disappeared from his life as quickly as they had shown up.
15
Nolan couldn’t believe how time seemed to disappear lately. It had already been three weeks since the day that had changed his life forever, even if Laurel and Jace didn’t realize how much of an impact they’d made by opening themselves fully to each other and so generously including him.
Fortunately the house they were sharing—which had previously belonged to Walker, Dane, and Joy from Hot Rides—had a ginormous bed because they’d made good use of it every night since Laurel had blossomed in front of their eyes, and a few times during the day too. Not to mention the shower, the couch, the kitchen counter…pretty much every wall or flat surface in the place.
It wasn’t only his temporary home they had become part of, but his whole life. They spent hours each day poring over intel about Draven’s operation and tracking down leads. James hung out with Laurel every chance he got, Kennedy and Sola had added her to their group texts and girls’ night outing invites, and Kason wrote new, incredible music with Jace every damn day.
They were becoming fully integrated into every aspect of Nolan’s world.
And he couldn’t say he minded.
He grinned as they rolled up the freshly laid, gleaming black asphalt that wound between the Hot Rods garage and Tom and Ms. Brown’s house to the newly finished private complex the classic car mechanics had commissioned. Joe and the rest of the Powertools had really outdone themselves. The place was massive with plenty of room for their ever-expanding family, and was stylish too. It had a modern ambiance to it that kept the trademark aspects of the apartment above the garage they’d been squeezed into before, with concrete floors and exposed steel beams, but the addition of lots and lots of glass and hints of distressed gray wood to soften it from industrial to something Nolan had learned from James was called transitional design.
It made him even more excited to see what James had in store for the new Shields headquarters and attached apartments. The guy had made an exception to his no-more-construction-projects rule for them. Nolan jotted a mental note to beg James to revise some of the specs he’d given the guy for his own living quarters. Add another bathroom and some more closet space…just in case.
He glanced over at Laurel, who was sandwiched between him and Jace on the wide bench seat of the truck the Hot Rods had souped up for him. Then he mentally shook himself as he returned his eyes to the lot as he parked. The place was packed as all their friends gathered for an official housewarming party, now that they’d helped the Hot Rods move in and get settled.
But unlike those people, who’d set down roots, Laurel and Jace…well, they were only temporary guests in Middletown. He had no reason to assume that their relationship would last beyond the final date of their current mission. They hadn’t made any promises to each other. Their affair clearly had an expiration date. Once Draven’s operation was shut down permanently, they’d be free to move on without him as their keeper.
Fuck. He needed to remember that before he fell even harder for them. Because one of two things was going to happen. Either they were going to leave, or he was going to have to move on to another assignment, one that didn’t involve spending every waking moment with the two people he’d become infatuated with. No more of Laurel’s soft snores at night or Jace’s heated stares when he was working out. Would they wait for him when that happened? Or would they realize that they were fine on their own and didn’t need him anymore?
Nolan wasn’t eager to find out.
“You okay?” Laurel hesitated as she took her seatbelt off, picking up on his emotions as usual.
“Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” He could tell by the way Jace’s warm eyes narrowed that he didn’t believe Nolan any more than Laurel did.
“I don’t know, that’s why I asked.” She leaned in and cupped the side of his face. “But we’re here if you want to talk about it.”
For today, sure. For forever, nope.
And Nolan had to be okay with that. He planned to savor every moment they did have together, including today’s celebration. “I’ll get the gift and the brownies out of the back.”
At least he knew how to be helpful and how to make their lives easier. For now, that would be enough. If he eased this transition to the wonderful new life he knew they were on the cusp of, then he’d at least feel like he had given them something in return for the joy they’d brought him.
Laurel looked at Jace, but he simply nodded and hopped out of the truck before helping her down. If he took a little longer than necessary with his hands on her waist and slid her down his entire muscled front, Nolan didn’t blame the guy.
He carried the hand-painted key hanger Laurel had upcycled from an old shoe organizer Ollie and Kate had rummaged for her on one of their recent part-finding and antique-scouting trips.
Speaking of…Kate—who was married to Mike, the head of the Powertools company, and pretty damn pregnant—was right inside the door when they entered. She turned and spied the gift in his hands. Her eyes went wide. Hands splayed on her rounded belly, she made her way to them and exchanged hellos before taking a closer look.
“Oh my God. If I hadn’t seen this thing before you transformed it, I wouldn’t have believed what it started out as.” Kate ran her fingertip over the distressed details. “You have a great eye. I was ready to toss it, and what a mistake that would have been. This will be perfect to organize the million sets of keys they have. They can hang it right here by the door. It looks like it was made for this space.”
“Thanks.” Laurel seemed a bit reluctant receiving the compliment. “I guess I have a lot of practice turning junk into useful stuff. Giving it another life. Pretty much everything Jace and I have ever owned came off a curb somewhere.”
“Well, if this is something you enjoy doing, I’ve been thinking of hiring help for my business. Especially with our baby on the way—I’m going to need someone I can trust to take care of things when I’m out on maternity leave. Just saying…”
“Are you trying to steal our best server?” Kate’s best friend, Morgan, edged into the conversation with Devra right behind. They were grinning, not pissed.
“I mean…I probably pay better.” Kate winked.
Laurel flushed. She seemed torn between loyalty and what she obviously enjoyed doing most. Nolan’s pulse sped up as he wondered if this was the start of a very tentative, very delicate root. Between this and Jace’s work with Kason, maybe they wouldn’t be in such a hurry to skip out of Middletown after Draven had been eliminated.
“I hope you know we’re teasing.” Devra slung an arm around Laurel’s shoulders and she didn’t even flinch. She was comfortable here. With him and with the extended circle he’d been fortunate to join as well. “If you want to spend your days dumpster diving with Kate, have at it.”