Good lord, she must be starving. I’m practically torturing her.
I sit down and force myself to take a bite of avocado toast. She’s either coming, or she’s not, and either way—
A knock at the door makes me jerk my head up. Piper walks in. She’s here in jeans and a baggy T-shirt, with her hair pulled back in a braid.
“Hi.” She tucks a stray tendril behind one ear.
“Are you hungry?” I gesture to my food.
“Starving. I’ve been working all morning.” She shuts the door behind her, bounces over, and sits in my lap, her body folding against mine like it belongs there. Piper steals the toast from my nerveless fingers and takes a big bite before handing it back and then snuggling farther into me. “What else we got here?”
I can’t speak. A mixture of shock and elation fills me to the brim, overflowing my senses. She touches me like it’s normal. Like it’s easy.
She twists to see my face and then flushes. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have commandeered your food and your… body.”
The muscles in her legs tense like she’s about to stand. I drop my toast on the table and tug her back. I pull her closer so she can feel exactly how pleased I am to have her in my lap.
“Oh. Oh.” She wiggles against me.
I groan.
She laughs. I capture the sound with my mouth. And then I completely forget about breakfast and everything else for over an hour.