Page 41 of His Forever

I patted her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “And besides, it’s not like this every day. Most of the time, it’s just me and the guys. Well, and also their girlfriends now, but they tend to keep to themselves. For the most part.” I chuckled, realizing how much had changed. It wasn’t just me and the crew anymore—there were relationships, families growing around us. The chaos felt bigger, but also more meaningful.

Brynn flipped her hand over, and before I knew it, her fingers were laced through mine. The simple gesture sent warmth through me, a quiet reminder of everything that had been left unsaid between us. I raised her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, then let our joined hands rest in my lap. Her touch grounded me, and for the first time in a while, I felt like the noise around me didn’t matter as much.

We sat there for a moment, the room bustling with life around us, but it felt like we were in our own little bubble. Neither of us needed to say anything more, at least not right now. There’d be time for that, time to unravel everything we hadn’t talked about yet. But tonight, this was enough. The quiet touch of her hand in mine, the warmth of her presence next to me—it made the chaos of everything else feel distant, at least for a while.

Eventually, Brynn leaned her head against my shoulder, sighing softly. “I forgot what this felt like,” she murmured. “Just… being here. With you.”

I didn’t say anything, just let her words settle. Because I hadn’t forgotten. Not really.

Chapter Seventeen

Brynn

It was the middle of the night again, and there I was, standing in front of the fridge, searching for the leftover chocolate cream pie. The cool air washed over me as I shuffled things around, feeling a little ridiculous but desperate. I had to have that pie.

“Again?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Leo’s voice behind me. My hand flew to my chest as I whipped around, glaring at him. “And again, you have to scare me?” I scolded, breathless from the shock. I turned back to the fridge, spotted the pie, and grabbed it, shutting the door with more force than necessary.

Leo was leaning casually against the kitchen island, arms crossed, a smirk tugging at his lips. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. Without a word, he held up two forks, like this was something he’d planned all along.

I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to suppress the grin threatening to form. “I really need to pay attention better when I’m looking for sweets in the middle of the night,” I muttered, moving toward him.

Leo chuckled and handed me one of the forks. “You’re just focused on the task at hand,” he said, clearly amused by my late-night craving. “Nothing wrong with that.”

I set the pie on the island and took the cover off, revealing what was left. “That looks like two pieces, right?” I asked, though I knew better. It was probably enough for three people, but I wasn’t exactly in the mood to share with more than one.

Leo peered over at the pie and grinned. “I think there’s only enough for the two of us,” he agreed.

“Then there’s no sense in getting plates, right?” I laughed, grabbing a forkful of pie. The idea of dragging out plates at this hour seemed ridiculous when it was just the two of us indulging.

“No sense at all,” Leo said, already digging in, shoving a huge bite into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in days.

I followed suit, but as I raised the fork to my mouth, something caught my eye—Leo wasn’t wearing a shirt. My fork hovered in the air as my gaze locked onto his bare chest. He was only wearing a loose pair of gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips, and his skin gleamed under the soft kitchen lights.

My mouth watered, and not because of the pie.

Leo was standing so casually as if he didn’t realize the effect he had on me. His muscles were more defined than I remembered—broad shoulders, a toned chest, the faint outline of his abs leading down to those damn sweatpants. I blinked, trying to refocus on the pie, but it was like my brain had short-circuited.

“You okay there?” Leo’s voice broke through my haze, his eyebrows lifting in amusement when he noticed my fork still suspended mid-air.

I cleared my throat, forcing myself to look away from his chest. “Yeah,” I lied. “Just... distracted.” I finally took a bite of the pie, though I barely tasted it.

Leo smirked, his eyes gleaming like he knew exactly what had me so flustered. “Distracted, huh?” He leaned in a little closer, his voice dropping. “By me or the pie?”

I swallowed hard, trying to play it cool. “Maybe a little bit of both,” I admitted, though I couldn’t hide the flush creeping up my cheeks.

Leo chuckled, clearly enjoying the moment. “Well, I’d say the pie has my full attention, but…” he trailed off, his eyes dipping to my lips for just a second before locking back onto mine. “I’m not so sure anymore.”

Heat flooded my body, and I busied myself by taking another forkful of pie, trying to distract myself from the sudden tension in the air between Leo and me. We had agreed to take things slowly, but with him standing shirtless in front of me, his chest and abs on full display, it was hard to focus on much else. There were only a couple of feet between us, and the weight of that unspoken agreement to go slow was starting to feel like a fragile thread.

I stabbed my fork into the pie, trying to ground myself. “So... tonight was pretty entertaining. Meg sure is something,” I said, hoping that changing the subject would help cool down the moment. We needed to talk about anything other than the heat coursing through my veins.

Leo leaned back against the island, his eyes still watching me with that intensity I was trying to ignore. “Yeah,” he agreed with a chuckle. “King manages to keep her in line for the most part. I don’t know how he does it sometimes.”

“I think they’re actually great together,” I said, grateful for the casual direction the conversation was taking. “He reins her in just enough but still lets her be herself. It’s a good balance.”

Leo nodded thoughtfully. “That’s being together for well over twenty years. You learn how to make it work.”

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