Page 74 of Agony of Our Regret

He nodded. “Correct.”

“You should be in Santa Fe.”

“We got back early. There’s a lot of rain there this week, so we’re waiting it out.”

“What about the rest of you?”

The other four spoke over each other, so I had no idea what they said.

“Okay.” I waved them off. “I’m going to change.”

“Can I make you anything to eat?” Noah offered.

“Pizza,” I called, as I walked into the bedroom.

I pulled on a pair of Luca’s sweats and an old shirt from Gavin and returned to find them unmoved, except now Luca was wrapped around the pillow. I glanced around at each of them while pulling my hair back into a messy bun.

“Let’s try this again. What’s going on?”

“We haven’t spent much time together lately. When we heard Vince was back, we decided to take the afternoon off to hang out,” Sky explained.

“In the middle of a major crisis?”

“We’ve all got our phones close by, but there wasn’t anything that had to be done today. We’d all burn out if we didn't take some time off. The Society understands,” Luca explained without moving.

I shook my head and moved to the couch since they were all on the floor. “And you’re building a glider?” I eyed the half-built piece of furniture. “Isn’t that a rocking chair?”

“No, a rocking chair has a rounded base.” Vince held up a picture. “This has a flat base but glides back and forth.”

Sky made the motion with his hands. “So, you go like this.”

“There’s a footrest that moves with it too, so you can have your feet up while you feed the baby,” Vince added.

“Not you as in you, but you as in any of us,” Gavin felt the need to clarify.

“Got it.” I closed my eyes and put my swollen feet up on the sofa’s armrest. By the end of each day, they looked like marshmallows.

“Pizza’s in the oven,” Noah said.

I opened one eye. He sat at the other end of the couch and pulled my feet into his lap. I was about to ask him what he was doing when his thumb pushed into my arch, and I let out a moan.

“What are you doing to her?” Luca asked.

“Rubbing her feet,” Noah replied.

“Damn, sounds like she likes it,” Sky teased.

I ignored them and let my eyes fall shut again while thinking of all the ways I loved Noah the most.

“Hey!” several voices shouted as Noah laughed.

“He’s not really your favorite, is he?” Vince asked.

“Oh, sorry? Did I say that out loud?” I grinned, and Noah found a knot in the middle of my foot.

“She’s very easily bought lately. Whoever brings her the pizza will become the new favorite,” Luca joked.

“Dibs,” Sky called.

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