Page 285 of Lodestar

STAR

It could have been awkward,but this was Conor. Nothing was awkward with him.

Which, in itself, had long since told me I was fucked.

Yet, becauseit was Conor,I could handle being fucked.

Literally and figuratively.

That meant when our skin cleaved together from heat and sweat, he chuckled, and that made me grin as we had to pry ourselves apart.

It meant that when I saw the mess we’d made on the sheets, he nudged me under the chin and told me he’d be buying Finn a new bed, ignoring my blush to greet me with another kiss.

It meant that when we showered and he cleaned me down there, I didn’t even flinch, just let him tend to me.

It meant that everything was different. That nothing was the same. That the sky was bluer and the sun shone brighter. It meant that Aoife’s croissants were delicious, but they tasted so much more scrumptious with the endorphins still whirring around my brain and with Conor’s hand on the small of my back.

It didn’t even matter that Aoife was blushing as she looked at us and muttered, “You can explain why you were crying to Jake, Conor.”

“Crying?” he repeated, bewildered.

“Yes. There werenoises,” she mumbled. “You know?Noises.”

“We were that loud?” he retorted, eyes wide.

“No. He wanted to visit his Unka Kid. Thank God you locked the door.”

“Jesus.” His eyes turned distant. “My bedroom door at home doesn’t have a lock on it.”

Aoife snorted. “That’s the first thing you make sure you get when you have kids.”

It had never been an issue for me until today, and I’d onlyjustremembered to get up and lock our door before I’d stripped off, but I nodded. “Thanks for the advice, Aoife.”

She shrugged. “You’re welcome, but you’re still explaining why you were crying.”

I accepted the dish she offered me and took a deep bite of my second croissant of the day, not needing any jam on it because it was that damn good.

“Where is he?” Conor questioned, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“In the family room with Finn and Katina.”

“I guess I should be glad the others are with Ma?”

“Yes, you should be. Expect some proud looks from your brother. I think he’s been worried about you.”

Conor started to drift out of the kitchen, muttering under his breath about snooping brothers before he froze, twisted around, and asked me, “You’ll be okay?”

I smiled at him. “Yes. And I don’t think you can judge anyone about snooping…”

He scowled. “Whose side are you on?”

My smile turned into a smirk. “The side of justice.”

Aoife chuckled and we shared a grin as Conor stomped off, this time mumbling about only God knew what.

Returning to my croissant, I answered, “Coffee, please. Milky, if possible,” when Aoife asked me if I’d like something to drink.

She set a latte in front of me after messing with a fancy espresso machine that would have been comfortable in a bougie restaurant and not a home kitchen.

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