He had said he wished he could see her sooner.
A hard knock on the door made her jump and she twisted around in her seat before glancing back at her computer screen when the knock came again.
“Hold on, someone’s at the door,” she said, hopping up from her chair.
“What if it’s a serial killer?” asked Layne, only half-joking.
“Then make sure to record the call so you can avenge me,” Mina quipped back, making all of them laugh even though she was only half-joking too.
She opened the door a crack and her eyes widened as her head tipped back and back and back to see the man on the other side.
Patrick frowned down at her.
“Did you even look to see who it was before you opened the door?” he demanded to know as Mina’s jaw dropped open.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice was about ten times higher than normal and ended on a squeak.
“Who is it?” Amanda called from behind her, making the computer speakers crackle. “Open the door, we can’t see.”
Still frowning, Patrick put his hand on the door and pushed it all the way open when Mina didn’t move. She was still too flabbergasted. Looking over her head, he must have seen her computer, and her friends definitely saw him because there was a small chorus of gasps before they all started speaking at once.
“Crap on a cracker, is that him?” Vicky squealed.
“It is! It is! It has to be!” Penelope was just as excited as Vicky, and Mina imagined they were both bouncing in their seats.
“Holy shit that’s a big boy.” That was Amanda.
“Okay, well, now I understand why you called him a cunt destroyer.”
Thank you, Layne, definitely that was what Mina wanted him to know. Still staring at his face, because she couldn’t believe she was seeing it in person and not on a video screen, Mina saw his mouth twitch.
“What are you doing here?” she asked again, since he hadn’t answered the first time she’d asked.
“I’m here for you.” He cleared his throat, turning his attention back to her as if they didn’t have an on-screen audience behind her. “You can work from anywhere. I miss you. You miss me. I want you to come back to Montana with me. But in the meantime, I figured I could take a day to come see you.”
“Awww.” The Greek chorus behind her wasn’t even trying to pretend like they weren’t being nosy as fuck and listening to every word he said.
“See? He wants you! Move to Montana!” Vicky called out. “You can do it! I believe in you!”
Mina groaned and leaned forward to bury her face against Patrick’s stomach as she wrapped her arms around him and his came around her.
“I’m going to murder her,” she said, her voice muffled by his body. She felt, as much as heard, him laugh. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Believe it,” he said, right as he lifted her into the air, and she squeaked as he easily tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of flour.
Her friends all cheered as he palmed her ass, simultaneously kicking her front door shut behind him. Traitors.
“Excuse us, ladies, Mina and I need to have a talk about our future and about checking to see who is at the door before opening it.”
“She could also use a milking,” Penelope yelled as Patrick walked through Mina’s living room, headed for the staircase that was visible at the back, obviously assuming that her bedroom was upstairs. He wasn’t wrong.
“Noted,” he said, giving Mina’s bottom a squeeze.
“I hate you guys,” Mina yelled as they walked by her computer setup.
“No, you don’t,” Layne replied, and all of her friends fell to giggling.
Jerks.