Page 156 of Pucking Tangled
Luca laughed quietly. “Maybe.”
“What if I said that I can show you what it means? One step—one day—at a time?”
Luca looked up at him, eyes soft and burning all at once. “You’d do that for me?”
“I’d doanythingfor you,” Waylon said simply, because he meant it with his whole being. “And I think you knew that long before you were ready to feel it.”
“Can I…can I kiss you again?” Luca asked, standing to his full height and turning toward Waylon.
“Yeah,” he said breathlessly, licking his lips in anticipation.
Luca kissed him, slower this time, before eventually breaking away to rest his forehead against Waylon’s. “Are you…does this…?”
“There’s a pretty good chance I’m demi too, Luca. Never put a label on it though. I’m just…me. And I know that I loveyouand every single person inside that cabin. Uniquely.”
FIFTY-THREE
Mia
The car rideback to Luca’s parents’ house the next morning was relaxed.
Owen drove this time, one hand loosely wrapped around Casey’s thigh in the passenger seat. Mia sat in the back between Waylon and Luca, her legs curled beneath her and her head resting on Luca’s shoulder. Everyone showered and dressed before they left but Mia worried their faces still said ‘yeah, we did that.’
Three more times last night and twice in the shower.
Waylon reached across her to grab a piece of gum from the center console, his fingers brushing her stomach on the way back.
“You keep touching me like that, we’re gonna be late for pancakes,” she murmured, her voice thick with promise as she ran her gaze up and down his body. Goodness, she was smitten with this man.Allher men.
“Worth it,” he said, popping the gum into his mouth.
Luca chuckled beside her, low and still a littlewrecked-sounding. His arm tightened around her waist, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You good, babe?”
“More than good,” Mia said, cheeks warming again at the memories—the tangle of limbs, the low sounds, the way they exploredeverything,and the way they’d taken their time with each other, soaking in every moment in their private cocoon. “You?”
“I think I’m still recovering,” Luca said with a grin. “Y’all are dangerous.”
“Bold of you to say that after the way you kissed the life right out of Waylon,” Casey said from the front, not bothering to turn around.
“Hey,” Waylon said, mock offended. “It’s not like Icomplained.”
Casey and Owen laughed, and Mia closed her eyes, letting the sound wash over her. This—this—was what home felt like. The teasing, the warmth, the way even silence wasn’t lonely anymore.
They pulled into the gravel driveway. Mia slipped on her sandals as they climbed out, stretching her arms overhead with a quiet yawn.
“God, I’m sore,” she said without thinking.
Luca leaned close, smirking. “Need me to kiss it better?”
Casey whistled as he walked past. “You two areferal.”
Waylon opened the front door without knocking, calling out, “Your favorite houseguests have arrived!”
“I swear to God. There’s something wrong with him,” Mia groaned, burying her head in Luca’s shoulder for a beat before they walked inside. “It’salmostembarrassing.”
The smell of bacon, cinnamon, and fresh coffee wrapped around her like a hug. Celia Blackford turnedfrom the stove, already smiling. “Well, look who finally decided to roll in.”
Dean stood at the kitchen island, sipping from a mug and raising a brow. “Y’all sleep okay at that little cabin?”
