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“Dad, we hung that up before Fall Break. Remember?”
I love how Krew always calls him out.
“What can I say? I’m a little obsessed.” He raises his brows as he walks toward the kitchen. “With Etsy, of course. Nothing else.”
I stare at my sign in Tyler’s house. My shop is for digital downloads, so it’s not like I “fulfill” orders. I never read through the names of people who order things, so this is a big surprise to me.
I stand there for another second, looking around. It's cozy here, everything that I've ever wanted. A family, a house that's more like a home with pictures stuck to the refrigerator and fingerprints on the glass doors. For a second, I let myself picture what it would be like if I slipped into the vacant role of mother and wife.
It would be amazing.
I would be happy.
“Mrs. Johnson.” Krew smiles up at me. “I’m going to build you a Lego tower in my room.”
“That sounds awesome.”
I watch him run off as I walk to the kitchen.
“The pizza’s in the oven,” Tyler says as he pulls out three plates from the cupboard.
“I’m starving.” I lean against the kitchen island. “Krew’s building me a Lego tower in his room.”
“I don't know who's happier you’re here, me or him.”
“You're happy I’m here?”
He takes a step closer, placing his hand against the counter next to mine. “I'd be lying if I said I wasn't.”
“I'm happy I'm here, too.”
I shouldn’t have said that, but I can’t help it. Part of me wants this to be my life.
His arm brushes against mine, and all I see are his tight muscles peeking out of his sleeve.
“Miss Johnson, are you checking out my arm?” There’s a flirtatious undercurrent to his voice that has my entire body humming.
“Maybe.”
He flexes in a dramatic way, drawing out my laugh.
“You know, your arms are one of the first things I noticed about you.” I bump my hip into his.
“Really? I’d tell you the first thing I noticed about you, but I don't want to embarrass you.” His smile turns wicked.
“Tyler Dixon,” I scold.
“Kneecaps,” he says. “You have excellent kneecaps.”
I laugh. “That was a stupid night.” I shake my head as I think back to how ridiculous I was.
“I'm sorry I pushed you away…you know, when you were trying to make Zak jealous.”
“I know why you did.”
“I just hadn't been around another woman yet. It was all new.” He lifts his hand and slowly runs his fingers down a piece of my hair. It’s all I can do not to close my eyes and lean into him.
His voice is low and rough. “If you tried something like that again, I would react differently.”
