I opened my mouth and immediately snapped it back shut. “I was going to knock.”
“Were you?”
“I wasthinkingabout knocking.”
“Okay, cool, so the next time Carl tells me to get his coffee, I’ll justthinkabout it. Same thing.”
I pushed my glasses up with more force than necessary. “Why are you here?”
He flicked me again. “You invited me.”
“I did not! You invited yourself.”
“I said, ‘do you want me to come,’ and you said, ‘if you want,’ which is not a real answer.”
“It is a real answer.”
“It’s your version of a real answer,” he corrected. “Which means yes, please come with me so I don’t have to do this alone.”
“Wow,” I said flatly. “Love being perceived like that.”
“You should,” he said. “I’m very good at it.”
I exhaled through my nose, glancing back at the door like it might’ve changed its mind while we were talking.
“Are your hands cramping?” He pressed his lips to my ear, stage whispering. “Do you want me to knock for you?”
I huffed out a laugh before I could stop it and shoved him back a step. “Shut up.”
“I knew it!” Rhys lit up like I’d just proven a point he’d been waiting on all morning, rocking back on his heels with a grin. “You love me.”
“Barely,” I muttered.
“Liar.”
Of course I was.
I loved Rhys.
Not in the way that replaced anything. Not in a way that tried to rewrite what had already been carved out of me.
Abel was his own space. Untouchable. Still there, whether I wanted to look at it or not.
Rhys never tried to take that.
“Don’t make it weird,” I said.
“Too late,” he replied cheerfully. “You brought me to meet your mom. This is already weird.”
“You’ve met my mom plenty of times. I brought you as?—”
Rhys tilted his head, watching me closely now, grin softening just enough to notice. “As?” he prompted.
I looked back at the door. “…backup,”
“Mm,” he said, like that confirmed everything he already knew. “You can say it. I’m the best.”
“The best at annoying me.” I shot back, chuckling as he popped a wet kiss on my cheek. “Alright, Alright. I’ll knock.”