“Besos!”
She laughed out loud before putting a kiss on his lips, leaving just the hint of sugar behind from the pink concha she’d been eating before she’d run to the door.
McCrae looked particularly adorable with bits of pink sugar on his lips.
“Oh my...”
Noelle turned her head when she felt a hand on her lower back.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day.” Finola was standing beside her.
McCrae lifted a curious brow when he saw his mother in the room. “Ma?”
Finola was unphased about her son’s confused stare. “Yes?”
“What... what are you doing here?”
Stepping closer to McCrae, Finola reached her arms out and Ciela transferred from McCrae to his mother without her feet even touching the ground. “I’m just here to see my grandbaby.”
Noelle’s chin dropped as she tried to hide a smile.
She’d tried to correct McCrae’s mom before, but Finola was adamant in her words.
“Ma?” McCrae looked at her and shook his head. “You know that we... that I’m not-”
Finola bounced a little, rubbing Ciela’s back. “You’ll get there eventually, but I’m not about to wait around for you to catch up to where the rest of us are.”
“The rest of... who?”
“Me,” Finola nodded. “Your sister.”
“Me!” Ciela shouted and wrapped her arms around Finola’s neck.
Noelle had the feeling that Ciela didn’t understand exactly what McCrae’s mother was talking about but she liked happy things. Happy people. She knew that Finola loved her and Ciela loved her right back, so if Finola said that she was ‘in’ for something, Ciela was in for it. Which was why the two had joined Ciela’s abuelita in matching conchas pastries during Finola’s visit.
“Okay,” Finola leaned in toward Ciela and they brushed their noses together, “I’m going to take this little sweetie back to the kitchen so we can finish our snack.” Finola turned and walked away, casting a look over her shoulder. “You can have her back when we’re done, McCrae.”
“Uh... thanks?”
Noelle saw him reach his arms out for her and she stepped into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist.
She leaned in and pressed her face into his shoulder. Noelle breathed him in and felt him take a breath as well.
The other noises in the room faded away as she held him against her, leaning into his warmth.
And as they stood there, she felt him lean into her as well.
Slowly.
Very slowly, she felt their positions shift until she felt more of his weight on her than she had pressed against him. It was a powerful feeling for her.
Holding him.
Supporting him.
She didn’t know what had happened before he showed up at her house, but it mattered that he felt like she could hold him up. Hold him together.
“’Elle?”