There’s a prolonged pang in my ribcage. “Maybe they do tell the story. I hope so. You deserve to be thought of as more than who you were for twenty-minute intervals on camera. Because you are. A lot more.”

He sniffs. Throws his ankle up onto the opposite knee. “Forty-minute intervals.”

“My apologies,” I say, lips twitching. “So, did you push them on the swings?”

“Of course,” he responds, offended. “Looked out for playground bullies, too. There’s always one.”

“Do you like children?”

“I like them for other people.” It’s an off-handed comment, but as soon as he says it out loud, his face becomes stone cold serious. “Do you want kids, love?”

I take a deep inhale and let it out, seriously considering the question. “I’ve never thought about it before. I’ve been too busy figuring myself out. But…I’m leaning toward no. When I think about having kids, it’s only my parents that come to mind. I’d be doing it mainly for them.”

Tobias continues to study me. “I’d say Banks feels the same as me. But I’m not sure about Gabe. He strikes me as a traditionalist.” He hums. “We can get him a dog.”

That does it.

I spit hot chocolate all over Gabe’s fleece.

Tobias’s laughter fills the backyard, the sound lacking in all artifice. It’s pure and real and I realize I’ve never heard it like that before. Well worth the cost of replacing the coziest article of clothing in Gabe’s closet. “Look what you made me do!”

He’s swiping at his eyes. “I was serious about the dog. He’s the bulldog type. I know it.”

“Stop making fun of your brother.”

“He’s the favorite. It’s only fair that I get to take the piss once in a while.”

“I don’t have a favorite,” I say, looking him in the eye. “I just…”

“What?”

“I don’t know. I just have this weird…sense. When it comes to…”

“What each of us needs?”

Having it put into words out loud causes my blood to pump faster. “Yes.”

A moment passes while we look at each other, the wind picking up around us.

Tobias slowly sets his mug down on the stone patio and stands. He takes two steps until he’s towering over me, then pulls me to my feet. The only part of him that’s touching me is his hand, which encircles my wrist, but I’m close enough to feel his body heat and that alone turns me into a winded mess. In seconds, I’m trembling.

“Can you sense what I need right now?” he asks, his words feathering my mouth.

I can only manage a nod. “You need to know I’m sleeping with you for more than what your body can give me.”

That statement makes him start, his breath going choppy. “I…Elise…”

I wasn’t expecting to say that either. Maybe that’s when truth is in its rawest form. When you don’t think about letting it out, it just flies free on its own. “I’m in this for your heart, too.” I wind our fingers together and tow him behind me to the back door. “Come inside and I’ll make sure you feel it.”