“I always do. Drives everyone bonkers.”

I chuckle and brush my hand down her soft hair. “Let’s just see where this takes us for now. Go out, hang out, and let it evolve organically.”

“Huh.” She nods slowly. “Okay, I guess. I probably have my defenses up, and I don’t mean to. That means I’ll probably screw it all up.”

I kiss her just to get her to stop talking. Soft, chaste, but enough to make her brain quiet, even if it’s just for a minute.

“Don’t overthink it,” I suggest when I pull back. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Right. Unless I do screw it up, and then it’s just weird between us at family gatherings and stuff.”

“You just can’t help it, can you?”

“Nope.”

“Well, we’ve survived the weirdness between us so far.”

She wrinkles her nose. “That’s not encouraging.”

“Don’t sweat it.” I drape my arm around her shoulders. “It’s going to be great. When’s your next night off?”

“Thursday.”

“I’ll pick you up at five. We’ll be going into Seattle.”

“For dinner?”

“To start.”

“Do I need to dress fancy?”

“Nope.”

She nods, and I keep her hand in mine as we walk down the steps.

“Can I take a donut with me?”

“I guess.”

“Dude, I brought you a dozen.”

“Exactly, so it’s a sacrifice to give up one of them. But I’ll do it. For you. And don’t tell your brother that I have them because he’ll come and steal them.”

“Kane’s never stolen donuts in his life.”

“Oh, he has.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “Fine, your secret is safe with me. I have to go get some stuff done before I head into the pub to help with inventory in a couple of hours.”

“Have a good day.” I tug her in so I can hug her close. God, I’ll never get used to feeling her against me.

She’s fucking amazing.

“You have a good day, too. Doing whatever it is you do up there. Espionage or something, right?”

I laugh and open the door for her. “Or something.”

I’m going to do this right.

I called a meeting with Maggie’s siblings and asked them to meet me at Kane’s place. It’s where we always go when we need to get something off our chests.

I love these people. I couldn’t love them more if they were mine by blood. They’re the only family I have.

And I’m not going to fuck this up.

“I’m here,” Maeve announces as she hurries back to Kane’s sunroom, where the rest of us just gathered. “Sorry, I just left a showing.”

“We just sat down,” Kane assures her, then turns to me. “What’s up, man?”