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He looked away before the smallest frown marredhisforehead. “I do know.”

I scoffed. “Go ahead, Mr. Bigshot moneymaker. Tell me how.”

Brody closed his eyes. “Because I ordered them.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“Sorry, what?”

“I bought your owls.”

My mind swam. “Why would you buy four sets of owls?”

He opened his eyes back up, and I’d be damned if his cheeks weren’t lit pink. The coolest guy, the biggest dude in the NHL, was blushing like a virgin over crochet birds. “I’ve bought a couple of things before that, too.”

My mouth hung open. “Are you serious?”

Brody shrugged.

“Oh, holy crap. You are! Why the hell?”

“It’s simple. I missed you. We didn’t speak after I left, so I’d ask Coop what you were up to. One day, he mentioned you’d opened an online store, so I checked it out.”

“And you bought something?”

A grin spread across Brody’s lips. “A penguin. With purple eyes.” He chuckled. “It looked a little crazy. Reminded me of you.”

I batted at him with the hand he wasn’t holding.

“When I felt lonely or a little down, I’d go online and check out what you’d made. I have no idea why. I mean, I wanted to see you do well. Succeed. But maybe I wanted a little part of you with me, too. Either way, I kept buying. First, there was a little robin, then a duck, and an emu. Your birds have their own drawer in my bedside cabinet. I’m a regular customer.”

I shook my head, a slow burn of energy moving across my chest. “That can’t be right. I don’t have any orders from an address in Denver.”

“I use a post office box in Tennessee. Get the packages forwarded on.”

I widened my eyes. “That’s you? I just thought it was some old lady who had a lot of grandkids to buy for.”

He laughed and gave me a sheepish smile. “I knew you’d probably think I was buying them for some weird reason. Like I felt sorry for you. But truly? Buying your birds made me feel good. They were the nearest thing I had to you.”

It wasn’tquitea stalker move, though his revelation did verge on worrying. If he was the customer I was thinking of, he’d kept me afloat for a few months last year. He said it wasn’t a pity move, and when I looked up into his azure eyes, I really didn’t care. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

As the last warm rays of sun dipped behind the trees, I turned into Brody, tracing my fingers down the lean shadow of his cheekbone. I reached up and gently pressed my lips against his, just like I’d done all those years ago. When he returned their pressure, my heart sang, and I let out a tiny sigh. At the sound, he opened his mouth to me, and our tongues met.

He’d said I felt like home to him, but if that was the case, his kiss was where I wanted to move in and take up residence. It was unhurried, deep, and blissful. I curled one hand around the back of his neck, drawing him in. He tasted so good, so perfect, that I almost cried out when he pulled away from me.

“I almost forgot!” Brody took his hands from my face and fumbled around in his pockets again. This time, he brought out a little package tied with a green ribbon. “I need to explain something before you open it, though.”

He looked deep into my eyes. “I know you wanted a pair of crochet gloves. And I tried. I mean, reallytried. But after I’d started, then unpicked the stitches for the eighth time, I was about ready to burn every ball of yarn in the county. And please, never tell your brother I picked up a crochet hook, but I made you this.” He reached for my hand and placed the gift in my palm, closing his hand over the top.

Coop. In my happiness, I’d forgotten all about him. What would he say about Brody and me? “We have to tell him. Not about the gloves, but about us.”

Brody smiled. “It’s okay. I spoke to Coop. Told him everything. He threatened to cut off my balls if I ever hurt you, but apart from that, he was okay with the two of us. Happy. I just hope he can convince your other brothers I’m a solid guy. I’d rather not have to grow a beard and go on the run.”

A huge searing burn of energy rushed through my chest, and my heart almost burst out of my mouth, as if it would break out and dance for joy right there in the water. Coop was our last obstacle. If he was happy for the two of us, Gran would be, too. Besides, she loved Brody almost as much as my brother and I.

I smiled and looked up at him from under my lashes. “Thank you for talking to him. He didn’t think the two of us together would be weird? Like it would interrupt the bromance the two of you’ve had all these years.”

Brody huffed. “No weirder than me doing crochet. I promise he was fine. Please. Open the package.”

I tugged at the little ribbon, then unwrapped the pink tissue paper it bound. Inside lay a single crochet chain in pink yarn. I looked at Brody. “What is it?”