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He lifted his head and touched his lips to the tip of her nose. “Stir away.” He gave her a tight squeeze and kissed her lips before releasing her. Gus had never seen his brother more content.
Merritt glanced up from her place at the counter and smiled at Gus.
His stomach flipped, which caught him off guard.
What was that?
The conversation at the dinner table mostly revolved around their plans for the week and the possibility of forecasted snow affecting those plans.
It was good to be together again, and Gus felt so much lighter since his conversation with Sebastian. He hadn’t realized how much that situation had been weighing on him, and it was as if a giant burden had been lifted.
After dinner, the family settled in the great room with its floor-to-ceiling windows. During the day, they featured a spectacular view of the mountains and acres beyond, but it was almost completely dark outside now as they neared the end of twilight.
Gus sat on a love seat by the window and motioned for Merritt to join him. When she neared, he grabbed hold of her wrist, tugging her into his lap. She tumbled, not so gracefully, landing hard, and catching herself with her hands against his chest.
He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her back. “Sorry.”
“You caught me off guard there.” She laughed nervously and settled into his lap, leaning her head in the crook of his neck and tucking her arms between their bodies.
Holding her in his arms felt nice, and she relaxed into him more when he softly caressed up and down her back with his fingertips.
“You two are so darn cute,” Genevieve said. “I want to know your whole story. Start at the beginning. How did you meet?”
“She hit me with her car,” Gus replied.
Merritt sat upright, staring at him with mouth hanging open. “For the last time, I did not hit you with my car.”
He couldn’t keep from smiling.
She looked around the room, clearly flustered, then back at Gus. “I thought we weren’t going to tell anyone about that,” she said through gritted teeth.
“Well, honey, it’s part of our story. I thought they’d like to know the truth.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she angled closer and whispered, “The whole truth?”
“Okay, maybe she almost hit me with her car.” He altered his story, even though he could almost still feel her mirror rub against his arm.
“Not even close,” she told them.
Everyone laughed as he leaned in and whispered, “I love seeing you get all worked up like that.”
“I thought you met at Adelia’s,” Skylar said.
“We did. But first, we ran into each other—”
“You mean, you ran into me,” Gus teased.
She smacked him on the chest. “Stop!”
Gus looked at Sky. “We may have had a bit of a … disagreement at first—”
“That’s putting it mildly,” Merritt cut in.
“But then we saw each other again at Adelia’s and started talking … and my charm won her over.”
Merritt rolled her eyes so only he could see.
“You two remind me of your father and I,” Mom said.