Page 154 of That Rush

“Daddy!”

Josie races around the side of the house with Deven following behind her, and Aiden turns toward his daughter, cutting off the rest.

Josie barrels into Aiden’s legs and wraps both arms around one of them.

“There you are. Grandma said you were checking a door.”

Deven’s raised eyebrow tells me that was the most child-appropriate version of events she could offer.

Aiden lifts Josie into his arms. “The lock works.”

“I conducted a second inspection,” I say. “Very thorough.”

His mouth twitches.

Deven looks between our flushed faces. “I can see that.”

My cheeks flush, which only makes Aiden’s smile widen.

“I need a drink,” I say.

“Conveniently, that’s why we came looking for you.” Deven turns toward the porch. “Hudson made lemonade, and I made sure he didn’t ruin it by getting creative.”

“What does Grandpa put in lemonade?” Josie asks.

“Last time, rosemary.”

“It tasted like a tree.”

Aiden sets her down, and she takes his hand. He reaches for mine with the other, linking us together as we follow Deven around the house.

The porch is shaded and quiet, with a pitcher sweating on the table beside four glasses and a plate holding one enormous chocolate-chip cookie. I sit beside Aiden on the porch swing while Josie climbs into the chair across from us.

Deven pours the lemonade. “I saved the cookie for Paige.”

Josie’s mouth drops open. “The whole one?”

“She worked all morning.”

“So did Daddy.”

“Daddy can survive without a cookie.”

Aiden rests his arm across the back of the swing behind me. “I see where I rank.”

“You’ve known where you rank for thirty-five years,” Deven says.

I break the cookie in half and offer him a piece.

He takes it with a satisfied look. “That’s why she’s my girlfriend.”

The label lands softly, a better fit than the silence we’ve been keeping, and I like hearing him say it without hesitation.

Deven smiles at me. “Future Slades always learn to feed them eventually.”

My fingers pause around my glass.

Aiden laughs. “You’re going to scare her off.”