Page 99 of Not Until I Found You

“Hey, sweetheart. It’s good to see you again.” Edna eyes the two of us as I move to stand next to Maxinne, wrapping an arm around her waist. Her mouth curls into a smirk.

“You know, there are a few natural ways you could keep the raccoons away that you could try,” Maxinne adds and Edna’s brows rise in curiosity.

“Really? Please tell me. I’m tired of losing sleep to all the racket it’s making.”

“But what if it’s just a ghost?” I offer helpfully.

Edna swats my arm. “Zane, don’t be ridiculous.”

Maxinne presses her lips together to suppress a laugh before she replies, “You could install motion-activated lights. Raccoons don’t like sudden brightness. Also, if you sprinkle cayenne pepper around the entry points, it causes a harmless irritation on their paws and discourages them from coming back. Strong smells like ammonia or vinegar can help too.”

Edna and I stand there, staring at her.

“Well,” Edna finally says before turning toward me. “Why didn’t you think of anything like that?”

Before I can respond, Olivia appears at Edna’s side, her green eyes bright with interest. “Are we talking about the raccoon again?”

Edna immediately latches on. “Yes, and this lovely young lady seems to know far more about them than any of these boys.”

Olivia laughs. “Come on, Edna. You can tell me all about it. Let’s spare Zane before he gets recruited again.”

Edna sniffs but allows herself to be steered away. “I’ll be back,” she warns me and Maxinne. “That raccoon isn’t going to evict itself.”

As they walk off into the growing crowd, I exhale and look down at Maxinne. “So…raccoons, huh?”

She grins up at me. “My mom and I had a raccoon problem once.”

“You didn’t want to adopt it like you did the opossum?” This makes my mouth twitch up into a smile, and her eyes track the movement.

“Opossums don’t carry rabies. Raccoons do.”

I tighten my arm around her waist. “Remind me never to underestimate you.”

She tilts her head. “You’d be smart not to.”

I place my other hand onto her hip and twist her around until we’re face to face. I’ve had enough space from her this past week since I’ve pulled double shifts every day. I’m ready to soak in as much time with her as I can today.

She’s probably wondering what move I’m about to make. Am I going to kiss her in front of all these people, or am I too chicken to go through with it? She’s in for a treat, because I’m not scared of PDA.

I stare at her deep cupid’s bow, the curve of her ear, and land on the spot on her neck I brushed with my lips the day we first kissed. I love the way it elicits a shiver from her every time. I’m so close to her that I barely have to tip forward to speak directly into her ear.

“I’ve missed you.”

Her throat bobs in a heavy swallow. “I’ve missed you too.”

I can’t take it any longer. I press my lips to hers, and the rest of the world goes quiet. I kiss her slowly, deliberately, because I fully plan on savoring this. My hands find her hips first, fingers pressing in as I pull her closer, and when she comes willingly, I completely unravel. I slide my hands into her hair, tilting her head back, and the soft sound she makes against my lips does something catastrophic to my ability to think straight. She responds to me so easily, like we’ve been doing this for years, as if her body already knows what mine is asking, and it takes every last bit of restraint I have not to deepen this into something neither of us would recover from quickly.

I’m just about to lose that restraint entirely when someone clears their throat. We let go of each other and look toward Ashton. He’s standing only a few feet away with his arms crossed and a disgusted look on his face. I’m sure the last thing he wants to see is me making out with his little sister.

“You do know you’re in public right now? There are children around.” He points a finger at the two of us, his frown deepening. “Plus, I don’t need to see all that.”

“Sorry,” I say, taking a step away to put a little space between Maxinne and me. “I’ll make sure to canoodle with her later in private.”

“Canoodle?” Maxinne laughs.

“Please don’t.” Ashton groans, running a hand down his face, and my laugh escapes.

“Come on, boys, let’s go to that food truck over there. Marie told me they have the best gourmet grilled cheeses, and I’ve been dying to give it a try.” Maxinne wraps her arm through mine, then through Ashton’s, and leads the way.