AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Of course, I’m sure.” I tipped my head back so I could see his face. “I love you. Nothing’s going to change that.”
He closed his eyes and nodded once. “Okay.”
I squeezed him before stepping back. “As to dinner, yes. We ate. I ordered from the café for everyone and we took turns wolfing it down in the back room.”
“Yum.”
I shrugged. “I can’t complain. We were busy, and I needed that more than a leisurely dinner. But.”
“But?”
“I bought an ice cream cake for tonight.”
“To celebrate?”
I grinned. “That’s the beauty of ice cream cake. It can celebrate a record-breaking sales day, or it can console a miserable start to the biggest six weeks in retail.”
He laughed. “Is it big enough to share with someone you love?”
“It absolutely is. Are you asking to follow me home?”
“I am.”
I reached into the desk drawer for my purse, snagged my keys off the desk, and pointed a finger at him. “Then you’re in luck. Maybe you can take a look at my top three apartment contenders and help me figure out which one I should go with.”
Cody drew in a breath like he was about to speak, then let it out. His smile was tight. “I can do that.”
I’d driven today. I wasn’t sure how late I’d end up needing to stay and hadn’t felt like walking home in the pitch black if it was late. There were street lights, and it was reasonably safe, but also, if I was moving, I’d wanted to get a feel for how hard it was to park in the morning.
We walked through the store and I flipped off the lights before opening the door so we could leave, and locking it behind us.
I pointed down the street to my car. “I’m down there.”
“I know. I’m right behind you.”
I squinted down the street. Sure enough. “Nice. That’s handy.”
“It is.” Cody took my hand and we headed to our cars. He opened my door and waited until I was settled before leaning in. “I’ll see you at your place in a minute.”
He shut my door.
Austin had done the same thing for me on numerous occasions, but boy, when my brother did it, it didn’t leave me with the feeling of being cherished like Cody’s actions had.
I buckled up, started the car, and eased away from the curb.
Cody followed me home and pulled up behind me in front of my townhouse. Or, I guess, Austin’s townhouse.
I frowned.
I really didn’t want to move out.
I shook my head and gathered my things before stepping out of my car and making sure it was locked. I opened the front door and let Cody in ahead of me. “Cake’s in the freezer, if you want to get it out. I’ve been dreaming of comfy clothes for the past two hours. You don’t mind if I run up and change, do you?”
He shook his head and started toward the kitchen.
I dropped my keys on the table by the door, kicked off my shoes under it, and darted up the stairs to my bedroom. It was a little odd shimmying out of my work clothes knowing Cody was downstairs in the kitchen, but I pushed the thoughts away before I could linger too long and take myself places I didn’t need to go. I pulled on sweatpants, a long-sleeved T-shirt, and thick socks before heading downstairs.
Cody looked up from his study of the ice cream cake when I entered the kitchen. “We’re just cutting this in half, right?”
