I chuckled. “I know your uncle would love to hear that. He misses her just like you do.”
“I wish I could talk to her.” Emy’s expressive face fell.
“You can,” I quickly reassured her. “You can always talk to her. And if you feel silly talking out loud to yourself, maybe you can talk to me,” I suggested. “I could never replace your mother, and I wouldn’t want to, but maybe you can tell me everything you want her to know. I know she’d be listening to every word, giving you big, invisible hugs.”
Emy pursed her lips, and I could practically see her mind working. “You could talk to me and tell your mommy things too.”
I sniffled, unable to hold back the tears that clouded my vision. “I’d like that.”
Emersyn nodded her head once, like we’d just made a complicated business deal. “Okay, Auntie Nix. It’s a deal.” She held out her pinkie finger, and I gave a watery laugh before hooking mine around hers and shaking on our promise.
I ushered Emy inside where it was warm and listened to her chat about her day as we took the elevator up to Angela’s floor. Luckily, Ryder was waiting for us outside Angela’s door, and Emy ran straight into his open arms. Scooping her up, Ryder squeezed her tight, teasing her about bear hugs before knocking on the door. He smiled at me over her shoulder, his hazel eyes sparkling in the low lighting of the hallway.
“Did you have fun with Nix?” Ryder asked a suddenly yawning Emy.
“She’s my favorite aunt,” she remarked through her tiredness.
“She’s your only aunt,” Ryder teased.
“No she’s not.” Emy flung her head side to side, her curls bouncing. “Rini and Molly are my aunties too. I have a big family.”
Ryder booped her on the nose just as Angela opened the door, and Emy scrambled down from Ryder to hug her.
I sidled up to Ryder who put his arm around my shoulders and ushered me inside.
“You’ve made quite an impression,” he murmured in my ear, his happiness evident in his voice.
“She’s easy to love.” I sighed, watching Emy reenact her ice skating routine for Molly and Angela, who were laughing and cheering her on.
Ryder tugged me against his chest, cupping my face and stroking his thumb along the curve of my cheek. “So are you, Nix.” He leaned in, angling his head to give me a kiss, but before our lips touched, Emy’s squeal and fit of giggles startled us away from each other.
“Are you going to kiss? Ew!” she chirped with a laugh, her eyes alight with a lot of mischief for a little girl who’d been yawning just moments ago. Where kids got their extra energy from, I had no idea.
Ryder shot me a wink and pulled away. “Maybe I’ll just kiss you instead!” I giggled as he chased her around the room, giving her a good lap or two before he caught her and landed a big, wet raspberry on her cheek. A few minutes later we had her calmed down, and Angela got her ready for bed, complete with jammies and brushed teeth.
“Alright, time for bed. Say goodnight, you three,” Angela chided in a way only a mother could. Ry scooped her up and tucked her into bed, settling the blanket around her.
“I love you, Uncle Ryder,” Emy murmured sleepily, her tight hug loosening as she yawned and closed her eyes.
“I love you too, Twilight Sparkle,” he replied playfully, using my nickname for him, but the love he felt was clear in the adoration filling his expression.
When his hand slipped into mine as we left the room, he brought my knuckles to his lips and brushed them over my skin. “I love you too, you know.”
“And I love you, Pinkie Pie.” I grinned widely as his eyes narrowed.
“To think I was going to pamper you with a surprise.” He shook his head, like it was a shame I’d had the gall to tease him.
“Surprise?” I bit my lip and practically skipped as he led me to the elevator.
It dinged opened as he cocked a brow at me. “That depends. Are you going to behave?” I followed him, and he punched a button to close the door and bring us back down to the lobby so we could head home.
I pursed my lips, pretending to think about it. “Never.”
“Correct answer.” His smile was broad, sending the butterflies in my stomach into a fluttering mess of wings. “Now then, my lady.” He bowed his head in jest and then popped out his elbow, offering it to me gallantly as the doors opened. “Will you give me the pleasure of your company for an evening you won’t want to miss?”
I narrowed my eyes at him even as I took his arm. “What are you up to?” I pressed.
“Ah, but a secret is only as good as the silence that surrounds it,” Ryder spouted, putting on a pretend, pompous accent that made me giggle as he hurried us out the door and down the path that led to home. “Trust me, mikró pouláki. It will be worth it.”
“With you, Ry…” I leaned against his shoulder, sharing a burst of heat as I thought back to all the things he’d helped plan for me in the past. The Twister game in their living room, the karaoke dance performance when I’d won a bet, the hot springs date that still sent heat straight to my core when I thought about the ways the guys had taken me in the water. “It always is.”
Five
Nix
The scent of roses invaded my senses when I stepped through the front door of the cabin. Shrugging off my coat, I inhaled deeply, enjoying the floral bouquet in the air. It seemed like eons since I’d seen the grass or smelled the sweet aroma of flowers, and I almost moaned from the sheer enjoyment of the fragrance infusing my home, mixing and colliding with the signature scents of my mates.
Underneath it all, I could have sworn I caught a hint of chocolate, and my mouth immediately watered.
Ryder took my jacket from me and hung it up on the peg near the door.
“What’s going on?” I wanted to investigate, to figure out what the guys were up to, but there wasn’t one of them in sight except for my Ceraptor.
“I guess you’ll have to go upstairs and find out, won’t you?” Ryder grinned cheekily, but it was the way his eyes sparkled that made me lean in and press my lips sweetly to his.
“And what if I want to just stay right here, drag you to the couch, and kiss you until we both forget our names or what day it is?” I teased playfully. I gazed up from under my lashes while I ran my hands down his front, enjoying the carved lines of his abdominals just under the fabric of his shirt. His hands captured mine on a groan, and he stopped me before I ventured to his hemline, ready to feel his smooth skin under my palms.
“Nix,” he moaned, and I saw the hesitation written all over his face. He wanted to take me up on my seductive offer, but he also wanted me to go upstairs.
“I guess it’s only fair to the others.” I bit my lip and pulled from his grasp, adding a little sashay to my walk to show him just what he’d passed up on. I heard another groan as I shimmied my ass up the stairs, overly amused by how easy it was to work my guys into a frenzy. I’d never expected to find so much power in my own sexuality, but I loved it.
I’d almost reached the top when something red caught my eye, and I paused before I stepped onto the landing.