Page 63 of Knot Convenient

Summer gasped, almost dropping her book, and her eyes darted up to me. “Tobias!” Her face slowly broke into a smile. “I didn’t hear you come in.” She set the book down, pulled the blanket off her, and padded toward me, wrapping her arms around my middle. She was so small compared to me that I could easily rest my chin on top of her head.

“It seemed like you were pretty engrossed in your book. Milo asleep?”

Summer grimaced, but a little smirk hid behind it. “No. The mothers kidnapped my baby. They insisted I could do with an afternoon off, but I’m bored out of my fricking mind! There’s only so many times I can clean the kitchen.”

“You don’t need to clean the kitchen constantly.” I laughed, shrugging off my jacket and hanging it up.

“I know, it’s just… an adjustment. I’m used to having no free time at all, and now I have loads of free time—without my son. It just feels wrong. I’ve been trying to focus on that book for the last hour. I’m pretty sure I read the first six pages at least eight times!”

Her nose scrunched as she spoke, and I bit back another laugh.

“Well, luckily for you, your entertainment has arrived!” I declared, spreading my arms dramatically. “We probably have at least a good hour or two before Marshall comes home. Are you hungry?”

Summer pursed her lips, gaze drifting upward. “I’m not sure, maybe a little snacky?”

“Popcorn?” I suggested, “With extra butter.”

When her eyes lit up, I knew I’d struck gold. “Umm, yes, please.”

“Come with me, pretty girl, and let me supply you with snacks and a good time!” I declared, pushing her toward the kitchen as she giggled.

“I’ve cleaned this kitchen so many times. How did I not realize you had microwave popcorn back there?” Summer said, hopping onto the counter as I rummaged through the pantry.

“Because we are all heathens and hide the good food in the pantry from each other.”

Summer nodded thoughtfully. “Ahh, I see. That makes sense. I keep finding chocolate in the weirdest of places.”

“Alphas will be alphas.” I grinned, shrugging. “We love everything sweet.”

I wasn’t just talking about chocolate, eyes locked onto her, and given the way Summer’s face turned pink, she knew it.

She was saved from having to answer by me finding the popcorn, holding it in the air victoriously. I peeled off the plastic wrapper and set it in the microwave, trusting the popcorn button to actually do its job.

“Popcorn shall be ready soon, pretty girl.”

Summer sat on the counter, her legs swinging as I got to work finding a large bowl and some drinks to go with our salty snack. A few sodas would do the trick. Nothing like a bit of sweet with a bit of salty.

Once the bowl was full of delicious buttery goodness, I handed it to Summer, who gave me a playful little grabby-hand motion when I took too long.

“Your soda, your highness.” I handed it to her, and Summer’s eyes lit up as she smiled again. “Shall we?”

I offered her my arm, and she looped hers through it, having to navigate the can of soda through the opening. We headed off to the couch, and I let her get comfy as I snagged the remote. Sitting next to her, I took the popcorn so she could throw a blanket over her lap and open our drinks. She settled back against the cushions with a smile and nod.

“Thanks. All right, what are we watching?”

I placed the bowl back in her hands, slinging my arm over her shoulder. For a brief moment, I was worried she’d reject my touch. But I’d been totally wrong. My heart nearly exploded out of my chest when she snuggled deeper into me.

“Hmm, let’s see what we have available.” I flicked through some of the TV shows on the main screen, asking, “Good or trashy?”

Summer laughed, popping a kernel into her mouth. “Trashy.”

“Okay, okay. Well, it looks like your first options are survival shows or dating shows.”

“Hmmm, let’s go with dating. It’s been a while since I indulged.”

“Perfect.” I chose the first episode of whatever season this was and set down the remote, content to focus on Summer against me and the tasty popcorn. After a while, we’d started talking over the episodes, yelling at the TV about how dumb some of the contestants were.

“You know, I don’t think I would ever be able to survive a reality TV show,” Summer mused, munching on the popcorn as she shook her head.