Until Harry - L.A. Casey Page 0,46

a low probability of me bursting into tears as we watched it. A few minutes passed by before Kale re-entered the room with two cups of tea in his hands. He placed both cups on coasters on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

He settled next to me, sitting just a few inches away, with his arm thrown over the back of the sofa and his long legs parted as he watched the show. I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than how close Kale was to me. He was so close I could smell his delicious scent, and it was torturing me as it begged me to bury my face in his neck and inhale.

Rein it in, my mind warned.

I bit the insides of my cheeks, then leaned forward and picked up the cup in front of me, blew lightly and took a sip of the heated liquid. I audibly groaned as the sugary goodness slid down my throat to my empty stomach.

“Oh. My. God,” I breathed. “You still make the best cup of tea I have ever tasted.”

Kale didn’t reply, so when I looked at him, I found his eyes were focused on my mouth, and it caused my pulse to spike. After a moment or two, he lifted his gaze to mine and grinned. “I’m glad I still hold onto my title of World’s Best Cup of Tea Maker.”

I snorted, thinking back to the time when I’d given him that title. I was fourteen and had my period, and I was cramping and miserable. Kale made me my first cup of tea, and it changed everything. Every. Thing. From that moment on, whenever I was in his company, he would be on duty to make me a cup of tea.

I was glad to see it was one tradition that didn’t fade to nothing.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes before I felt on edge. I wanted to offer my condolences for Kaden, to acknowledge his existence, but I didn’t know how to say it. I was so scared I would mess it up and not come across as completely sincere. I was also afraid it would upset Kale, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I decided it was best for me to leave before I said something that would upset one of us, most likely me.

“I think I’m going to go up to bed before I fall asleep down here.”

That was a cold-hearted lie. I was so wired being in his company, and it was freaking me out.

“Go ahead. I’ll stay down here until your parents and brothers get in.”

What did I do to deserve his generosity? I thought, then frowned when my mind sneered, Nothing.

I got to my feet and shifted from foot to foot.

“Thank you, Kale.”

He gazed up at me. “You don’t have to thank me, Laney Baby – I’ve got you.”

My heart thudded against my chest, surprisingly still working.

“Laney Baby,” I mused. “That won’t ever change, will it?”

Kale smiled, shook his head and said, “Things haven’t changed around here, kid.”

I glanced around and frowned. “Are you sure? Because from where I’m standing, everything is different.”

“I’m the same,” he replied, and licked his lips. “Mostly, anyway.”

I looked at him, really looked at him, and found him staring right back at me, his hazel eyes focused on mine.

“Everyone changes, Kale. Nothing stays the same forever,” I murmured.

He frowned. “Have you changed?”

He looked, and sounded, like it pained him to ask that question.

I reluctantly nodded. “I’m not the same Lane you once knew, pup.”

Surprisingly, my answer brought a glorious smile to his face. It was the kind of smile that caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach, my heart to beat fast and my breath to catch.

It was a true thing of beauty.

“My Lane is still in there somewhere,” he said, his tone matter-of-fact. “Only she would call me ‘pup’.”

I always called him that because he had the biggest puppy-dog eyes I had ever seen, and that was one thing about him that would never change. The glint in them had, but not the size.

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I gave him a small smile and bid him goodnight. When I got into my bedroom, I closed the door behind me, pressed my back against the wood, then sank down to the ground and stared into the darkness.

He called me his. Kale said I was his Lane.

I shook my head at that because I wasn’t his. You could never