I hear.”
Miranda strolled into the kitchen brandishing the bottle of wine.
“And he brought us a sauvignon blanc, mija. Your favorite,” she said.
Peyton shook his head and chuckled. Casey was either rooting for him or figured he’d probably take a nosedive at some point during the evening, so why not at least start off on the right foot?
“How’d you know?” she asked, taking the bottle from her mom and pulling a corkscrew from a drawer.
He shrugged. “Lucky guess?” Then he reached over the island and shook the older man’s hand. “Jorge. Good to see you again.”
“Mayor Cooper,” Jorge said with a smile. “You haven’t found any more exposed wires I should know about, have you?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, sir. But I promise not to touch them if I do. And I’d love it if you all called me Peyton,” he said. “Unless we’re in my office, I’m just—me, I guess.”
“Okay, Peyton,” Jorge said, then he followed Miranda to the refrigerator where they worked in tandem pulling out plated vegetables and cheeses and lining them up on the counter.
“What about Coop?” Dani asked with a coy smile, her cheeks turning pink. She looked down after that, focusing on filling the four stemless wine glasses in front of her until the bottle was empty.
He rounded the island and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her softly on the cheek.
“I think we should save that one just for you,” he said so only she could hear.
She sucked in a breath and he straightened, clearing his throat.
“Peyton!” Miranda said. “I got so caught up in the doorbell excitement that I didn’t even take your coat.”
Peyton realized he still had his down vest on over his navy wool sweater and plaid button-down. He handed Miranda a glass of wine and smiled.
“No worries. I can hang it myself. Just point me in the right direction.”
The woman beamed. “The closet is right next to the front door.”
He headed back to the front of the house and quickly deposited his vest. He paused, though, when he noticed the wall of photos opposite the closet. Dani and her sister, Julia, through the years, from childhood to adulthood, including what he guessed was Dani’s first day as a deputy sheriff, standing so proud in her uniform and seemingly trying not to smile too big. There were family photos, too, some of just Miranda and the girls. Some with Jorge. There was even one of Dani and her parents at the hospital when Julia was born. She couldn’t have been more than two.
Peyton thought about the blank walls at his family’s home, wondered if when the place was finished he’d be able to go through the boxes of what he’d packed away from his parents’ condo in Chicago and fill the walls with memories that now might be too painful to bear.
“Hey.” Dani popped her head around the corner, then made her way to where he stood with two glasses of wine.
“Is one of those for me?” he asked, deflecting with humor like he’d grown accustomed to doing.
“Nah,” she said. “I’m really thirsty.” Then she laughed and handed a glass to him. “Everything okay?” she asked, nodding toward the picture-covered wall. “Mami always did go overboard with the photos.”
“I’m good,” he said, then took a sip of wine. “But there’s something I forgot to tell you when I first got here. It’s pretty important. Could change everything between us.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “And what’s that?”
He dipped his head and kissed her, and he felt her lips part into a smile against his.
“That,” he said, their lips still touching.
She laughed, and he kissed her once more before straightening and taking another sip of his wine.
“You’re right,” she said. “You should have been up-front about that from the beginning.”
He clinked his glass against hers. “I’m glad we cleared that up.”
She smiled. “Come on. My mom and Uncle Jorge made entirely too much food, so prepare to leave here tonight with enough leftovers to last you through Christmas.”
“Is that a promise?” he asked. “You’ve seen my fridge. I need all the help I can get.”
They laughed together on their way back to the kitchen, and any nerves he felt about the evening fell away.
“Okay,” Miranda said, walking toward them with a small basket in her hands. “Food is ready, which means phones go in the basket.”
Dani slid her phone from her back pocket and deposited it in the basket.
“House rules,” she said to Peyton.