CHAPTER63
TANNER
“Why don’t you take Larisa on a tour of the old place while I make the salad?” my mother asked me, speaking to me over her shoulder.
I followed them into the kitchen, shaking my head. I pulled out a stool for Larisa to sit on before joining my mother at the fridge. “I’ll help you first. Then I’ll take her on a tour after dinner.”
“Nonsense,” she said firmly. “I’m perfectly capable of making a salad. You two go ahead. It’ll be easier for me if you’re not staring over my shoulder.”
Larisa glanced at me with a thoughtful expression on her face before pushing the stool back again and standing up. “How about we help you chop up the ingredients? Then Tanner can give me a tour while you make the salad?”
I watched my mom’s face, surprised when she actually seemed to consider the offer. When she nodded, I nearly fell over. Chopping up the ingredients was all the work involved in making a salad. By agreeing to let us help with that, the only thing we’d be leaving her to do by herself was to toss it all in a bowl. I’d thought for sure that she’d refuse, but obviously, she was happier with that phrasing.
Or something.
Maybe Larisa just spoke “Mom” better than I did. Whatever it was, my mother pulled out another chopping board and a knife, handed both over to her, and started asking her questions about herself while they worked. Neither of them seemed to notice that I was still waiting for my chopping board and knife.
Larisa kept my mother engaged while easily making her way through the pile of ingredients. Then she rinsed everything they’d used and dried her hands on a dishtowel before turning to me. “How about that tour while your mom finishes getting everything ready?”
Mom nodded, a smug grin appearing on her face. “You see? At least Larisa believes that I’m capable of finishing up here without help. Show her around. I’ll be done in a few.”
Not quite understanding what had just happened, I took Larisa’s hand and showed her to my old bedroom, speaking to her in low tones on the way. “Are you a magician? I knew she was going to love you, but she never lets anyone except me help her make food. She even only lets me help when she thinks I need to learn something.”
She looked up at me, waggling her eyebrows before giving me a one-shouldered shrug. “My mother never wants me to help with anything, so I know how to slide some help in there and when not to push.”
“You’re a miracle worker.” I put my hand on her lower back and smiled when she slowed to lean into me a little as we walked.
When we entered my childhood bedroom, she turned to me with a wide smile on her lips and I swore I saw stars in her eyes. “This looks just like it did in the pictures I saw. I can’t believe it’s exactly the same.”
“Mom didn’t want to change it,” I said. “I told her to turn it into something useful, but she says she likes it the way it is.”
Larisa nodded, her smile widening as she looked around. “It’s exactly the way I imagined it. Does it feel similar to your bedroom at the house? Because it’s meant to.”
“Now that you mention it, it does actually,” I replied, frowning as the realization dawned. “Wow. It really does. You’re a fucking genius.”
She smirked. “Thank you, but Bart’s the genius. He’s the one who thought to bring me the pictures. I just never thought I’d see it for myself.”
“I’m glad you are, especially if it’s making you realize just how wrong I was to have made you think I hated the house. How could I when it feels like one of the only places I’ve ever really felt at home?”
Her cheeks flushed, but she ducked her head to hide it behind her hair before turning to look around some more. Zeroing in on a framed photograph on my nightstand, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and snapped a picture of it.
“What are you doing?” I asked curiously.
“Are you kidding me? I need a picture of little you in your baseball getup in my life. I think I might use it as my background, it’s so damn cute.”
“Cute?” I arched a brow at her, took two steps forward to close the distance between us, and slid my arms around her waist. “How’s this for cute?”
I pulled her into me, lowered my head, and slanted my mouth over hers in a kiss that was nothing short of a claiming. She moaned against my lips, and I heard the soft thud of her phone landing on my mattress before she wrapped her arms around my neck to deepen the kiss.
Just before I could push her back and follow her into my bed, my mother’s voice came drifting out of the kitchen. “Tanner! Larisa! Food’s ready.”
I groaned, and Larisa started shaking against me with silent laughter. I smiled against her mouth before planting a final kiss on it. “To be continued later?”
“To be continued later,” she agreed, sighing before she released me and slid her hand back into mine. “In the meantime, let’s go eat. It’s smells delicious.”
“I offered to buy us food for tonight, but my mom insisted on making a homemade meal,” I said. “She’s a great cook, but I wanted to give her the night off.”
Larisa gave me a sidelong look as we made our way out of my bedroom. “You’re an adult now, remember? She has every night off. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to let them take care of you just like they used to. At least, that’s what my mom tells me. She says she feels useless to me so often now, and she’d rather just feel like I do still need her sometimes.”