Smiling, he took a bite. And then his dark eyes turned on Alexa and scanned over her face. And she just knew he was looking for signs of the injuries she’d had. Gone now. “Good to have you here, Alexa.”
“Thanks,” she said. “For everything.”
He nodded, his expression open, his tone genuine. “Anytime.” Eating his cookie, he made his way back out to the mess hall.
“Okay,” Haven said, so clearly at home among these men. Alexa found herself envying that. How long had it been since she’d really belonged somewhere? “So we have chocolate and caramel chip cookies. Peanut butter cookies. And mocha s’mores squares. Have one.”
“I kinda want to go put on some comfy pajamas, find a good chick flick, and eat every single one of these,” Alexa said, taking a chocolate and caramel chip cookie.
“That sounds like the best night ever,” Cora said, grinning and snagging a cookie for herself.
“I agree. I could totally make that happen,” Haven said, “but only if I’m invited.”
“Deal.” Alexa nibbled at her cookie, so good she had to close her eyes on the first bite, while she helped pile the treats on three big plates. “Is this your recipe? Because this is one of the best cookies I’ve ever had.”
Cora chuckled and tucked her blond hair behind her ears. “And another one bites the dust.”
Haven rolled her eyes. “Yeah, it’s mine. Baking’s kinda my thing.”
“Clearly,” Alexa said around her last bite, more than a little sad that her cookie was gone. Luckily, there appeared to be at least six dozen more left.
“It’s not kinda your thing,” Cora said, nailing the other woman with the kind of calling-you-on-your-bullshit stare that only a best friend can get away with. “It is your thing. Which is why you need to open your own bakery.”
“Oh, are you thinking of doing that?” Alexa asked. Because she would buy the crap out of these cookies.
Haven sighed and returned her friend’s stare in a way that suggested there was a whole lot of something Alexa didn’t know. “We’ll see. But either way, I’m not doing it tonight, so you guys take those two and I’ll take the peanut butter,” Haven said, smiling at Alexa. “They’ll love you forever.”
Cheers rose up as she and the other girls walked into the mess hall, arms laden with sugar. Alexa couldn’t help but smile as the guys thanked them and dove in like they’d never seen a cookie before. When Haven placed her plate in front of Dare, he pulled her down into his lap and gave her a big kiss that earned a round of catcalls. Dare flipped his middle finger at the room while he was still kissing her, and she finally pushed him away, laughing and shaking her head. Her face was bright red but her expression totally happy.
And Alexa . . . Alexa wanted that. So bad it made her ache.
Her eyes drifted to Maverick, who was looking at her like he was thinking the same thing. Her whole body flashed hot and everything else in the room faded away. God, what was happening between them? What could happen between them, given what a mess her life was? Would Maverick even want something with her again after what she’d done to him five years ago? She had no doubt that he’d be a friend to her. And obviously he was still attracted to her—though that had never been their problem. And it also wasn’t the same as having a relationship and trusting someone not to shut you out.
He’d given her that trust once and she’d thrown it away. And she knew him well enough to know that had to be huge to him.
“Tell me you’re going to have some dessert,” Phoenix said from the seat beside where she was standing. “Here, take a load off.” He pushed out a chair for her.
“Thanks.” Smiling, she sat and forced the thoughts away. And then she remembered something she’d seen a few weeks before. She turned to Phoenix and placed her hand on his arm. “Hey, I was really sorry to hear about your cousin.” He’d apparently died in some kind of explosion. God, the Ravens had really been through it lately, hadn’t they?
He clapped his hand atop hers. “Thanks, Al.” His voice was softer, lacking the usual Phoenix playfulness. “I appreciate that.” His brown eyes were sad for a moment, but then it was like he forced it away. Which reminded her that she wasn’t the only one going through something. You never knew what a person was carrying inside them. She thought back to being at work earlier today. No one there realized that she and Grant were imploding, at least, she didn’t think so. “Now have a cookie,” he said. “They’ll probably be gone in about thirty-five seconds.”
Grinning, she looked down the table to the plate in front of Dare. “I want to try a peanut butter.”