“Be patient, hot stuff.” I run a finger along his jaw, and Erik beams down at me. “I just need a month to get sorted, and then we’ll finally be together.”
28
ERIK
MAY
“Okay, why the hell is your apartment so nice?” Eva asks as she steps through the front door. “This is so crazy.”
“What’s crazy about it?”
She scoffs and strides over to the balcony. “Hello? The water is right there,andyou can see Kungsholmen.” She gestures back at me. “And look at the size of this place. You’re seriously splashing out.”
I’ll admit, I found an amazing apartment. It’s walking distance to the rink and the metro, Luke and I both get our own offices, and the bedroom is massive, with a spacious ensuite shower to match. It’s a little pricey, but splitting the rent helps.
“Yeah, well, it’s in the budget for us,” I say, not giving much away. “Luke works from home, so it’s worth it for him to have a good setup.”
“I still can’t believe he’s coming to Sweden foryou,” she teases.
I glare at Eva, but I can’t stay serious. “Hey. Be nice or I won’t let you visit.”
“Fine, fine. Where’s the rest of your furniture anyway?”
So far, the only stuff here is the cheap furniture I bought for my old place and a new sofa that was delivered when I moved in yesterday.
“Luke’s shipping over most of what he has from Toronto,” I say. “He has some nice things.”
Luke decided to leave Toronto as if he was fleeing a crime. Well, maybe notthatquickly, given that it took almost a month for him to get his new passport and actually move out, but he was a man on a mission from the second he got back from visiting me in Minnesota. Within a week, he’d packed up his entire apartment and sent it to Stockholm in a shipping container, and then he booked a flight to get him here a day before his stuff.
Eva snaps me out of my daydreaming. “When can we go pick Luke up? I’m dying to meet him before Mom and Dad come and make everything boring.”
“His flight lands at noon, and it’s only eleven. We still have to wait.”
She gives me a shove toward the door. “Doesn’t it take ages to get to the airport? Can we leave now?”
“Okay, okay, we can go,” I say. To be honest, I’m buzzing with excitement myself, even though I know that getting to the airport early will do nothing to make Luke’s flight arrive any sooner.
Still, I push the speed a bit on the way to Arlanda Airport, and I park in the expensive area that’s close to arrivals.
“Did you make a sign for him?” Eva asks.
“Do youthinkI made a sign?” I hold out my hands that are empty except for my car keys and a bottle of water. “That’s too flashy for me. And him. We like to keep things low key.”
Eva hums contentedly. “Good. You guys had better keep it low key. No getting mushy around me.”
I tut. “Oh, just because you said that, I’m gonna lick Luke’s face off the second he leaves baggage claim.”
“Ew, gross.” Eva cringes and speed-walks away, leaving me behind.
I buy coffee for myself and my chaotic but well-meaning sister, and we camp out on a bench while we wait for Luke. Once his connecting flight from Amsterdam shows up on the baggage information screen, I stand up and lean against the railing next to the exit.
And a few minutes later, he’s there. My Luke. Cute as hell and all smiles, pulling a suitcase behind him as he walks over. I close the distance and wrap him in a tight hug, which he returns with matching strength.
“Welcome home, Luke.”
He pulls away and tilts his head up. “I can’t believe I’m finally here.”
“Is it a bad time to say that Toronto wants me back?” I joke, and Luke sighs.
