Coming Home(122)

“I am. They’re great. And you look much better,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She brought her arms up, interlocking her fingers behind his neck. “I look better?”

“Yeah. You don’t look like you’re about to shit yourself anymore.”

She unlocked her hands from behind his neck and pushed him, and he laughed, pulling her into a hug. Leah rested her cheek against his chest and closed her eyes.

“Was I that obvious?” she mumbled.

“Just a little,” he said against the top of her head, kissing her there before letting her go.

Her father walked into the kitchen then, clapping Danny on the back as he passed. “Brees better come through next week.”

“It’ll happen,” Danny said, and Leah looked up at him, her brow furrowed.

“What was that about?”

“We got a bet going on next week’s game. Me and your dad against Kyle and your brother.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with the weather?”

“What?” he said through a laugh. “What are you talking about?”

“My dad just said a breeze better come through next week.”

Danny stared at her for several seconds before he burst out laughing. “Oh my God,” he said, taking her face in his hands. “Do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips before he turned into the dining room, and she heard his laughter start back up again.

She shook her head, still confused as she finished cutting up the last of the garlic bread, and then she brought the tray into the dining room. As soon as she sat, she heard Chris chuckle softly before clearing his throat.

“So, Leah,” he said, “Do you want to get in on this wind bet? I’m gonna see if I can find my anemometer.”

The boys disintegrated into laughter, her father included, and the girls were looking at her with equal parts sympathy and amusement. She turned to Danny, who was trying to get control of his laughter as he looked at her apologetically.

Chris laughed. “Drew Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints, you *. Brees. B-R-E-E-S. Aren’t you supposed to be an English teacher?”

She looked at Danny. “You ratted me out?”

“I had to,” he said, trying not to smile. “Your dad asked me what was so funny.”

She pursed her lips and nodded slowly. “Okay, I see how it is,” she said, picking up her fork and turning to her brother. “And Chris, for your information, Brees and breeze would be considered homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They’re easy to confuse if you don’t see them written down, in case you were interested.”

He paused for a second, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully before he brought his eyes back to hers. “Yeah, I’m not interested at all, actually.”

The table broke into laughter again, and this time Leah joined them, shaking her head. Danny clasped her hand under the table, bringing it up to his mouth and giving it a quick kiss before he released it.

Dinner couldn’t have gone more perfectly if Leah had scripted it herself. Both Danny and Kyle were newcomers to the Marino Sunday dinner, but it felt as if they’d always been part of the tradition. The boys talked cars for a little while once they found out what Danny did for a living, and even though most of what they were saying went right over Leah’s head, she found herself listening intently to the conversation. Danny sounded so intelligent, so ardent, so confident, that she could have listened to him for hours, even if none of it made sense to her.