She tilted her head forward, an involuntary reaction that gave him better access, but she couldn’t manage much more than that.

“Mmm,” she hummed sleepily. “If you wanna go again, just try not to wake me while you’re doing it.”

He laughed against the back of her neck before removing his lips from her skin. The air felt cool now compared to the heat of his mouth, and when he trailed the tip of his finger down the back of her neck, she shivered.

His arm slid over her waist again as he pulled her against him, and Leah snuggled back into his chest with a sigh.

“What does it mean?” he asked softly.

“Hmm?” she hummed, her eyes still closed.

“This,” he said, trailing the tip of his finger over her neck again.

Right over her tattoo.

“Oh,” she murmured, her voice soft with sleep. “It means a couple of things.”

“Tell me,” he said, his breath fluttering her hair.

Leah trailed her fingertips up and down his forearm. “In Celtic, the spiral triskele is the symbol for mother. That’s actually the first reason I was drawn to it.”

He kissed the back of her shoulder as she said, “But the triskele itself is usually a symbol for the progression of life…how it’s constantly changing, but it always brings us to another beginning,” she mumbled sleepily. “Always a new start. And I love the idea of that.”

Danny pressed his lips over the tattoo again. “Me too,” he said softly.

Leah brought his hand up to her mouth, kissing his palm before she intertwined their fingers. She felt so safe, so comfortable, so content wrapped in his arms, with the heat of his skin on hers and the gentle thudding of his heart against her back. As exhausted as she was, she found herself fighting sleep just so she could enjoy it a little longer.

And in that moment, she realized what the intense feeling was that flooded through her every time Danny put his arms around her. It was the same feeling she would get as a little girl when her family would pull into their driveway after spending a week on vacation. It was the same feeling she got when she crawled back into her own bed for the first time after moving back in with her father during college. And it was the same feeling she got every Christmas when she pulled onto that little street in the Bronx and stopped in front of Catherine’s house.

Her eyes stung with tears behind her closed lids, and she smiled softly, knowing for sure that she had made the right decision.

Because for her, being in Danny’s arms felt like coming home.

Leah stood at the side of the bed, clad only in a T-shirt and a pair of underwear as she ran a brush through her wet hair.

She smiled to herself, looking down at him.

His lashes were fanned out beneath his eyes, the stubble rough and dark on his jaw. One of his arms was hanging over the side of the bed, his other hand resting low on his stomach.

The sheet was barely covering him, and Leah gave herself a minute to admire his body before she turned to head back to the bathroom.

Two arms wrapped around her waist, and she yelped as he pulled her down onto the bed and started tickling her ribs. Leah squealed as she flipped over, attempting to grab his wrists.

Finally, after much effort, she was able to get hold of them, pinning them to the bed above his head as she straddled his stomach.

“Asshole,” she laughed between labored breaths, and he smiled up at her.

“I’d be nice if I were you. You do realize you’re only pinning me right now because I’m feeling charitable.”

“Oh really?” she asked, leaning all of her body weight into her arms as she held him down on the bed. “Try it.”

With no effort at all, he raised his arms, and Leah locked her elbows, trying to keep him pinned. He lifted her entire body off him, holding her there for a few seconds while she struggled to push his arms back to the bed.

Danny chuckled as he lowered his arms to the mattress above his head, allowing her to pin him once again, and she shook her head as she relinquished her hold on him. “You know, pretending to be asleep is kind of a creepy move,” she said as she lay down on his chest.

“Is it as creepy as watching someone sleep?”

“Touché,” she said, and he laughed, arching his back as he extended his arms.

“I need coffee,” he said, his voice strained as he stretched, and then his body relaxed as he brought his hands behind his head.

Leah leaned down so that their noses were touching. “I’m on it. There are towels for you in the bathroom,” she said, kissing him quickly before hopping off the bed and heading out to the kitchen.

As Leah started a pot of coffee, she heard the water turn on in the shower.

“I feel like I’m about to step into a car wash,” he called from the bathroom, and she laughed as she opened the fridge.

“You’re gonna love it!” she called back, grabbing all the things she’d need to make omelets. She grated some cheddar cheese and used her Slap Chop to cut up some tomatoes, peppers, and onions, and then she cracked four eggs into a mixing bowl. Just as she was about to start whisking them, she heard the sound of keys in her door and she froze.

The only people who had keys to her apartment were her sister, Holly, and Robyn, and she couldn’t imagine what either one of them would be doing coming to her place right now.

The front door opened and then closed, followed by the sound of soft footsteps. Finally her sister came into view, walking past the kitchen on her way to Leah’s bedroom.

“Sarah?”

She jumped, whipping her head in Leah’s direction. “Oh, hey,” she said, turning into the kitchen. “You’re up.”

“Yes, I’m up,” she laughed. “Why are you sneaking into my apartment when you think I’m sleeping?”

“Because Kyle is coming to dinner at Daddy’s tonight and I was gonna steal your blue cashmere sweater to wear,” she said, reaching over and grabbing a pepper from the chopping board. As she popped it in her mouth, she did a double take at the bowl in front of her, eyeing the four eggs about to be whisked. “Jesus, Leah. Hungry?”

She opened her mouth, fumbling for a response, and before she could come up with something, she heard his voice.

“Alright, that actually did ruin me for all other bathrooms—” His words cut off abruptly as he turned into the kitchen, finding Sarah in there with her. He was clad in only a towel slung low around his hips, the little droplets of water from his shower still clinging to his chest and shoulders. His hand came to the towel, securing it as he cleared his throat.

“Hi,” he said awkwardly.

Sarah grinned from ear to ear. “Hi,” she said, immediately turning to look at Leah.

“Sarah, this is Danny,” she said, looking at him and attempting to apologize with her eyes. “Danny, this is my sister.”

He smiled softly before turning his attention to Sarah. “It’s nice to meet you, Sarah,” he said, extending his hand to her.

“You too,” she said, shaking his hand as her smile grew more pronounced.

“Okay, well, I’m just gonna go get dressed,” he said, holding up his hand in both a farewell and an apology before he turned and walked back down the hall.

Sarah slowly turned back to Leah, her grin threatening to split her face in two. Leah heard the sound of her bedroom door closing, and Sarah folded her arms and shook her head.

“Well, well, well,” she said.

Leah picked up the whisk and began vigorously whipping the eggs.

“So,” Sarah said. “Are you guys dating? Because obviously, you’re fucking.”

The whisk slipped from her hand, splashing egg all over the counter.

“Jesus, Sarah,” she said with a nervous laugh, picking the whisk back up.

“Well? Are you together or just banging? Because goddamn, there’d be no shame in that game,” she said, leaning back out of the doorway and craning her neck to see if she could get another glimpse of him.