Page 206 of Falling for the Grumpiest Protector
His arms tighten.
"I missed you too."
Mom sets coffee in front of me. I take the first sip and almost sigh.
Noah goes back to his pancakes. Halfway through breakfast, I remember.
"Hey, bug."
He looks up.
"I brought you something."
His fork stops.
"You did?"
"You and Grandma. It's upstairs in my suitcase."
He's out of the chair before I finish.
"Really?"
"Really."
"No running on the stairs," Mom calls.
His footsteps thunder overhead.
I look at her.
"Very effective."
"I've accepted my limitations."
A minute later, Noah comes racing back into the kitchen wearing the Yankees cap he's been asking for since last summer.
"Aunt Maddy!"
He throws his arms around me.
"It's the one I wanted."
"I know."
"I'm never taking it off."
Mom looks at him over her coffee.
"We'll revisit that at bedtime."
He adjusts the cap.
"Do I look like a New Yorker?"
"Terrifyingly so."
He grins. Then I hand Mom a small box.
