He flopped down beside her on the couch, all long limbs and easy grace, his blonde hair still messy from their earlier baking adventure. He'd been home less than twenty-four hours, and already the tour exhaustion had melted off him, replaced by that familiar, infectious energy that only ever seemed to dim when he was away from her.

His blue eyes sparkled with mischief, but there was something softer underneath, something that had been there since he'd walked through her door yesterday evening and pulled her into a hug that lasted a solid five minutes.