With a rush of relieved laughter, I caught him in my arms, the two of us collapsing on the floor in a tangle. "Careful," I warned, after nearly knocking my head on the coffee table and knowing his pointy elbows were always at risk of getting bumped on something or other.

My hand in his hair, I kissed his face, whatever bit of it I could find. His cheek, his eyelid, the bridge of his nose. "I thought you might," I teased lightly, my lips against his ear and a wide, nearly shell-shocked grin on my face.