“Still miss you.” Ronin reaches up to brush a strand of hair out of my face. “How’s your story coming along?”
I pause to take a sip of water. “Almost finished. I’m just cleaning up my final draft now and I’ll be ready to submit it in a day or two, I think.”
“That’s great, Mel,” he says, warmth seeping from his voice and straight into my bones. “I’m really proud of you for doing this.”
“Thanks. I’m glad I did it, too. It’s been a fun learning experience for me.”
“Well, I can’t wait until you’re finished. Not only because you’re gonna kill this competition, but then I can take you out to celebrate and ravish you with my undivided attention.”
“I can’t wait.”
Our hands brush together and he pulls mine into his, entwining our fingers. He leans in closer and places a soft kiss on my lips. I rest my hand on his cheek as I kiss him back.
“Hey, I told you no making out over my dinner!” Bree interrupts.
“Dinner is over,” I point out, sticking my tongue out at her.
“You asked for this, Ambrosia,” Ronin says, his use of her full name causing a gasp of outrage from our tiny friend. He kisses me again and stands up, putting the stray chair back and winking at me before sauntering back over to the bar. I watch him walk away, enjoying the view.
Bree clears her throat.“Ahem, Mellie, I think you’ve got a littledrool, right there,” she says, pointing to my mouth as I turn back to her.
I ball up my napkin and throw it at her across the table.
Two days have passed in a haze of writing. When I’m not at the bookstore, all my free time is wrapped up with my short story, which I’ve titledFated. My final draft is ready for submission, and I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve written. Even if it doesn’t win, this has been an eye-opening writing experience. It has stoked my desire to try my own hand at writing a novel.
Clickingsendon my submission to the library fills me with more pride than I’ve felt in a long, long time.
I snap my laptop closed where I sit at the corner of the bar in Double Shot, a fresh iced brown sugar latte set before me. Ronin’s behind the counter, along with another guy hired for the upcoming summer season.
“So, I happen to know you get off work soon.” I shoot Ronin a small smirk. “You got any plans tonight? Because it’ssomeone’sbirthday soon and I have a surprise for you.”
Ronin’s cheeks flush an adorable pink color. “You have a birthday surprise for me, Mel?” He leans down, his head at my level. “No, I don’t have any plans. I’m all yours, baby.”
I give him a peck on the lips before pulling back. As I gather up my bag and coffee, I say, “Good. After work, go home and change. I’ll come pick you up.” I wink. “Trust me, you’ll love what I have planned.”
“You make me nervous when you smile at me like that.”
Laughing, I exit the diner and head home to get ready.
Chapter Thirty-One
MELLIE
As I pull up to Ronin’s house, I go over my mental list for his birthday surprise one last time, confident I haven’t missed anything.
My car’s headlights illuminate Ronin where he’s sprawled on his front porch, long legs stretched out in front of him, red Converse sneakers crossed at his ankles. He stands as I park, gathering up his tall frame. He’s wearing jeans and an old vintage Godzilla shirt underneath an open, navy blue zip-up hoodie. I’m pleased to see he took his contacts out, and the sight of his familiar black frames has my heart doing somersaults.
He climbs into my car, leaning over to greet me with a kiss, grabbing my head to get a deeper angle. After a moment, I pull away, laughing.
“Okay, plenty of time for that later, birthday boy. You ready?”
Ronin grins. “I think so? Should I be scared by how excited you look?”
I shrug, letting a smirk play around my mouth. “I don’t know, should you be?”
I drive the short distance to our destination, and when I parkthe car in front of The Reading Nook, I can feel the confusion radiating off of Ronin.
“I know that we hang out atmyjob all the time, but at least there’s food and booze there, Mel,” he teases. “I’ll admit this is not where I thought this night was taking us.”
