“Me too,” he said, arms wrapping around my shoulders. “I can tell they’re trying.”
“How did your conversation with Joey go?” At that question, Theo paused and my heart sank.
I knew that Joey did his worst when I wasn’t around. I still hadn’t fully forgiven him for telling Theo to stay away from me, and if it hadn’t been for an adorable child talking to me, I would’ve been there for him.
But I had watched closely. The second I thought something was going wrong, I had hurried over.
“Theo?” I prompted. “Was everything okay with that conversation?”
“I think it was,” he finally said. “There was this moment where I thought I said something wrong, but things were fine at the diner. I’m probably overthinking it.”
“It could be, but we’ll still take it slow.”
He nodded, but then he looked up at my apartment. “Need time alone? I was thinking we could try what we got at the farm, but you had a big day.”
“You know you don’t count when I need alone time. Come on up, I can’t wait to eat some of the blueberries.”
The sun was low in the sky as we climbed the steps to the apartment. We huddled in the kitchen in low light. Theo washed the berries as I got out a few plates.
“Okay, your first-ever self-picked Bennie Grove Farm berry.”
“It’s not the only fruit we’ve popped together.” I wouldn’t admit it to him, but this felt intimate in the same way a lot of ourmoments had. My heart was so full it felt like it could burst, and I had to diffuse it with a joke.
Theo’s cheeks darkened. “Piper,” he warned.
“Oh, I like it when you growl at me.”
Theo shoved a blueberry at me, his entire face now red. I laughed and ate it, only to completely forget what I was saying as sweetness flooded my senses.
“Holy shit,” I said as I chewed. “You were not kidding.”
“Mollie knows what she’s doing.”
“These are so much better than what the store has. I could sit down to a whole bowl of these.”
“I was thinking we should bake muffins with these.”
“That sounds fun.” My mouth twisted as I thought about it. “Have you ever baked anything before?”
“Nope.” He stepped closer. “But I’d be willing to mess it up with you.”
There it was. The feeling that, for once in my life, everything was so fucking perfect. I leaned in to kiss him before I had to pull away.
“What about jams?”
“I’m willing to mess that up too.” Theo eyed the bucket we’d gotten from the farm. “But we’ll need more.”
“Might need to make plans for the future ... If you’re okay with that.”
His hand curled in mine. “I’m okay with that.”
When we’d started this, he’d thought this would all end. Now we were laying the foundation for a future, one where we acknowledged our pasts, but we weren’t controlled by them.
And this time, my heart truly imploded. But it didn’t hurt.
It made something else come out of my mouth.
“I love you.” There was no stopping it. I could only admit a truth that was as fresh as the blueberries next to us.
