Page 70 of Dandelions and Smoke

“Umm… RIP?” She drops the frying pan back into the sink, sending bubbles and water everywhere. “It’s fine. Actually, it’s more than fine. It’s an opportunity.”

A low chuckle leaves me. “An opportunity for what exactly?”

“For you to take me to breakfast.” She smiles at me, eyes closed, and chin jutted up. “See? Because now you’re here. It works out perfectly.”

She grabs her coat and throws it on, holding the door we came in through open for me to follow her.

“Of course.” I exhale an amused breath. “Obviously.”

“So let me get this straight.” I overhear Tris say with a laugh as I walk over to the table with our cups of freshly brewed coffee and Vanilla Chai. “You forgot to order dinner last night, and this morning you burned breakfast?”

Tris’s head tilts down as she tries not to laugh while Rory grins like she just got away with something.

“What can I say?” Rory singsongs as she flips back her curls. “I’m a special kind of special. I’m just grateful it doesn’t seem to bother him.”

Rory glances at me as I sit down, and something gentle, like a warm appreciation, moves through her gaze, filling me with a sense of pride that I’ve allowed her a safe place to feel this way, to be unapologetically herself despite a few burned pancakes here or there.

“Brat,” Tris says, blinking once slowly and deliberately. “This man comes in here every day you work and has lunch with you just to make sure you’re eating. You’re going to have to work a lot harder to scare him off.”

Rory’s mouth opens to respond but then closes as if she were ready with a comeback before being thrown off guard once she realizes what Tris has said. At being outed, I chuckle nervously and grab the back of my neck, guilty. She squints at me like she’s trying to figure something out.

“While you let that thought cook,” Tris says with an all-too-knowing smirk before walking away. “I’ll go check on your food.”

I nudge Rory’s Vanilla Chai toward her as I take a sip of my coffee under her assessing gaze, but she’s gone still, frozen in place.

“Are-Are you okay?” I ask, stumbling over my words as her stillness puts me on edge. Maybe it’s because of my conversation with Jasenia this morning, but I’m filled with a cold dread that has my stomach churning.

I tap my knuckles against the table, trying to jar my thoughts into making sense of what’s happening. “Is this about what Tris said? I’m sorry if that upset you. I only thought it would be a good way to see you every day while also making sure you’re taken care of.”

Her brows furrow.

“That’s not—I mean, I wasn’t trying to say you aren’t capable of taking care of yourself.” I huff out a breath, rubbing my knuckles against the scruff on my jaw.

To my relief, a slow smile touches her lips, but it’s her eyes that undo me.

“I love you,” she blurts out much too loudly, drawing her hand to cover her mouth as she laughs. “Sorry, that was—” She backtracks quickly before switching gears once more, like her mind is fighting over which direction to go.

“I do,” she says, looking at me through her lashes, her voice dropping softer and steadier now. “I love you. I am head over freakin’ heels for you, and I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to tell you, but I should have told you as soon as I knew. I love the way you take care of me and how thoughtful you are, but that’s not even why I love you,” she exhales like she’s been holding it in for years, and now that she’s said the words, she can’t stop. “I love everything about you and⁠—”

I open my mouth to tell her I love her too, but she holds up a hand before I can say anything.

“Don’t say it back. I mean, like, not yet. I just want you to know.” She nods like she’s bracing for impact, smiling shyly with cheeks tinged a soft pink.

“Okay.” I hold my hand out across the table.

With a slow, steadying breath, she places her hand in mine. I watch as relief settles over her and she relaxes beneath my gaze. Pulling her hand to my lips, I kiss her knuckles gently before resting them against the scruff on my face.

The breathtaking vulnerability of being loved as much as I love her settles in the deepest parts of me that only she can reach. My heart feels too heavy for my chest as emotion overwhelms me. For a second, I’m awestruck not only at some possibility, but at the fact that this woman, the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, loves me.

She lets the silence stretch, just this once, but true to her nature, she cracks. “Okay.” She bites her lip, shifting in her seat. “I mean, say something.”

A soft chuckle slips past my lips, and her eyes narrow playfully.

“Sorry, I was told I’m not allowed to say what I want.” I shrug. “So…”

She pulls her hand from mine and crosses her arms, giving me the stink eye before a look between disbelief and amusement rests on her face. Tongue-in-cheek, she shakes her head as her smile grows.

“I will say,” I murmur, my voice dropping to a reverent hush as I fix my gaze on her and the cafe melts away. “You could say those words to me for the rest of my life, and I’d never tire of hearing them. Being the man to have earned your love is the greatest gift you could ever give me, and I’ll continue to do everything I possibly can to deserve it.”