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“That’s what gave you away,” he told her. Silas was tender as he brushed a curl behind Daphne’s ear and caressed her cheek. “You’d say that before you left me at the club and I knew it was you when I heard you say it in the coffee shop.”
Daphne’s lips twisted and her eyes swept to the ceiling. “Idosay that a lot when I’m with you.” She smiled and rubbed her cheek against his palm. “Because you always seem to know.”
“I’ve been ridiculously in love with you for so long, I guess I just stay tuned in to you whenever we’re together,” he explained. “What can I do to help you strike while the iron’s hot. I don’t want you to lose your momentum now that you’ve had a breakthrough.”
“Because of you,” Daphne said, recalling what Addie told her about the right person recharging her batteries, not draining them. Silas was the right person but his apartment wasn’t. She hissed as she sat up and looked around. “Please don’t get me wrong because I think your place is really calm and kind of cute in a nerdy minimalist way but I need to go home.”
“Oh.” Silas’s face fell but he fixed it into a brave smile as he nodded quickly. “Sure. I get it. You’ve been stressing over this for weeks and you need to—”
Daphne pressed her finger against his lips, halting him. “Would you mind continuing this at my place? I am not a great cook but I have a big kitchen with everything a great cook might need. Except spices and other ingredient…things,” she added with a befuddled shrug. “I really don’t have a clue or bother with groceries. But you could bring some of your things—food and clothes and whatever you think you’d need—and hang out while I work.” She was rambling now. Daphne rolled her eyes and waved it off. “I didn’t bring enough supplies and I want to be able to pin on a form and play with fabrics.”
“I would love to hang out at your place if you think having company would be helpful. I don’t want to get in the way,” Silas worried but Daphne shushed him.
“I thought you’d get in the way if I fell in love with you but I was wrong. I feel more relaxed and like myself than I have in months because of you. So you kind of have to come with me,” she teased shakily. Silas pulled her closer and rested his forehead against hers.
“Are you in love with me, Daphne?” He whispered and she nodded.
“I am. I’ve decided you’re mine and I think I’d like to keep you.”
“I’d really like that.”
ChapterSeven
“Um… This is a very big kitchen.” Silas was in shock and hung onto his boxes of groceries for support. “Why is your kitchen this big if you don’t cook?” She had a Thermador 60-inch range with six burners, a grill, and a griddle. “Why do you have that?” He went around a white marble island the size of a yacht and set down his boxes so he could get a closer look.
“We cater a lot of parties here,” Daphne explained as she followed. She chewed the end of her thumb and leaned to see his face. “You don’t like it?”
“What?” Silas gave himself a shake and laughed. “No! It’s a beautiful range. It’s…what I’d pick if I could pickanythingI wanted for my kitchen.”
“Oh!” Daphne brightened. “You can just consider this whole…” Her arms flailed at the area around them. “Part of the house your domain, then.” She looked around and hissed as she jogged over to the row of wine fridges under the counter under the window.
“Except these. These are my babies!” She said and gestured proudly at the rows of bottles behind the glass doors.
“This is…!” A laugh burst from Silas and he shook his head. They talked about him staying at Daphne’s for a week as a trail and they packed enough clothes, toiletries, and some essentials from the kitchen.
The plan was to take it a week at a time and see how they felt about each other after Daphne’s new collection launched. She warned that she could be extra surly and stressed-out when she was under a lot of pressure but Silas wasn’t worried. He remembered how frail and cranky Daphne was just before her first Midnight Lily runway show and was looking forward to the opportunity to step up and help in any way he could.
“Thank you!” He said as he scooped Daphne into his arms and kissed her. “The kitchen is gorgeous and…” Silas looked out the window at the neat rows of terra cotta pots. The area had been paved and he spied an outdoor kitchen. “Is that an herb garden?”
“Yes. And tomatoes and some peppers. Iris and Sutton cook a lot so I pay my friend’s dad to look after that for me. He’s a genius.”
“Wow.” Silas had to give his head another shake. He wasn’t all that concerned with hoarding money and was rarely impressed by wealth but he got excited about bonkers, over-the-top kitchens like Daphne’s. And he’d always wanted an herb garden, he’d just never had the space. “This is my fantasy kitchen but I’m happy because I get to have more time with you. And I get the chance to take care of you.”
“You always take care of me and I wouldn’t mind taking care of you too.” She rose on her toes so she could wind her arms around Silas’s neck. “I have an extra room upstairs that I’m not really using. I just toss extra bolts of fabrics and samples in there. But we could pack it all up and move it to the office if you decide to stick around and want someplace for your babies,” she offered. Silas’s eyes watered and he needed a moment. “You could do yoga out back on the terrace when the weather’s nice but you’ll want to wear shorts because Ms. Ackerman likes to sunbathe on her balcony. She’s usually topless,” Daphne added before her face scrunched. “I should have let that be a surprise…”
“I’ll be sticking around.” He picked her up and set her on the counter, planning to lower to his knees and thank her properly after he kissed her senseless.
“Good.” Daphne’s leg curled around Silas’s hip, pulling him closer. “Want to get messy and try out my shower. It’s huge and my bathtub fits four.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. It came with the house. We just blew out the kitchen and made the island bigger,” she said. There was a loud knock before the front door pushed open.
“Are you home?” A voice called and they turned.
“Addie?” Daphne complained loudly but her sister was overjoyed as she shut the door behind her.
“I dropped by because we ran out of champagne and I got worried when I saw your car in the driveway,” Addie informed Daphne. She peeked in Silas’s boxes as she came around the counter and headed straight for them.
