He blinked at me, his expression going blank as the cabin hummed around us. After removing his glasses, he rubbed his eyes. “I’m not discussing this on an airplane.”
“Geez, what do you have against airplanes?” I joked.
“It’s just not very . . .” He glanced over his shoulder at the aisle. “. . . private.”
“This is something most couples discussbeforethey move in together.”
“Does that mean you’re moving in?”
I sighed. “That leads me to bullet point number two underQuestions I Need to Ask—have you ever lived with a woman?”
“I see you’re not going to be easily deterred,” he said.
“I’m learning from a pro.”
“Funny.” David stuck the newspaper into the seat back pocket in front him. “Of course I’ve been in love and, yes, I’ve lived with a woman.”
My eyes drifted over his face as he looked back at me. He’d been in love, and he’d lived with another woman. For thirty-five years old, it wasn’t surprising news, but whatwassurprising? Instead of raging jealousy, his past only eased my worries about his ability to commit.
“If you want,” he said, “I’ll tell you all about them, but it’s ancient history in my mind. I’ve loved two girls aside from you. We separated amicably, but we don’t keep in touch. And though I believed I loved them at the time, I now see those relationships differently.”
“Differently how?”
“I didn’t know the meaning of love until I met you.”
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or swoon. “That’s nice,” I said, “but it also sounds like a line.”
“I know, but it’s the truth,” he said simply. “I loved them differently than I love you. And certainly a great deal less.”
There was nothing funny about that. This time, my heart swelled. “That’s really sweet, David. Thank you.”
“I’m not trying to be sweet,” he said. “You asked, and that’s my answer.”
“Noted,” I said, stifling a smile. “So you’re not afraid of living with a girl? Hair products, tampons, constant company, sharing your bed . . . you’re okay with all of that?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you asking me this?”
“Now that we’re on the same page, and we’re both a hundred percent in—I mean, I’d understand if you wanted to slow down a little bit. I could get my own place for a while, and we could date until we’re ready to take the next step.”
He shifted to face me more. “How long is a while?”
“I have no idea—a year, maybe?” I said.
“A year?” he barked, piercing the quietude.
“Shh,” I said. The passenger across the aisle glanced up, then returned to typing on his laptop. “That’s usually how long a lease is.”
“No. Absolutely not,” David said. The crow’s feet around his eyes deepened. “Is that—is that what you want?”
What I wanted was to spend every waking moment with the god in front of me. But more than that . . . “I want this relationship to work,” I said.
“It’s never going to work with you keeping one foot out the door, Olivia,” David said frankly.
“That’s not what I’m doing,” I reassured him. I’dbeendoing that up until our talk. Now, I just wanted to inject a little sensibility into a mad and passionate love. “I’m not going anywhere. I just don’t want to spook you by moving too fast.”
“You’re projecting,” he said. “You think I want something that I don’t. It makes me wonder if that’s what you want.”
It wasn’t. And for once, I didn’t question that. I smiled and slid my hand over his jeans. “Okay.”
