He grins. “I hope you’re not just here for the tour guide today.”
I shake my head, my smile tremulous. “I’m here for the man who risked bee stings for me.”
When he drops me off at Katya’s place, we linger on the porch. He touches my hair, brushing a strand behind my ear.
“Thank you for today.” I mean it. It was beautiful. Perfect.
He leans in, tentative, reverent. His lips meet mine in a kiss that’s soft and warm, like honey melting into tea. Familiar and new all at once.
When Katya flings open the door with mock exasperation, we spring apart like teenagers who’d been caught necking.
“Do I need to install a curfew?” she deadpans.
“Go away, Katya,” Aiden murmurs against my lips. “And let me kiss my wife.”
He takes his time while Katya laughs. He lingers, and then reluctantly backs up. “This Saturday, okay?”
“Okay.” I’m already excited about our next date.
“Now, go on,” Katya mocks. “You’ve already debauched our pristine porch.”
Aiden salutes. “Fair warning, gonna debauch it some more.”
I watch him walk down the steps, hands in his pockets, whistling a tune I can’t quite place.
But it remains.
Like sweetness on the tongue.
Like a maybe in my heart.
Katya grins as I place the bag with the two bottles of honey Aiden bought for me on the kitchen counter.
“So?”
“So, what?” I quip.
“So, your cheeks are flushed and you have a dreamy look in your eyes.”
I giggle. “It was…beautiful.”
“That kiss was tame, Mia.”
“There was tongue involved,” I say smugly, and then, because I know it needs to be done, I tell Katya. “Drop the charges against Edith.”
Katya stiffens. “Fuck no!”
“Katya, I don’t want to?—"
Katya’s voice sharpens, protective. “Mia, she assaulted you. She could’ve really hurt you.”
“I know.” I trace the beautiful bottle of honey. “And I was furious. I wanted her to feel even a fraction of what I did.”
“Then?”
“But I don’t want vengeance anymore. I don’t want to carry all this…stuff. She’s broken in ways I can’t fix, and hating her doesn’t make me whole.”
Katya’s expression softens, but her voice is still careful. “Are you sure this isn’t about Aiden?”
