“What do you think, beautiful?”
Walker’s voice wrapped around me; my head lowered, and my feet halted. I looked at him. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen, taking up almost the entire entryway. God, that man was so hot. He stared at me with hooded eyes, and behind that hungry gaze was the most breathtaking green. A green that was going to be the main color of the restaurant. If I felt like home when I looked at him, then my guests would feel like home when they were here.
“What do I think?” My shoulders lifted as I took the longest, deepest breath. “My mind won’t stop spiraling from all the amazing things that are going on in my life.” I closed the distance between us and circled my arms around him, my head going back again to gaze up at him. “I can’t believe I get to wake up every morning and go to bed every night with the man I’m absolutely in love with.” My eyes closed, and I brought in another big breath. “That we get to do this together.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “That none of this would be possible without you.”
“I was asking about the renovations, but I like your answer better.”
I laughed. “Oh. Those. Yes. I can’t believe how much they got done in two days.”
He rubbed his thumb over my chin before both hands lowered to my ass. “For the record, all of this would have happened whether I’d co-signed the lease or not.”
My lips spread wide. “I love the endless faith you have inme. And I love how that belief is so strong, you make me want to believe in the impossible.”
He cupped my face, and he brought our mouths together. I could feel him breathe me in before his lips pulled back from mine. “James has already booked you for three more private meals at her house. That’s not faith, Alivia. That’s hard work. That’s perseverance. That’s overcoming every obstacle that was put in your way, and, baby, there were millions.”
My eyes closed, and tears threatened to enter. I hadn’t been this emotional in my entire life. Not even when things got their worst with Dean. Not even when we had lived in Mom’s car.
And where most crying was fueled by sadness, this was an overwhelming happiness. A wave ofI can’t fucking believe this is my lifecompletely taking over and making it hard to breathe. And before I knew it, the small, salty drips were staining my cheeks.
“There were a lot,” I admitted.
“A lot?” His brows rose.
“Okay, maybe tons.”
“That’s better.”
“I just … can’t believe any of this. It’s … wild, Walker. Completely, utterly wild.” I stared into his eyes. “Some people have the confidence to say exactly how their life is going to play out, and what they want, they get. And some people aren’t confident that tomorrow won’t be as shitty as yesterday. I’ve always been the latter. So, every morning when I wake up, I can’t believe the day before was better than the last.”
He rubbed his nose over mine. “That makes you even more deserving.”
My chest was getting heavy. The knot was moving its way into my throat, and that usually meant the tears were next.
“Can I admit something to you?”
He traced around my lips. “Of course.”
“There’s no place in the world I’d rather be than right here.” I couldn’t smell the dust from the construction. I couldn’t see all the work that had been done in the dining room. The only thing I could smell and see and feel was him. “There’s nothing stronger, more protective, more loving than your arms.” I let out a breath and rubbed my cheek against his upper arm. “I love you, Walker. More than anything.”
“I love you more.”
Flowers were certainly not the gift to get Walker. Neither was an engraved flask, given that he was barely drinking anymore. But to celebrate his final shift at Charred, I wanted to get him something. Something to remember this moment forever.
I didn’t give him the gift when the entire kitchen staff stopped at the prep station to applaud him when the last meal of the night was served. I didn’t give him the gift when he stood in the center of the kitchen and thanked everyone. And I didn’t give him the gift when he grabbed my hand and linked our fingers and brought me outside to drive us home.
I waited until we were showered, and then I hid the gift in the kitchen before I joined him in the living room and covered us with a blanket. This had become our nightly ritual after we returned from a dinner shift. Too hyped up to immediately go to bed, so I would get him to watch a movie—something he’d started doing—or we’d talk.
Tonight, the TV was off, and my fingers were raking through his beard. I pressed my lips against the side of his forehead and whispered, “What are you thinking about?”
“How relieved I am.”
“I can tell. Normally, you’re completely upright. You don’t even put your feet on the ottoman. But look at you now, you’retotally reclined. And your breathing—even that’s more relaxed.”
He turned his face toward me. “It was a good shift to end things on. No real disasters occurred. No one gave me a reason to raise my voice.”
“I would have murdered you.” I laughed.
“I was waiting to hear you say that.” He poked my side and banged his head against the cushion. “Fuck, Alivia. That place was killing me. Life was killing me.” His fingers dived into the back of my wet hair. “And then you walked into my hotel room, ready to be ravaged, and everything changed.”
