He takes a small step back, watching me with the same glimmering interest as he has for the past twenty-four hours. The same look that sends my heart racing and my thoughts spiraling, as if he’s studying every detail, every breath, and somehow finding each one fascinating. “Did you think about me at all?” he asks.
“Excuse me?”
“Over the years, I mean. Did you ever think about me?”
Only all the fucking time. “I guess.”
“Good.” He fits his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I thought about you, too.”
I feel queasy. Having dinner at my place felt completely natural, like falling into a routine that had been perfected over time. Butthe thing about routines is they can get swept away in an instant. A phone call, a car ride, and your universe is shattered forever. No more routines, no more love. No more nothing.
“Rafael, look…”
He grimaces. “Goddamn. There’s no positive ending to that sentence.”
“I told you I don’t date,” I say apologetically.
“Then let’s not date,” he says with a nonchalant shrug. “All I’m asking is that you keep doing your thing. And I’ll just”—he waves a hand around—“exist around you. If you don’t mind.”
I blink, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. What does one even say to that? Two days ago, I had no love life. And now there’s this man who just wants to exist around me.
“You don’t even know me,” I point out.
“Don’t I? I know you have a cat you’ll always love more than me. And that your favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip. You forget to eat, and your favorite movie isn’tAmerican Pie.”
“That hardly means—”
“I know you read during meals, and you miss your parents every day. That you pull your hair up every time you open a book, like you’re preparing to go to battle, and that you spent your birthday with me, but you didn’t want to celebrate it.”
I watch him, mouth wide open. “How do you…”
“Because Isawyou back then, and I’ve thought about you since.”
This is so close to my recurring dream when I was a teenager that I nearly check for drool to make sure I’m awake.
“Look, I get that I hurt you. Really, I do.” His shoulders roll back. “But if you’re open to it, I’d really like… I’d like a second chance.”
“Technically, you didn’t get a first chance yet.”
“Even better, then.” He smirks. “Everyone deserves at leastonechance, right?”
My phone rings, and with a quick apology, I take it out of my pocket. “Sorry, I…”
“No, hey. Take your call.” He steps closer and kisses my cheek softly. “See you tomorrow, Scarlett.”
The spot on my cheek tingles like his lips actually left a mark, and watching him walk away, I’m too dazed to answer the phone for a while. When I come to, I bring it to my ear and say, “Hello?”
“Scarlett? Hi. This is Chief Donovan.”
Well, well, well. Chief Donovan. Something tells me he’s read the book and I’m suddenly not such an idiot anymore. “Yes, hi, Chief. How can I help you?”
“I, uh… I have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”
Feeling even more smug, I say, “Of course not. What about?”
I wave when Rafael turns to look at me. HisSee you tomorrowechoes faintly in my mind. It’s such a small promise, but it feels like much more.
Like the start of something.
