I walk us over to the dusty old counter, depositing her on it as I step between her legs.“Yeah, I can,” I tell her.“And I have.”
“Miles!”she whines, her arms dropping from around my neck as she grabs the front of my T-shirt and yanks me toward her.“You can’t!”
“Why not?”
“Because,” she says, shaking me.
I laugh, resting my forehead against hers.“I can, Daze,” I whisper.“And more to the point, I want to.”
Daisy’s eyes close as she huffs out a breath.“But why?I was so awful to you,” she whispers.
With my thumbs under her jaw, I tilt her head up so she’s looking at me.Waiting until she opens her eyes, I say, “And I was awful to you.But we’re moving past that, Daze.We’re a thing now, remember,” I add, giving her a wink.
She lets out a half sob, half laugh as she crushes her mouth against mine.“Fuck, I love you,” she murmurs around our kiss.
I smile against her.“Was wondering when I’d get to hear you say that again.”
“Miles, seriously,” she says, and it’s only now that I see that she’s crying.“This is too much, it’s?—”
Brushing the tears away, I shake my head.“It’s yours, Daze.”
“But—”
“Nope,” I say, silencing her with another kiss.“Yours.And for the record,” I pause, smiling at her, “I love you too.Always have.”
Daisy crushes her mouth against mine, half laughing and half crying as she says, “This is totally one of those places we should have sex.”
I laugh, and then we do.
“You got a vision for how it’s going to look?”I ask, glancing over my shoulder.
Daisy sits behind me on the counter, my back to her front as I stand between her legs, her arms hanging loose around my shoulders.“Yeah, I think so,” she says, her eyes moving slowly around the space.“It’s going to need some work, but yeah, I think so.”
I give her a quick kiss before stepping forward, pulling her off the counter, her hand in mine.“You should talk to Sloane and Nate about designs and shit,” I say, leading her around the counter and through to the old kitchen.“And we can help with building stuff,” I add as I unlock the back door and walk outside.
“Where are we going?”Daisy asks, her eyes scanning the back lot.
“One more surprise,” I say with a grin.
“No, Miles, wait,” she says, stopping, her hand tightening in mine as she forces me to stop.“You can’t just?—”
“It came with the shop, Daze,” I say, lifting her hand to press a kiss to her palm.“You can keep it or sell it or whatever,” I add with a shrug.She narrows her brow at me, and I laugh, tugging on her hand.“Come on, it’s not far.”
We walk to the back of the lot and the small side road that separates it from her shop, crossing over to the small cottage on the other side.
“Miles, no—” she starts before I cut her off.
“Don’t get too excited, Daze.This one needs even more work,” I tell her.“But I just figured, with you back home with your mom, you might wanna consider it for the future.”
She blinks up at the house, the small front porch that faces the ocean, and the tiny yard out back that has a huge mango tree in the middle, laden with fruit.
“This too?”she asks.
I throw my arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.“If you want, yeah,” I say, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.“Or you can sell it and use the money for the shop, whatever you want.”
She turns to face me, her eyes wide as she slowly shakes her head.“I can’t believe you’ve done this, Miles.Can’t believe...”She trails off, not finishing her sentence.
“Daze, babe,” I say, my hand cupping her jaw.“Just because we broke up doesn’t mean I ever forgot,” I tell her.“I knew the second I made any money that I was going to do everything I could to get this place for you, to make your dream a reality.I want that for you.Always have,” I say.“Maybe almost as much as I want you.”
