“Okay. I’m going to trust you.” He tilts his head and smiles, eyes focused on me.
Butterflies race through me because he isn’t giving me a half-hearted smile. It’s a wide grin, something I’ve only seen a few times where the smile fills his face and his attention is completely on me. I find myself studying the subtle differences from what I’d memorized so long ago. His cheeks are slimmer, jaw sharper, and he definitely has more freckles. They rim his nose and there are a few above his lips.
I look at my phone to regain my composure.
“So do I look good?”
I almost drop the phone, but catch it mid air. “Excuse me?”
“Am I confident enough for you?”
He’s covering his smile with his hand, but despite how red his face is getting, he doesn’t look away.
“Since when do you talk like that?” I ask. He never would’ve said these things to me before, and each time I’m thrown off guard.
He shrugs. “I guess I realized how much fun it is to make you blush.”
“I think you’re blushing more than I am,” I say, showing him the picture I took.
“I doubt that,” he says, reaching for my phone. “Now, it’s your turn.”
“What? No,” I say, jumping back.
He rushes forward, wrapping his arm around my waist to stop me from going anywhere. “It’s only fair.”
I let out a blood-curdling laugh.
“We are going to get kicked out of here,” he says.
I cover my mouth to try and stop myself from letting my laughter spill out again.
He spins me around, and we’re face-to-face.
My hair is in my eyes, but I can still see his gentle gaze on me.
I’m not laughing anymore, and I lower my hands. My heart speeds up all over again as he stares at me.
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and his soft smile comes back. His eyes linger on me like I’m not some burden, but instead, something he values.
“What?” I choke out. I know we’re acting like the past never happened, but I’m scared how easily he’s making my heart flutter. We’ve barely spent any time together and I miss us.
He takes the fluffy pink scarf around my neck, unwinding it. Then he ruffles my hair before quickly wrapping the scarf around my head in a wild knot. “There. Now we’re even.”
“Wow,” I say, glaring at him even though I secretly like this side of him.
He doesn’t seem to mind. “Pose,” he says, holding the phone out to take a picture.
I give him a forced cringey smile.
His brow furrows. “Come on. Is that the best you can do?”
That makes me laugh, breaking character.
“There we go. That’s the Emma I know.” He changes the angle, moving the phone higher. “Keep going.”
I puff out my cheeks and widen my eyes, framing my face with my hands.
“Perfect,” he says, moving the phone yet again.
