Clearing my throat, I can’t stop the wobble in my voice. “You didn’t call.”
Regret moves across his eyes as he nods, but he never breaks his eye contact with me. “You’re right, and to be honest, everything in me wanted to call you. I’ve picked up the phone and set it back down a hundred times.”
He takes a deep breath, regret and pain evident in his eyes as he looks over my face. “But I had to think of Lainey Rai, because this isn’t some fling for me, Elly, it’s the real fucking deal. I wake up and have to force your face from my thoughts so I can work all day knowing you’re out of my reach, but when I go to bed every night, you’re right back there when I close my eyes. I needed to be sure.
“So, if I have to fly to California to see you every month, to show you just how much you mean to me, I’ll do it. I’ll learn your favorite flower and send them to you every day. You tellme what would make you happy and I’ll do it.”
My heart is bursting with happiness. I glance at Thal still standing by the door behind Gray. She’s making a shooing motion with her hands, telling me to go on.
When I move my gaze back to him, his hazel eyes are zeroed in on me. “You thought I could hurt your family.” That’s what hurt the most, and the small sob in my throat when I say it almost chokes me.
He steps around the island so there are only the barstools between us, his hands flexing at his sides. “I have my flaws, Elly. I won’t deny that. I lose my temper too fast, I sometimes think the worst of people, and sometimes I’m impatient. But as I watched you drive away that day, all I could think was that I’d just fucked up, I knew you didn’t have that kind of evil in you and I’d just pushed away the woman I love.”
My eyebrows climb my forehead and even Thal sucks in a breath behind him.
He loves me.
“You love me?”
Those beautiful hazel soften and he nods once. “I’ve been miserable without you this last month.”
Glancing at the invitation on the counter, I lift my eyes back to his, he seems to be holding his breath. “You don’t need to fly here.”
His shoulders slump in defeat and he looks down at the counter with a nod and I realize I said that wrong. My head is spinning, and I can’t seem to pin down any one thought without another swooping in behind it.
“I mean, it won’t be necessary to fly back and forth.” I move my hand across the boxes stacked throughout the apartment when his eyebrows pinch together in confusion. “I got a new job.”
He takes a deep breath of relief and says, “That’s okay, wherever it is, we can work it out. Wherever you go, I’ll go.”
Lifting my eyes over his shoulder to Thal, she nods her head, and my gaze moves back to Gray. “I got a job in Tulsa. The movers are coming tomorrow to get all my stuff.”
His eyebrows shoot up his forehead. “You’re… moving to Tulsa?”
“Mm-Hmm.” I nod. When I saw the job posting for one of the largest companies in the state, I jumped on it. I knew it was impulsive on my part, but all I could think was that I wanted to be close to him and to the family who gave me a small peek of what it can really be like.
A smile forms on his lips, and he steps around one of the stools between us. “Well, that makes things easier.” He says and extends his hand for me to take, but I have a death grip on the one stool still standing between us.
My eyes drop to his hand and back up, I don’t know exactly what I’m waiting for. I’ve missed touching him every day, this is what I’ve been wanting. Then I remember each time he walked away from me when emotions got high. “I have a condition.”
The offered hand stays extended. “Name it.”
My chin quivers again and my fingers are digging into the wood of the stool in front of me. “You can’t walk away from me or push me away, you have to talk to me first.”
He slices his head to the side once, “It won’t happen again.”
“Take. His. Hand.” Thal theater whispers from the door with her hands cupped around her mouth.
His hazel eyes are watching my every move, and I relinquish my hold on the back of the stool with one hand and place it in his. He cups my hand between his before he says, “I would be honored if you could see your way to being my date to the wedding.”
In my peripheral, Thal has cupped her hands together under her chin and is quietly squealing in happiness for me.
Smiling at him, I casually shrug my shoulders. “I guess I could go to the wedding with you. I’ll need to check the date on the invite to make sure I’m not washing my hair or something equally important that day.”
In one swift move, I’m pulled into him, my cheek bumping against his chest as his arms form a tight band around me. The smell of smoke and sandalwood envelopes me and I take a deep breath and burrow into him while fisting the shirt on his back.
“Daisies.” I mumble into his shirt, which gets a chuckle from him.
“I’ve missed you, frostbite.” He mumbles from the top of my head.
