Ginger was waiting by the door, and he reached down to pet her under the chin before he left.Ginger stretched out her neck for better scratches.
Nathaniel laughed.“I know, that feels good, doesn’t it?”he asked.
Then he looked at Thea, who was watching the two of them, amused.
“It does,” he said defensively.
“I’m sure it does,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him the tiniest shove toward the door.“Go—before we get distracted again.”
“Are you sure?”he asked, putting one hand on the doorframe and reaching out to snag her waist with the other, pulling her closer.
“Nathaniel,” she said with a sigh—but she didn’t stop him as he kissed her once more.
“I have ten years of kisses to make up for,” he said, growing serious for a moment.“If it’s too much, tell me.I don’t want to be too much for you.I don’t want to ruin this because I’m jumping all in before you’re ready for it.I’ve been waiting for this for ten years, but if you aren’t ready, I need to know.”
“I will tell you if it becomes too much,” Thea said, putting her hands on his chest and looking up at him.“I don’t want anything to come between us again.You and I are worth fighting for.”
“Yes, we are,” he agreed, dipping his head to steal one more kiss.“Now I really am going to leave.Good night, Thea.”
“Good night,” she said, smiling up at him in a way that made him even less prepared to leave her.
So he bolted out the door, knowing if he didn’t leave, he wouldn’t.
He paused after a few steps, looking back toward the café, and was rewarded with the sight of Thea holding Ginger in her arms, watching him leave with a smile on her face.He raised his hand in a wave, and she waved back, then drew the curtains shut.
Nathaniel laughed to himself.
They had both grown and changed…but some things were still the same.
Chapter fifteen
Thea
Everytimethedooropened and the bell rang, Thea’s heart beat faster as she looked up to see if Nat had arrived.
Every time, it was a disappointment.
It seemed that Nat had either decided to catch up on some of his other responsibilities, or he was turned into a cat somewhere and unable to come visit her.
Thea wasn’t sure which one she would prefer.
But as the bell rang for the hundredth time, it seemed, without Nathaniel appearing, Thea steeled herself to once again feel let down as she looked up to greet the newcomer.
But this time, she was not disappointed.
For while it was not Nathaniel, it was someone else she desperately wanted to speak to.
“Thea!”her friend Beatrice cried as she hurried across the room.“It’s been too long—and I hear you have news for me?”
Thea laughed as Beatrice came around the counter and gave her a hug.
“I do have news,” she admitted, “and I actually have a question for you.”
Beatrice waggled her eyebrows.“A question,” she said with a sparkle in her eye.“That sounds promising.”
Thea rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“You are ridiculous,” she said.“It’s nothing like you’re imagining.”
