"Of course," Meredith said immediately. "I'll set another place."
The rest of the evening unfolded with the kind of warmth I was still learning to trust. Eric fit into the group conversationeasily, answering Leo's careful questions about the cleanup without giving too many details. He praised Sofia's sauce, listened to Grayson's updates on the areas he handled, and helped clear dishes when dinner was finished.
But all night, I felt the weight of unfinished conversations between us.
When it was time to leave, Eric turned to me. "Come with me? We can get dessert somewhere."
"My place," I said, wanting the comfort of my own space. "If that's okay. We can order something."
"Anything's okay with me. As long as you're there."
Something warm flooded through my chest at those words. I squeezed his hand, then looked at Elena. "I'll text you later."
"You better."
We said our goodbyes and headed out to a sleek black car where a massive man with tattoos waited by the passenger door. Nate, presumably. He nodded at Eric, opened the door for me, then took the driver's seat without a word.
Eric slid in beside me, and the partition between front and back seats rose smoothly, giving us privacy.
"What dessert do you want delivered?" he asked as Nate pulled away from the estate. "You still love churros?"
"You remember that?" I smiled softly, remembering how we'd had a few churro dates at a local place back when we were together.
"How could I forget? You got so drunk one night and made up that crazy song about them." He laughed, making me giggle.
"God, I was a mess back then. Churros sound good," I murmured.
"My mess though," he said gently as he ordered, making my heart flutter.
I watched him, taking in the small details. The set of his shoulders, more relaxed now than they'd been when he'darrived. The way his free hand rested on his thigh, close enough to touch but not presuming. The flowers sitting between us on the seat.
When he finished ordering, he caught me staring.
"What?"
"Just making sure you're real."
His expression softened. "I'm real. And I'm not going anywhere."
"You keep saying that."
"Because I keep meaning it."
The drive to my apartment passed in comfortable silence. When we arrived, Nate did a quick sweep of the building entrance before nodding at Eric.
"I'll be out here," Nate said in heavily accented English. "The rest of the team is a minute out."
"Thanks."
Inside my apartment, Eric set the flowers on the counter while I grabbed a vase from under the sink.
"Food should be here in thirty minutes," he said.
"Okay."
I filled the vase with water, arranged the flowers with hands that weren't quite steady. Red and white roses mixed with something delicate. Beautiful in a way that made my throat tight. I set the vase next to my other one, enjoying the contrast of the red and purple with all the white.
Eric leaned against the counter, watching me. "Can I ask you something?"
