“Mm, not really,” she said. “It’s still fun just to walk around, even if you aren’t going to buy anything.” It made her think of Tales & Tails. “I’m excited for the coffee shop at Tales & Tails—I hope it’ll bring in new readers.”
She paused. They hadn’t spoken about the proposal sincethey had agreed not to, but she wanted to talk to him about everything. This past week, they had talked about so many different things, big and small. It felt strange to hold back.
“Are you nervous for our meeting on Friday?” she asked. There was a week until then, and while she was almost done with her proposal and feeling confident about it, she had no idea what Luke was feeling.
“Not really,” he replied easily. “I’m basically done.”
“What were you thinking of doing with the investment if you won?” she asked. He hesitated. “I know we said we weren’t going to talk about it,” she added, but still, she waited for his response.
He laughed. “It’s impossible not to talk to you about something,” he admitted, and she smiled. “You tell me first.”
She had been waiting to talk about her plans with him, to hear his insight. While she had talked about it before with her sister, she knew no one would truly get it, not like Luke would. He was in the same business, after all, and he was just as ambitious as she was.
“I want to expand my business’s distributions outside of Starshine Valley,” she said. “Since Inferno’s doing well, I think I could take things to the next level.”
He smiled. “I expected nothing less,” he said, looking genuinely excited for her. “That would be amazing.”
“What about you?” she asked. She was sure he had similar plans, but at her question, some of the brightness of his expression dimmed. He looked away. “Come on,” she said. “Tell me. I won’t steal your ideas, promise.”
She was teasing, but he looked... embarrassed. She furrowed her brows, confused.
“I don’t think you could, anyway. My plans are a bit different,” he told her, meeting her gaze for a moment before looking away again. “Tempest hasn’t been doing very well.”
“What do you mean?” she asked with concern.
He sighed. “A variety of things piled up, and the business has been scraping by...” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can fix it—if I win the investment, that is.”
“And if you don’t?” Her heartbeat quickened. She had a feeling she already knew the answer, but she hoped it wasn’t true.
“I’ll probably close,” he replied.
“But...” she started, frowning. But what?
All those years, all that energy, and all the money he had given to his business would go to waste. She knew how much his business meant to him—and she recalled what he had said, how he took care of his mother. She was sure those medical bills weren’t cheap.
He couldn’t afford not to have a job.
Dread ran through her like ice, and Luke shook his head, giving her an easy smile. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”
But she did worry. She nibbled on her lower lip, looking away. She wanted him to win.
“Hey,” he said, tilting her chin so she met his gaze. “Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He kissed her forehead, then reached for a book from the bookshelf behind her. “Why don’t I read to you?” he said, and her heart glowed.
They set down their empty chai mugs, and he led her to his bed, where she sat down snuggled against him, both ofthem leaning back against the pillows. She was still worried about him, about his business, and the investment, but as he began reading aloud, all those thoughts slowly went away.
She was hardly focused on the story; she was focused on him. She looked up at him as he read, watching him: the sweep of his hair, the line of his jaw, the brown of his eyes. His eyes were the color of her favorite coffee-roast.
And his voice—deep and a little rough. There was a particular cadence with which he spoke, and she touched a hand to his throat, wanting to feel the vibrations against her fingers, as if she could capture his voice in her palm.
Everything about him seemed entirely one of a kind, like there was no one else like him and there never would be. As if he was made specifically for her.
He continued reading until the passage finished, then took her hand from his throat. He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing her palm, his eyes questioning what she had been doing.
She felt shy, so she didn’t respond. She loved his voice. She had just wanted to feel it against her skin.
