Daisy
Ledger cooks.
Like,reallycooks.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.He never does anything halfway.
I don’t know what I was expecting to find when I walked through the front door after work, but it definitely wasn’t the delicious aroma of garlic and tomatoes simmering on the stove, soft music playing low in the background, and my very large, very focused Navy SEAL boyfriend stirring a pot of sauce like he learned from an Italian grandmother in another life.
Beans weaves happily between our legs, his tail swishing like he’s in on a secret.
“Hey,” Ledger says when he spots me, his voice warm.“You hungry?”
Only for you,my brain offers unhelpfully.
“Starving,” I say instead, smiling.
He plates everything with a quiet care that makes my chest ache; garlic bread arranged just so, salad in my favorite chipped bowl, pasta steaming and perfect.We sit at the tiny kitchen table, knees brushing.It feels… wonderfully domestic.
“How was work?”
“It was good.Busy since I rescheduled yesterday’s appointments for today.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah.What have you been up to?”
“Went grocery shopping, took Beans out, and talked to Koa and Lula.They’re back on base.”
“How are they doing?”
“Good.They seem happy.”
“When does Lula come back to Wolf Valley?”
“Two weeks.”
“It must be hard.To say goodbye all the time,” I say quietly.
I push my food around on my plate, too scared to look up in case he sees the tears swimming in my eyes.
I know he has to leave, and I don’t want to make this harder than it has to be.I know he’s sad to leave me, and if I start sobbing at the table, I’m pretty sure I’ll break his heart.
Ledger exhales slowly and leans forward, folding his large hands together on the table.
“Daisy,” he says gently.“We should talk.About… us.”
My heart does a little flip-flop.I don’t think I’m ready for this talk at all, but I know we need to have it.We’re running out of time, and maybe it will make it easier if we have some kind of plan for the time we have left.
“Yeah,” I whisper, finally looking up at him.“We should.”
He studies me for a moment, like he’s picking his words carefully.
“From the second I saw you, something in my chest just… clicked into place,” he says quietly.“You’re it for me.And I don’t want to pretend that’s not true just because my life is complicated.”
My throat tightens.
He looks down for a moment before lifting his eyes to mine again.“I love you, Daisy.”
