“Next year, we’ll have the doors wide open during the festival,” Theo says from close behind me. “People spilling in and out of the shop.”
I smile at the thought. “I’ll plant tulips in pots on the front stoop, and we’ll have ferns hanging by the windows.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
Spinning in a slow circle, I point to different spots. “We’ll have a seating area over here. The register here. Shelves lining all the walls, then shorter ones throughout the store.” I skip toward the back corner, narrowly avoiding a ladder. “And a story time and book club over here. What do you think?”
I turn to find Theo standing in the middle of the room. He’s unreasonably attractive in his fire crew pants and a tight black shirt that molds over every curve of his muscular build. His armsare crossed over his chest, that lopsided smile hooking his mouth, and happiness sparkling in his eyes.
In a space full of mess and chaos, he’s calm and unwavering in the center. Full of possibilities and steadfast faith in me. He’s watching me with the kind of intensity that makes me feel like I’m floating.
That look is for me. It’s mine and no one else’s.
He always says a lot with that look.Iwant to kiss you. You’re adorable. You have no clue how much I want you.
But right now, it’s saying something else. Ican see it clearly.Ilove you.
“Theo.” His name is an unconscious, breathless murmur on my lips as I walk toward him.
He doesn’t take his eyes off me. “Hm?” he asks, a raspy hum.
“I’m so sorry.” I wrap my hands around his suspenders. “You’ve been a safe space for me—comforting and encouraging and patient when I need it. And I didn’t do the same for you. Ithrew that moment at the parade like a weapon, when that’s not how I feel at all.”
A deep breath gusts out of him. His hands curve to my waist. “I know you don’t, sweetheart.”
I pause, working through it in my head. “I shouldn’t have threatened to run away. Leaving just felt like the easy solution—like it always has.”
His expression is somewhere between cautious and hopeful. “And how are you feeling about leaving now?”
“I don’t want to. At all.” His eyes brighten. “I’m trying really hard to believe in myself. To trust that I can figure it out. But I’m also learning there are a lot of people around who are willing to help me see my dreams come true. Ithought I had to do it on my own to be successful at it, but—” I fade out, my throat tight.
“But it’s not a bad thing to ask for help. We allwantto be part of something you love,” he finishes.
“We?” I ask, needing to make sure. “You haven’t changed your mind?”
I love you, his eyes say again. I’m realizing it might be less of anagainand more of analways.
“Sweetheart.” The endearment shoots straight to the warm, glowy spot in my chest. “I’m not changing my mind. My heart is yours.”
My breath of relief is audible. There’s an electric hum beneath my skin. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Holding his gaze, I pull a piece of paper out of my back pocket.
“There was a doubt in your mind?”
“It was small. Tiny. Microscopic,” I admit, carefully unfolding the paper and presenting it to him.
My heart flares as bright as the sun while I watch him read the words.Do you love me? Check yes or no. [ ] yes [ ] no
Dimples bracket his wide smile. “Fable, I need—”
“Oh!” He needs a pen. Iwhip out the one tucked in my pocket and offer it to him.
But he can’t grab it because he’s busy opening his wallet. “I need to show you—I have one too.” He slips out a piece of notebook paper. It doesn’t make a sound as he unfolds it—too old and worn and touched to crinkle in his fingers. “It’s eighteen years old, written by a lonely boy who really wanted to be friends with the girl who sat beside him in math class. He didn’t know it at the time, but that note would change his entire life.”
“Theo,” I rasp, tears welling in my eyes as I take the soft paper from him. The letters are barely there, faded over the years, but I know them by heart.Do want to be my best friend? Check yes or no. [ ] yes [ ] no
He reaches up to caress my cheek. “Little did I know, that girl would be my soulmate, my best friend, the love of my life.”
A breathy cry bursts out of me. “Love of your life, huh?”
