The words hit me like a physical force. For a moment my brain simply stops working. “You… do?”
His eyebrows shoot up. “What does it look like?”
I laugh again, the sound half breathless and half disbelieving. “It looks like you do love me.”
“Yes,” he says dramatically, throwing his hands up slightly. “I do.” He says softly this time, “I do love you.”
My chest feels too small to hold everything rushing through it. Before I can think, I step forward and kiss him.
This kiss is softer. Warmer. My hands slide up around his neck as his arms wrap around my waist instinctively. When we pull apart we’re both smiling like idiots.
I glance back down at the box. There’s something else inside.
A small glass bottle. Familiar shape. I pick it up slowly. My eyes narrow.
“Aditya.”
“Yes?”
“You stole attar from my shop?”
He looks offended. “I did not steal anything.”
I raise the bottle.
“This is literally one of my bottles.”
“Yes, but what’s inside it is not yours.”
“What does that mean?”
“I made it.”
I stare at him again. “You made… attar?”
“Yes.” He sighs dramatically. “Do you have any idea how complicated that was?” I laugh at him, “It was a nightmare. My respect for you skyrocketed.”
I twist the small cap open carefully and bring the bottle closer. The scent rises slowly. Rose, saffron, Oud. It smells like old books and citrus and something slightly sweet underneath.
My chest tightens again. “It’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he says, clearly relieved.
I step forward and wrap my arms around him tightly. “I love you so much too.”
The words feel natural leaving my mouth. Like they’ve been waiting there for weeks. He freezes for half a second. Then his arms tighten around me. “Say that again.”
I laugh against his shoulder. “I love you.”
“Again.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Again.”
“I love you.”
He presses his face into my hair and laughs quietly. “I needed to hear that.”
