“What?”
“I know you, Hazel. I know your fears. I don’t need a speech.”
She swallowed and placed his hands over hers. “So why didn’t you object when I broke up with you?”
“Because my own fears were greater,” he replied more gently.
“I didn’t know at the time that you even had any fears because of me.”
He sighed and ran his thumbs over her palms. “Well, fear is an emotion. I don’t know if you’ve noticed…but expressing feelings isn’t my strong suit.”
Now she gave a shaky smile as well. “No, that’s news to me.”
He chuckled softly. “I don’t need proof, Hazel. You’re here, so now I just need your wallet.”
She blinked and dropped her hands in surprise. “What? You only want me for my money?”
“No. I have plenty of that, thanks. I want the photos.”
Warmth rose in her cheeks and a tingling filled her chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He grinned broadly. “Are you seriously telling me that point two of your plan isn’t the photos?”
She shrugged. Yes, that had been point two, but she’d wanted to pull them out of her pocket dramatically and…
“Why do you still have them?” Gareth asked quietly.
She bit her lip. “I couldn’t…”
“I would have bet you threw them away.” His gaze slid over her face, scanning every inch of it. “But your mother betrayed you, Hazel.”
Groaning, she tilted her head back before taking a deep breath. Fine. She was used to him ruining her plans by now! “Why would I have done that, Gareth?”
“Because I clearly remember that you were going to throw them away if you wanted to forget me,” he murmured, his voice thick. “The thought that you did caused me a lot of sleepless nights.”
Her eyes burned relentlessly and her hands began to shake. “I never wanted to forget you, Gareth. I wanted to hold on to the feeling you gave me forever, okay? And the photos remind me of that.”
“What feeling?”
She sniffed and rubbed her damp cheeks. “To be allowed to be both as strong and as weak as I want to be. To be understood. To be silly, serious, smart, or stupid without ever feeling like I was doing anything wrong. I felt less alone carrying them around.” Carefully, she pulled the strip of photos from her purse and handed it through the bars. “I like the one where I’m making a face and you’re smiling.”
He was still staring at her, not the photos. It was as if he didn’t need the reminder of her at all. “Not the one where we’re kissing?”
“No. Because your face is so hard to see — I like your face.”
He smiled broadly as he took the photos, still making no move to look at them. “I like your face too, Hazel.”
Her heart fluttered, but this time not because she was afraid of the future — but because she suddenly saw it clearly. “Have you at least learned how to use a photo booth properly?”
“No. I haven’t been in one since. Too many memories.”
“Because of me?”
He looked into her eyes. “Always because of you, Hazel.”
“Okay.” She swallowed. There were so many emotions in her wanting to burst out, but she still wasn’t ready to let themtake over. “Then there’s only one thing left to take care of.” She nervously pulled the folded piece of paper from her purse that she had quickly scribbled on in the car earlier, afraid her voice would tremble. In her eagerness, she wanted to rattle off the points, but she pulled herself together. “Paragraph 1: Party B proposes a one-year trial period before negotiating the terms for moving in together and marriage. Paragraph 2: Party B considers two children to be appropriate. Paragraph 2a: When the children arrive, both parties will take parental leave so that Party B doesn’t go crazy alone. Her career is as important as Party A’s, which should be considered when making childcare decisions. Paragraph 3: Two evenings a week, both Party A and Party B must finish work on time to fulfill their relationship obligations. These include, but are not limited to: public feedings, cuddling (including but not limited to sex), outings, etc. Paragraph 4: Party A will receive a Milky Way from Party B whenever they clearly articulate their feelings. This should happen at least once a day. Paragraph 5: Saturday or Sunday, yes, after the Hawks’ game, Party A and B take the day off. Paragraph 6…”
“Three,” Gareth said quietly.
