“I might have said it accidentally,” I admitted softly, “but I feel it. I love you too, Alex.”
Saying it didn’t feel like a betrayal. It felt like a beginning.
We kissed on the couch, slow and tender and full of all the things we’d just said out loud.
It wasn’t frantic or desperate. It was warm. Certain. The kind of kiss that felt like coming home.
Alex rested his forehead against mine, smiling that soft, crooked smile I was already too attached to. Then he stood and held out his hand.
“Come on,” he said quietly.
I took it.
He led me down the hallway, every step gentle, every touch careful and sure, like he was holding something precious. We didn’t rush. We didn’t need to.
The door closed behind us, and the world narrowed down to just us and the promise of everything we were building together.
The next morning felt soft and golden.
Alex and I sat at the little kitchen table with coffee and toast, sunlight spilling across the counters like it had something to prove. My body still ached in that deep, happy way from the night before, and my heart felt strangely steady, like it had finally found its footing.
The door burst open.
“What? No pancakes?” Leo demanded, scandalized.
“Every morning is not pancake morning,” Alex said, reaching out to ruffle his hair as he passed.
“It should be,” Leo protested, already raiding the fridge.
Ava slipped in more quietly behind him. “Hi, Alex,” she said.
“Hi, Ava,” he answered, warm and gentle.
I watched them. The easy way they fit into the room together, the way this felt like something real and lived, was a wave of emotion that washed over me.
Then she came over to me and hugged me as I offered her my last piece of toast.
This could be my life.
All I had to do was deal with my mother first.
50
ELEANOR
We pulled up to my mother’s house in heavy, careful silence.
I turned in my seat to look at Ava. “You don’t have to go in, okay? Alex can get your things while I talk to Grandma.”
Ava shook her head. “I want to go.”
Of course, she did. She always wanted to see things for herself.
I stepped out of the car and took a deep breath, staring up at the house.
Alex came up beside me, resting a steady hand on my back. He leaned in and murmured, “I’ll be right there.”
I nodded, squaring my shoulders.
