“Everything?”
He slightly nods while simultaneously gently pushing a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “There’s not a single thing about you I don’t memorize.”
And with those few, but ever so meaningful, words, Maddox Gallagher officially breaks down my final wall.
“Do you have plans tonight?”
My questions takes him slightly off guard. “I… I didn’t have any plans. Why?”
Now or never Gabi. Put on the sequin dress.
“I was wondering… because you’re free… and I’m free… that maybe we could do one of those Best Friend Activity ideas… but maybe not… as best friends?”
It’s not as confident as I wanted it to be. If I’d have timed it, there were at least three seconds of pause between every word… but I did it.
But Maddox is silent. I actually want to put my finger under his nose to see if he’s even breathing. I’m about to when his next words are barely above a whisper.
“Are you saying that you want to go on a date with me?”
The cautious hope in his voice is enough to make me melt. And if I wasn’t confident before about this decision, I am one-hundred-percent now.
“I am. I was thinking that maybe we could get dinner. Then maybe?—”
Whatever I was going to offer as an option doesn’t get vocalized because before I know it, Maddox has pulled me in, dipped me low, and is kissing me with everything he has in him.
“Maddox!” I say, a giggle escaping me. “What are you doing?”
“Doing what I’ve been dreaming of doing for the past month.”
Maddox’s lips come to mine again, and now that the shock has worn off, I can take in the moment. I didn’t know how much I truly remembered from our night together, or if over the last month it’s only become some sort of distorted fantasy wrapped in a memory. But his kiss feels familiar. His hold feels comfortable. And if I had any doubt if I was making up how my body felt against his, I can tell myself that I wasn’t imagining anything.
“So is that a yes?” I ask as we pull away, our foreheads still touching.
He laughs and leans back in for one more small peck. “Oh, Gabrielle… that’s the easiest yes I’ve said in my entire life.”
CHAPTER 16
GABI
When I asked Maddox to do something tonight, I didn't expect much. I mean, it was already three in the afternoon when I left LaunchPoint and I still had to go back to the bakery to help the girls close. When I told him the earliest I could be ready was six thirty, he didn’t bat an eyelash that it would be a problem. He simply told me to wear something that was casual but I felt good in, to be ready at seven, and that he’d take care of the rest.
That might’ve been the sexiest thing he’s ever said.
I really hope sooner rather than later I quit comparing everything Maddox does to what Justin did. But how can I not when Maddox is the anti-Justin? Justin’s plan for our first date was going to the movies with his friends. We were in high school, so I never thought anything of it. And yes, he asked me to prom, but I picked out his suit and the flowers. I picked out my own engagement ring and he did a horrible job at not giving away when he was going to propose. And of course, by the time we were married, there wasn’t a lick of initiative when it came to nurturing our marriage and keeping the spark alive.
Yet here’s Maddox, planning dates, texting me when he was on his way, coming to my apartment door to walk me to his car,opening the door for me. I know in the grand scheme of chivalry, all of these aren’t groundbreaking efforts, but to me, they’re everything.
“So what are we doing?” I ask as he pulls off the exit. “Wait, are we doing something downtown?”
“We are, but I’m not telling you what,” he says with a boyish grin. “I like surprising people.”
“I told you I don’t like surprises, right?”
“You did,” he says as he slowly makes a left turn onto the top of Broadway. “But I’m going to see if that’s because you’ve never had a surprise from me.”
“You think you can change my mind on surprises?”
He shrugs. “I got you to change your mind on this, didn’t I?”
