It’s just the two of us in my kitchen.
Nothing is fixed.
Nothing is forgiven.
Nothing is guaranteed.
But something held today.
Something real.
I turn toward him.
And let myself fall into his embrace.
Chapter 28
Leo
The door seals behind us with a soft hiss.
The proofing room is almost entirely dark. The only light is the faint green glow of the thermostat, numbers floating like a pulse. The air wraps around me immediately, warm, wet, alive. It smells like yeast and heat and something dangerously close to comfort.
And Tess.
She’s still holding me.
I don’t move. I barely breathe. My heart is slamming so hard I’m afraid she can hear it over the hum of the machine.
“Tess,” I whisper again, because I don’t know what else to do with the sound in my chest.
She looks up at me, but she doesn’t step away. I can’t see her face clearly, just the darker outline of her body against the darker room. I feel her before I see her. The warmth of her. The heat between us is turning the air thick.
“You’re still dusty,” she says quietly.
I let out a weak, breathless laugh. “I know.”
Her hand presses flat against my chest.
I stop talking immediately.
Her palm is warm. Solid. Real. Right over my heart. Right where the stupid gold star used to be.
“You did great today,” she says.
I swallow. “Thanks.”
The word comes out rough. I would give her anything she asks for right now. Space. Time. Distance. I’ll walk out. I’ll sit on the floor. I’ll disappear if she wants.
Her hand slides slowly down my chest, dragging through the flour dusted across my shirt. My skin feels electric wherever she touches, like my body has been waiting for permission.
“This,” she murmurs, rubbing her thumb against the fabric, “is still a mess.”
My breath stutters. “Yeah.”
Her other hand comes up, gripping my shirt at my waist. Not pulling. Just anchoring.
“I have a better way to clean up,” she says.
