She’s not wrong. There’s a small flame situation happening. I grab the iron and yank the plug, then flip the whole thing into the sink and douse it with water. The room fills with smoke and the smell of charred batter.
Delilah is laughing so hard she has to hold onto the counter.
“I had it under control,” I say.
“You really didn’t.”
“I was trying to impress you.”
“Consider me impressed.” She wipes her eyes. “That was the most dramatic waffle death I’ve ever witnessed.”
I lean against the island, defeated. “I also scorched the first one.”
“How many were you planning to make?”
“Four. So we’re down to two possible waffles.”
“Those are not great odds.”
“I’m aware.”
She crosses the kitchen and kisses me, her hands on my chest, still smiling against my mouth. She tastes like the fancy latte from Michelle’s shop, something with vanilla and probably too much sugar.
“I don’t care about waffles,” she says. “I care about you.”
“That’s very romantic.”
“I’m a romantic person.”
“You’re a person who just watched me set breakfast on fire.”
“And I’m still here.” She grins up at me. “That should tell you something.”
We salvage breakfast.
The remaining two waffles turn out acceptably. The bacon survives, mostly because Delilah takes over and I’m not too proud to admit she’s better at it. The eggs are fine since scrambled is hard to mess up, even for me.
We eat at the table by the windows, the ocean stretching out in front of us like a painting someone forgot to frame.
“This is nice,” Delilah says, her voice soft in a way that makes my heart do things.
“It is.”
“I could get used to this.”
The words hang in the air. She means them. I can tell by the way she’s looking at me, open and hopeful with just a hint of fear underneath.
I could get used to this too. That’s the problem. I’m already used to it. I’m already planning mornings like this for the next fifty years, and I haven’t even figured out what I’m going to tell the label.
My phone vibrateson the table.
Delilah glances at it. “You should probably get that.”
“It can wait.”
“It’s gone off all morning.”
“Diane has boundary issues.”
