He ignores me and angles the phone out in front of us. “C’mon,” he says. “Proof we saw the legendary Red Sea swallows together.”
“I’m not—”
The flash goes off. I think I blinked.Fuck.
He tucks the phone back into his pocket, like he didn’t just snap a picture of us without my permission. He just goes on talking.
“Can’t believe he called me an asstwice. They weren’t even creative insults.” Stan kicks my foot. “Hey, babe. You with me?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Perfect. Listen to your lovebird rant, babe.”
He looks at the window too, frowning in thought. I’m still blinking the flash out of my eyes.
“So all this got me thinking.” He turns back to me. “Y’know what’s been up my ass lately?”
I roll my eyes, not needing to answer that.
“Okay,perv, get your mind out of the gutter,” he says, but he’s smiling again. “I’m talkin’ about how they don’t make cards for my situation.”
My brows crease. “Cards?”
“Yeah, like if I wanted to buy one for you.” He swirls his coffee, acting suspiciously too casual. “What would it even say? ‘Hey, I’m in love with you, but my mom brainwashed me to be with your sister. Will you want me too anyway?’”
He half laughs, but it dies off at the end. A short laugh slips out of me too, but it trails off when I smile back at him.
His gaze locks onto my mouth. He’s staring. I let him.
“You might not believe this, Stan, but they don’t make cards that say ‘Hi, your mom was the worst thing that ever happened to my family, but yeah, I want you anyway.’”
His fingers tense around the cup. He looks like he might drop it, so I set it down for him.
“Nil,” he says. “What the fuck?”
“It’s true,” I say.
He moves closer, coffee forgotten. “You can’t say things like that,” he whispers, “unless you want me losin’ my damn mind.”
“You asked,” I say with a shrug, sipping my own cup. “You started talking about being in love with me over breakfast.”
He chokes on a laugh. “Oh my god. Are you teasing me or confessing back? I can’t tell.”
“I’m telling you I want you,” I say.
His grin comes back slower this time. “You want me anyway,” hesays. “Even with all the crap in my past.”
“Stan, if you want me, even after everything I did…” I lean closer to him too. “Why wouldn’t I feel the same about you?”
His breath leaves him in a rush. His hand comes up like he’s going to grab me, then hesitates halfway. “You’re really gonna say that to me,” he says, “while I probably have pancake crumbs on my face?”
“Yeah.”
He covers his mouth. “You’re killing me,” he says. “I swear to god, you’re actually killing me.”
“I’m literally not,” I say.
“You are.” He takes my hand. “You’re hot and calm and say things like that with a straight face. Do you know how bad that is for my heart?”
