“I mean, if you’re not there yet, I get it, but… are you not there yet?”
“Where yet?”
“In love. With me.”
His eyes went wide. “Fuck. Yes! I’m sorry, I thought I said it. I’ve been thinking it since I saw you tonight. Since way before that. Since you punched me in the face. Since you sat on my lap and asked me if I wanted eggs. Since you showered with a fern. Since you ordered limes in your sleep. Since you threw a dirty napkin at my head. I love you, Sutton.” He took my face in his hands and brought my lips to his. He kissed me softly, lingering there. “I love you.”
My whole body melted into his, and my eyes stung withhappy tears. I smiled against his mouth. “I don’t order limes in my sleep.”
“You do. And it’s the cutest thing ever.”
“Sit down. I need to tell you the story about that napkin I threw at your head, and then maybe we should use another one.”
He laughed. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
I kissed him before he sat down and then again when he sat down, and we didn’t get to the story until much later.
EPILOGUE
Six Months Later
“I’ve never lived with a man,” I said as I carried a box full of Elijah’s stuff toward my… our… apartment.
He was also carrying a box and he laughed. “So I’ve heard.”
“And I’m working on it, but you know I’m particular.”
“I hadn’t noticed.”
I smiled his way. His laid-back nature had actually helped me relax as well, not need to control every little thing. Maybe that’s what trust did for a relationship. I hadn’t been able to depend on most people in my life until now. But I could depend on him. For the last six months we’d gone back and forth between Los Angeles and Clovis. He was winding down his role in the boxing gym when in Clovis and picking up his camera when in Los Angeles. Mine wasn’t the only restaurant now that he’d helped find a style through photography. His specialty was bringing nature indoors in unique ways, and he was building a name for himself. I was so proud of him.
In Clovis, I would visit Tara and sometimes my mom. My dad never showed up. That wasn’t a surprise. The surprise came when something clicked inside my mom and she stopped calling him, stopped making excuses for him. She wasn’t perfect, she was still overly critical and negative, but she was thinking about going to therapy and I could tell she was trying.
And now, Elijah was moving here, and our lives were going to involve much less driving and much more time together. I wasn’t nervous at all. I was only excited.
“I still want the right side of the bed,” I said, unlocking the front door. A package sat on my doormat, and I kicked it inside as I walked in after it.
“You’vehadthe right side of the bed. I gave it to you six months ago.”
“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t taking it back.”
He smacked my butt as he followed me inside and I laughed.
Just as I slid the box I held onto the table in the breakfast nook, my phone rang. “Raya, hey.”
“We need to hire another server.” Ever since our restaurant makeover and new viral review six months ago, we’d been busy. More than busy, waiting list busy. I’d already hired another server.
“Did you have someone in mind?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said. “Already did the preliminary interviews. Do you want to meet her first?”
“No, I trust you.” Raya and I were rarely both at the restaurant at the same time anymore, like we’d been that first year. Looking back, I realized it was because I’d had to be involved in every minuscule decision. I hadn’t trusted her. But she’d more than earned my trust, and I was finally giving it to her.Because I didn’t spend fourteen-hour days there anymore, I’d had more time. More time to go on nature hikes and walk on the beach and watch Elijah take pictures. I was happy. So happy. And I only thought about the fact that it could all be snatched away from me about once a month now. That was progress.
I pulled the tape off the box I’d just set down and opened one of the flaps. The leaf of a plant poked out. It took me a second to realize it was fake.
“Thanks,” Raya said on the phone. “You’re in tomorrow, right?”
“Yes,” I said. “You’re not.”
