Colin reallywasstaring.
“Was there something we could do for you?” I asked, borrowing a little of Felix’s courage.
Maybe I wasn’t some big-shot New York publishing guy. Maybe I taught hot yoga and fixed sinks for a living.
But Felix loved me anyway, and that was good enough for me.
Colin looked between the two of us, jaw hanging like a stunned fish.
“You’re throwing away your whole career,” he said.
Felix shook his head. “No. I’m throwing away my whole publisher, because that’s what they deserve. You guys wouldn’t give me a chance until the books were already selling, you only care about how profitable I am. But here’s the thing: people wouldn’t still be reading my books if they weren’t good. I don’t need you.Youneedme. And I’m walking away.”
Was it possible to literally explode from pride? Because if it was, I was in serious danger of it.
Shy, nervous, quiet Felix was all grown up.
I couldn’t wait to get to know everything about him all over again.
Without another word, Felix pulled out his phone, took a photo of a still-gaping Colin, and then tightened his grip on my hand and tugged me away, brushing past him and turning our backs on the whole thing.
“For Angelica,” he explained, tapping on his phone a few times and then shoving it back in his pocket.
“That was kinda hot,” I admitted once we were around the corner. “You standing up for yourself like that. And me.”
“You’ve spent almost a third of your life standing up for me,” Felix said. “I figure I owe you at least that much standing up for both of us.”
“I love you,” I said, the words rolling right off my tongue.
I got the feeling I was about to start saying that a lot.
“Feeling’s mutual,” Felix said, swinging our hands between us as we headed back to his apartment.
This was definitely a happy middle.
31
Felix
“So, uh, I’ve been thinking,”Kieran said between bites of toast, glancing out the window casually.Toocasually.
I braced myself for bad news.
“Dangerous habit,” I said, trying to sound calm. We’d had a good few days, but I knew Kieran was heading home after breakfast so he could teach his yoga class in the morning without passing out halfway through it—or worse, falling asleep in the middle of a child pose.
“Oh yeah,” Kieran agreed. “Thinking can get you in all kinds of trouble.”
“But…?” I nudged. Much as I was afraid that what came next wasthis is nice, but I’m not sure I wanna do it long-term, I wanted Kieran to feel like he could say whatever he wanted to me.
Even if it was that I was too hard to be with. Or that he hated New York more than he loved me. Or… any one of a hundred other things.
“Well,” he paused. “Hold up a second.”
I watched him stand and head to the gym bag he’d brought with him, opening one of the small pockets and folding something into his hand before straightening again.
“I was thinking you should have this,” he said, holding his hand out toward me and opening it to reveal…
A key?
