"I'm not rejecting you. I'm asking you to be honest with me. To trust me enough to show me who you really are."
"What if who I really am is messy and needy and wants someone to tell her she's doing a good job and tuck her in at night with her stuffed animals?"
His smile is devastating. "Then that's who you are. And I'd be honored to be the person who does those things for you."
I'm full-on crying now. Happy tears. Relieved tears. Tears of feeling seen for the first time in my life.
Tyler moves around the table, sliding into the booth beside me. He pulls me against his chest, one hand rubbing soothing circles on my back.
"Shh. You're okay, sweetheart. I've got you."
Sweetheart. He called me sweetheart.
I burrow into him, breathing in his scent. Clean laundry and something woodsy and masculine.
"I'm sorry," I mumble against his shirt. "I'm ruining our date."
"You're not ruining anything. You're being real with me. That's all I want."
I pull back to look at him. "Really?"
"Really. Though I should probably go back to my side of the table before our food comes and the server thinks I made you cry."
I laugh wetly. "Fair point."
He wipes my tears with his thumb, his touch gentle. "Better?"
"Much better."
"Good girl."
The words hit me like a physical caress. My breath catches.
He notices. Of course he notices.
"You like that," he observes. "When I call you that."
"Yes," I whisper.
"Good. Because I like saying it." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You are a good girl, Chloe. So sweet and kind and brave. Don't let anyone tell you differently."
More tears threaten, but these are definitely happy ones.
Tyler goes back to his side of the table just as the server appears with our food.
We eat, and the conversation flows easily now. He tells me more about his kids. Emma wants to be a veterinarian and Jackson is obsessed with all things dinosaurs. I tell him about the coffee shop, about the regulars who've become like family, about my dreams of maybe expanding someday.
"What about you?" he asks over tiramisu that we're sharing. "Besides the shop. What do you want?"
"Want how?"
"In life. In a relationship. What does your happily ever after look like?"
I think about the books I read. The couples I know who've found their perfect match.
"I want someone who sees me. All of me. Not just the competent business owner but the girl who still watches Disney movies and eats cereal for dinner and needs reassurance that she's doing okay." I take a bite of tiramisu. "I want someone who makes me feel safe enough to be little when I need to be, but who also respects that I'm an adult with a business and responsibilities."
"Balance," Tyler says.
