The moment something shifts for her.
Not completely.
Not all the way.
But enough.
“You’re serious,” she says.
“Yeah.”
“About… all of this.”
“Yeah.”
A beat.
Then—
“Why?” she asks.
Simple question.
Not simple answer.
“Because I meant what I said last night,” I tell her. “I take care of the people I care about.”
Her breath catches just slightly.
“And I care about you.”
That lands.
I can see it.
She doesn’t look away this time.
Doesn’t deflect.
Doesn’t joke.
Just… holds my gaze.
“You barely know me,” she says.
“I know enough.”
“Like what.”
“That you don’t pretend,” I say. “That you call things out. That you showed up again even when you had every reason not to.”
She exhales slowly.
“That doesn’t mean you should be… making lists.”
“It does for me.”
She studies me for a long moment.
