“So does self-respect.”
I blink.That sentence lands deeper than he probably intended.For a moment neither of us speaks before Skye’s voice cuts across the shop.
“Quinn!Emergency!”
I turn.“What now?”
“We’re out of cupcakes.”
I laugh despite myself.“I brought a dozen.”
“There are six artists here.”She looks put out having to explain this to me.
“Math.”
“Exactly.”
I shake my head.“I’ll bake more tomorrow.”
“Bless you.”She disappears again and I glance back at Damien.
He’s watching me with that thoughtful expression again.
“What?”I ask.
“Nothing.”
“That’s not nothing.”
He smiles faintly.“I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“You fit here.”
The words warm something in my chest.“I like being here.”
“Good.”
We stand there quietly for a second longer.I look across the shop at the crew laughing and working together.The noise.The warmth.The sense of belonging.And a thought forms slowly in the back of my mind.When I’m here, I feel like myself.When I’m with Emette, I feel like I’m constantly trying to be someone else.
I glance at Damien again only to find he’s already looking at me.Calm, patient, and kind.And suddenly one very inconvenient realization slips into my brain.Some men make you feel like you’re not enough.
Others make you wonder why you ever believed that in the first place.
