He turned back and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You're planning my studio space."
"Yes?"
"In your condo."
"Ourcondo." He said it like it was obvious. Like it had always been true. "Is that... is that okay? If you'd rather choose the setup yourself?—"
She crossed the room in three steps and threw herself at him. He caught her automatically, lifting her off the ground, confusion radiating from every line of his body. "Edie?"
"No one's ever done that before."
"What? Offered you a workspace?"
"Made room for me." Her voice was muffled against his chest. "Literally made room. Without me having to ask or making me feel like I was imposing."
His arms tightened around her. "You're not imposing. You could never impose. This is your home now."
Home.
The word used to make her flinch. Now it made her want to cry.
"I'm probably going to leave paint everywhere," she warned him. "And forget to put things back where they belong. And drive you absolutely insane."
"I know."
"I'm not going to follow your label maker system."
"I'm aware."
"And I'm definitely going to keep rearranging your magnets."
He paused, then said grudgingly, "I've learned to live with it."
She pulled back to look at him. His expression was softer than she'd ever seen it—open and vulnerable and full of something that looked like wonder.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you too." He set her down but didn't let go. "I need you to understand something. This isn't a trial period. I'm not waiting to see if it works out. You're my mate, Edie, and that means something to me."
"What does it mean?"
"Permanence. Commitment." He hesitated, then pushed forward. "A promise."
Her heart stuttered. "What kind of promise?"
"The kind that lasts forever." His eyes searched her face. "Does that scare you?"
It should have.
Three months ago, it would have sent her running for the camper so fast she'd have left skid marks. But standing here, in the condo that was somehow theirs now, surrounded by her meager possessions and his organized existence and the strange magic they created together…
"No," she said softly. "It doesn't scare me."
His smile could have lit up the whole town.
That evening, they had dinner at the counter because Edie's sketches for the new mural at the community center had taken over the dining table again. He didn't say a word about it.
