Tilly continues talking with the girl, complimenting her dress and her hair.
I see the mom tuning up to us, apologizing.
“No worries, your daughter is extremely smart.” She smiles, and the mom walks away.
When she catches me staring, she grins.
“What?” she asks softly.
I shake my head, smiling a little. “Nothing.”
“Liar.”
“You’re gonna call me out in public?” I tease.
“Absolutely. You have that face.”
“What face?”
“The one that means you’re about to say something cheesy,” she laughs.
I chuckle under my breath, leaning back in my chair. “You’d know.”
She rests her chin in her hands, smiling at me across the table. “Okay, then say it. Whatever you were not gonna say.”
I look at her for a moment — the light flickering in her eyes, the warmth of her hand still resting in mine, that little curve in her lips that always makes me forget words exist.
“I love you.”
She blushes. And then, like it’s the most natural thing in the world, she smiles — soft, genuine, glowing.
“I love you too.”
Paris, Luca, ice cream, love.
Everything you have ever dreamed of.
It feels nice, doesn’t it?
Living in a Liana Cincotti book.
Experiencing a Taylor Swift song.
Having a Jenny Han boyfriend.
You deserve all of it. Every good thing that is happening to you right now, every single thing, is well deserved.
Not because you did something, but because you are special.
You are irreplaceable, Tilly.
There is no other one like you.
And everyone around you sees that.
Chapter 32
Tilly
