Matthew’s hold on me gently. “Me too. But she’ll tell us what’s going on.”
I relaxed, comforted. “So . . . you went to the grocery store.”
“And cooked some dinner.”
My eyes widened. “You cooked for me?”
He grinned. “Yeah. Well, we’ve been promising each other a date, you know. And it hadn’t happened yet, so I decided this was a good night for it.”
“Wow,” I murmured. “You’re spoiling me.”
“Well, you are a brat.”
I smirked and leaned in, kissing him again. “I am with you. We can talk through kinks for real too.”
“Exactly. Kick off your shoes. Get comfy. I kind of wish Lucky was with you.”
My chest immediately warmed and for some reason, that made my eyes sting. But god, Lucky had saved me, and for someone I was into to care about him too . . .
“I don’t know what I’m going to do when I fall in love with you,” I blurt out.
Matthew’s mouth dropped and now I was blushing.
“I just mean . . .if. Of course. It’s too soon for that.” I was backtracking. “Sorry.”
Matthew reached for me, cupping either side of my face. “For someone as confident, flirty, and sexy as you are, I will never understand why you start to apologize when you’re being authentic. I don’t know if it’s too soon. I don’t really care about living on a theoretical timeline.” He kissed me slowly, gently, working me until I was putty in his hands. “I want to know you, Nick. Come have dinner with me and tell me all the things you haven’t yet.”
“Only if you do too,” I sniffled.
“Of course, baby.”
Baby.My breath hitched as I took off my shoes. God, who was I fucking kidding? I was one hundred percent already fully in love, I just didn’t want to admit it yet. At least not completely.Ugh, I was all gooey and mushy inside every time I was around him.
I followed Matthew to the kitchen right as the oven beeped. My eyes wandered around his place and I started smiling. He was such a nerd. I never would have guessed, but he had figurines too.
“I hope you like lasagna,” he said.
“I do. Thank you for making food. I’ll cook for our next date,” I offered.
“Deal. It’d be nice to finally see your place.”
“You’ll see it Friday,” I promised. “It’s not super impressive currently. Kind of empty, but still a mess? I like your place more.”
“Have you ever had a regular home before?”
I fell silent. No one had ever asked me that. And the truth was, no. Certainly not growing up.
“It takes a while,” Matthew continued as he made us plates. “This place didn’t feel right for the first few months. I had to buy a lot of new furniture and rearrange a couple times. And well . . . Part of the reason I moved out here was because I had a girlfriend named Amanda who grew up in Whynot, but she passed away.”
My gaze dropped to the locket around his neck. I’d always wanted to ask. “Is that for her?” I asked softly.
He nodded, his eyes filling with anguish.
“I’m so sorry, Matthew,” I said. My chest tightened. “I can’t imagine.”
“Moving out here felt right,” he said. “But it took me a long time to settle my own ghosts, you know?”
“I do.”
