Page 113 of Only Lovers in the Building

@Pam909: Why is my heart crushed just listening to this? I love them so much omg . . . I’m crying.

@Books&Wine: If these two get married, BookTap followers should get an invite. We are DAY 1 Lily & Ben stans!!!!!

Chapter Twenty-Nine

For days, Mother Nature blessed them with torrential downpours. The rooftop bar was closed and the streets flooded. There was nowhere to go. Where the tourists cursed their dumb luck, taking refuge under awnings, helpless as their beach days dissolved in the waterlogged sand, Lily and Ben were content and cozy in his apartment. They had books, food delivery apps, and each other. They needed little else. When they weren’t reading, they wrote. When they weren’t reading or writing, they made love. When they weren’t making love, they ate in bed and watched movies. If they weren’t doing any of those things, they slept in each other’s arms, more peacefully than newborn babes.

One afternoon, Lily stirred awake from a nap with one word in mind: soulmate. Last night’s film was an adaptation of a fantasy romance in which a village girl was married off to a foreign prince. Separated after the wedding night, they were desperate to reunite. They traveled through time, flew dragons, fought wars, and led armies, all just to find each other again. When they were finally reunited, there was no question that the unlikely pair were each other’s soulmates.

What was she willing to do to be with Ben? No time travel was required, but she’d have to relocate. Would she leave the city of her dreams? Give up her affordable sublet in the East Village? And what about him? Would he be willing to make room on his dusty shelves for her bright pink books? Add her degrees to his wall? Were they even soulmates? It would have to be ordained from the start, proclaimed in some prophecy, recorded on an ancient scroll or the walls of a cave. That was generally how it worked.

Ben was asleep at her side. Lily propped herself up on an elbow and gazed down at him. He slept on his back, his face turned away from her. Her heart ached as she regarded his features. She’d never experienced anything like this, the rush of love and the fear of loss. What had he called it? Exquisite pain.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, eyes shut.

“Nothing,” she replied. “I’m dumbstruck by your animal magnetism. I can’t hold a thought in my mind.”

He stirred, rolled onto his side to face her. Eyes still closed, he repeated the question. “What were you thinking about? Don’t bother lying, Lily. I could hear the gears grinding.”

His voice was rough with sleep, which she adored. “I was thinking about you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What about me?”

“You make me happy,” she replied.

He reached out blindly and dropped a hand on her waist. “Tell me how.”

“I’m more myself with you.”

“That’s beautiful,” he murmured. “What else?”

“I love reading with you.”

Finally, he blinked open his eyes. “What else do you love?”

“Your love for stories. Your appetite for details.”

“What else?”

“I love your little notes. I’ll never throw them away.”

He laughed. “Want to know what I love about you?”

“Yes.”

“Everything.”

It wasn’t a stirring declaration of love. Who knew? Maybe he would’ve made one if she hadn’t pounced on him and crushed her mouth to his. They tossed aside the pillows and sunk into each other as rain pounded at the windows and the gray sky turned into night.

Sunday morning brought back the sunshine. But it took a string of text messages to draw Lily out of a deep slumber.

Brunch! Brunch! Brunch! Brunch!

Meet us at 10:30!

Come out of hiding!!

Mimosas aren’t going to pour themselves!!!!