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I got another smile from him that felt like sunlight on my skin. “The five of us live together—me, Luce, Quinn, Rami, and Alaric. You’ll meet Ric soon. We’ve built our own little band of brothers.”

My chest grew tight. “That sounds nice. All I had was Deva,” I heard myself admit without thinking. “Which was great, of course. I just think siblings might’ve been cool too.”

“Deva?” I felt his eyes studying the side of my face while I watched the sidewalk pass under my feet.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “My aunt. She raised me.” I took a quick breath and sighed it out. “She died in May.”

Bellamy pulled me a little closer and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I’m sorry,” he murmured into my hair before straightening. “Tell me about her?”

Hot tears pressed against the backs of my eyes, moved by Bel’s interest. “You’re kind of perfect, you know that?” I leaned into his shoulder. “She’d have liked you. Loved cooking. We were always in the kitchen together.”

He made a soft hum. “Maybe you could teach me some of the recipes you made with her?”

“I’d like that.”

When we reached the restaurant, cleverly called Urban Forager, Bellamy requested a bistro table in the little patio section out front. It was separated from the street and sidewalk by black iron fencing topped with planter boxes overflowing with bright blooms. Garden lights were strung from the main building to taller posts around the patio like a canopy.

I peeked at Bel while we waited for a table to get cleaned up, and my heart beat a little faster, palms itching with sudden nerves. This was it, the ‘normal’ I’d been craving my entire life. Going out on a date, holding hands, fearless.

But the fear settled in anyway. Fear that it was a lie. Fear of losing it all before I even had a chance to know what it meant. I pressed my eyes shut and forced a slow exhale. Bellamy angled us to face each other, and I opened my eyes to find concern in his.

“Hey, you okay? We don’t have to do this if it’s too crowded and making you uncomfortable.” He swept his knuckles with a featherlight touch along my jaw. My anxiety settled a little, but my smile still felt weak.

“Just nervous, I guess. I’ve never done this before. And you know peopling isn’t in my skill set.”

“It’s just you and me,” he said, echoing the same sentiment he used when we met, as we were led to the table. “No people.” He pulled out my chair for me, and my smile strengthened.

“He cooks, and he’s a gentleman,” I teased as I sat. He laughed, and I picked up my menu to hide my blush. I didn’t understand a damn thing that had happened over the past couple of weeks, but I was realizing that I had two options:

Cling to fear and resist?

Or embrace the adventure and see where it goes.

What the hell. Let’s have an adventure.

20

CORDELIA

“What was that?” Bellamy was still watching me.

“Nothing!” I smiled and set the menu down. Guess I’d said that out loud.

A server stopped next to the table. “Hey guys, I’m Connor. I’ll be taking care of you today.” His friendly gaze moved between Bellamy and me as he spoke before coming back to me. “Can I grab you a drink to get started with?”

“I’ll have a gin and tonic, please,” I said, channeling Deva’s spirit with her favorite cocktail to celebrate the occasion.

“Excellent choice.” Connor turned to Bellamy. “For you?”

“I’ll have a pint of the pilsner.”

“Nice. That’s one of my favorites. Can I just check your IDs really quick?”

Bel pulled his wallet out of his pocket while I dug mine out of my purse. I took a minute, but when I finally handed it over, Connor’s smile was nothing but patient. He glanced over it, and his smile widened.

“Happy birthday!” he exclaimed as he handed it back. “I’ll bring you a dessert on the house after your meal. Be back in just a few with those drinks.”

I muttered a thank you before tucking my ID away. When I finally looked back up at Bellamy, he was fighting a grin.