You Deserve Each Other

“I say it all the time, I just say it very, very quietly. I tell you when you’re in another room, or right after we hang up the phone. I tell you when you’ve got headphones on. I say it after you shut the door behind you. I say it in my head every time you look at me.”

the second time we were strangers

’m a miserable cynic (a newer development) and a dreamy romantic (always have been), and it’s such a terrible combination that I don’t know how to tolerate myself.

“You should go out with me tonight,” he says casually, not breaking eye contact as he sends the ball skittering down his lane.

He gazes down on me. “Say you love me?” he whispers.

“Sure.” He smiles at me, and my stomach does a little flip. He’s got cute, wavy brown hair that curls slightly where it falls across his forehead, and an honest smile. Kind eyes.

His hand is warm as it passes through my hair. His eyes are so tender that my muscles involuntarily relax, fingers uncurling. He buries his face in my throat and inhales. “God, I’ve missed you. Naomi.”

“I’ve missed you everywhere.”

“What are you doing home?” I blink several times, waiting for him to disappear. I’m still dreaming.

“You missed me.”

“You came home because I missed you?”

He’s got his elbow bent on the pillow, palm under the back of his head, watching me fathomlessly. His other hand drapes across his stomach. “Yes.”

“Nicholas told me it was going to save you. She’s worth the pain of trying, is how he put it. Worth the risk of failing.”