"What?"
"Just... shut up for a second."
She's crying, tears streaming down her cheeks as she stares at me like I've just performed some kind of miracle.
"You organized a charity night. For my shelter." She laughs through her tears, the sound watery as she shakes her head repeatedly. "I can't believe you did that."
"Believe it. Lucy's been posting about it non-stop, I'm surprised she didn't give away the surprise. We might actually raise enough to get you that new AC unit you've been needing."
"Ryder..." She shakes her head, like she can't quite process what I'm telling her. "This is too much. I can't let you—"
"Yes, you can." I cup her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing away the tears on her cheeks. "You've been carrying this alone for too long, Mia. Let me help. Let the whole damn town help."
"Why?" she whispers. "After everything that happened, why would you do this for me?"
"Because I love you," I say simply. "I never stopped loving you, Mia. And I know I have no right to say that after what I did, and I don't expect you to say it back. But it's true. It's been true every single day for eight years."
Her breath catches, and for a heartbeat, neither of us moves.
Then she rises up on her skates and kisses me.
It's soft at first, tentative, like she's testing the waters. But when I respond, when my arms come around her waist and pull her closer, she melts against me with a small sound that goes straight to my soul.
This kiss is everything I remembered and nothing like I remembered at the same time. She tastes like hot chocolate and possibilities, and when her fingers tangle in my hair, eight years of longing pour out of me all at once.
We're still on skates, still in the middle of a public rink, but none of that matters.
Nothing matters except the feel of her in my arms, the feeling of the way she fits against me, and the feeling that right now… here in this moment, it's like no time has passed at all.
Chapter Eight
Mia
"And then… I kissed him."
The words tumble out of my mouth like a confession at Sunday service. Emma nearly drops the tray of cinnamon rolls she's pulling from the industrial oven in the back kitchen of Chapter and Grind.
"You WHAT?!" She sets the tray down with a clatter and spins around, flour dusting her apron. "Well, smack my ass and call me Betty. Did Mia Harper just say she kissed Ryder Scott?"
"Technically, I saidIkissed him. Last night. On ice skates."
I'm perched on a stool at the prep counter, supposedly helping Emma get ready for the morning rush, but mostly just stealing bits of dough and having an existential crisis.
"Which actually sounds ridiculous when I say it out loud."
"It soundsromantic," Emma corrects, abandoning her pastries entirely to grab my shoulders. "Holy shit, Mia! You kissed him! After years of stubborn denial and 'I don't need anyone' speeches, you actually kissed the man!"
"Don't make it sound like some grand romantic gesture," I protest, even though my cheeks are heating up. "It was... impulsive. Heat of the moment. He told me he organized a charity night for the shelter, and I just... lost my mind temporarily."
"Temporarily?" Emma's grin is diabolical. "Babe, you've been making heart eyes at that man since he walked back into town. This was inevitable."
I groan and bury my face in my hands. "I'm an idiot."
Emma laughs and returns to her cinnamon rolls, but I can feel her practically vibrating with excitement.
"So? How was it?" She asks. "The kiss, I mean. Was it like... movie kiss good? Or awkward 'we haven't done this in forever' good?"
Oh God.
