He chuckled and looked down, scuffing the pavement with his boot. “Good old Joan.” No wonder she sounded so cryptic when he’d called.
“She looks out for you.”
“I suppose I need looking after now and again.”
Layla tucked her hair into her coat collar when a gust of wind swirled around the corner of the building. She pulled her hood over her head.
“Listen, Brant. I’m really sorry. For all the times I was mean. For all the times I heard something other than what you’ve been trying to tell me all along.”
“What’s that?”
“That you cared about me. I didn’t give you an honest second chance. I was too busy looking for you to fail me again.”
Brant let his shoulders fall as he glanced up at the blue sky and let out a big breath. He’d lost count how many times he’d wished for a do-over of that night last winter. But here she was, telling him she wanted to make it work despite his mistakes and her misunderstandings.
“I’m willing to move on if you are.”
The wide grin lighting up her face gave him the answer he’d hoped for. “I am,” she murmured.
His ability to speak was near impossible again. If she didn’t turn around at that moment to look at the Starlight Cafe, he might have gotten lost in her eyes.
She squinted into the sun as she looked up at the panel. “What is this anyway?”
“A marriage proposal.”
Her expression piqued with interest as she turned to him. “Seriously?”
“No joke.”
She stared at it long and hard until she gave a small shudder. “I can’t imagine a more frightening scenario.”
He was a little shocked. “What, getting married?”
“No, not that. It’s so”—she stretched her arms wide—“public.”
“Ahh. Not into the whole PDA thing, are you?”
She shook her head. “It should be a private moment.”
He looked at her profile while her attention was still on the panel. The shadows on the delicate skin underneath her eyes had faded. Her eyes were bright, full of a little mischief. He wondered what had changed her mind about him.
Jeff whistled. He’d finished securing the last cable on the roof. Brant stuck his thumb in the air as the go-ahead signal. A few seconds later the panel lit up. If they hadn’t been looking directly at the panel, they would have missed the message when it flashed:Elena, Will You Marry Me?Brant gave Jeff another thumbs up to turn it off. He couldn’t chance someone seeing it then spreading the word to the bride-to-be.
He caught Layla smiling. “Not such a scary prospect after all?” he asked.
“It’s charming. Just not for me.”
“So does asking you to have dinner with me tonight while we stand on a busy street corner count as a public display of affection?”
She clasped his hand as it hung by his side. Her fingers intertwined with his, and Brant reveled in the spirals of pleasure flooding his senses. It was so good to be close to her again. The feelings he’d wrangled with during the ten days they hadn’t spoken were ones he didn’t want to revisit. He was ready to discover all there was to know about Layla Dean since he’d wasted so much time already.
Layla leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. Her lips, inches from his, were pinkened by the cold. He’d never tire of the way her eyes softened when she held his gaze.
“As long as the question isn’t lit up on the side of a building, you’re good,” she said.
He pulled her closer. “In that case, will you have dinner with me tonight?” he whispered while he brushed his lips against hers.
Layla’s eyes closed, her body conforming more solidly to his own. A small smile curved her lips.
