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“Take a couple of weeks off and go on something like a bread tour of Europe.”

“A bread tour?”

“Yeah! Well, bread and pastries.” He grinned and I could see the excitement lighting up his eyes. “Think about it, we could take the train and go to a bunch of different cities all across Europe and try as many different breads and pastries as we can find! And depending on what time of year we went, there would definitely be a bunch of seasonal ones too.”

“That would actually be really fun,” I said, putting my notebook on the floor and holding my arm out for him to slide under it. He took the hint and put his laptop down before scooching across the seats and cuddling in next to me. It was my favourite place in the world for him to be, and I couldn’t see that changing.

“Right? And if we plan far enough in advance, I can brush up on some extra languages. I was thinking we’d definitely have to include Germany, France, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands. Hmmm, I’m sure we could work out at least a couple of trains. We could get over to Spain and Portugal too if we flew…” He lifted his hand and I could see him working out how we could get from place to place, mentally mapping it out across Europe.

I smiled and kissed the top of his head softly. I loved how excited Jace got about things, how he cherished every second of our lives together and always wanted to fill them with joy. It had been two years since he’d first appeared outside the window of Toasty, and every day I thanked my lucky stars that I’d looked up and seen him.

Together, we’d built the perfect, cosy life—the sort I’d never imagined actually having or even wanting, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I’d moved into Jace’s little flat by the river, and we’d bought a super-king-sized bed so I wouldn’t disturb him if I had to get up while he was asleep, because as much as I loved cuddling him, we preferred our own space when we were both asleep. He translated books, I baked bread, and sometimes he’d come with me to work and sit in the corner of the kitchen with his laptop while I made croissants, going home when Charley arrived and coming back to collect me at eleven.

We’d watch films together on rainy afternoons or read books under blankets. I taught him how to bake and he started teaching me German and French. Our date nights were long lunches and extravagant breakfasts, and sometimes we’d have breakfast together at two in the morning when I got up for work.

We worked around his insomnia, and on the weeks when it was bad and he only managed two hours of sleep a night, I’d do my best to help him relax. I’d even offered to get a separate bed in another room, but Jace declined because he insisted he’d be lonely. And it wasn’t like he disturbed me when he sat up reading with the bedside lamp on, because I slept like the fucking dead.

We’d even talked about getting a cat, and there was a list of potential names pinned to the fridge that we kept adding to. Half of them were bread based, and I smiled every time I saw that Jace had written another on the bottom.

Jace was the home I’d spent my youth searching for, the anchor point in my life that held me fast, and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him beside me.

“You know,” I said, when there was a brief pause. Jace looked up at me, smiling softly like the first time we’d met, and I had to swallow before I tripped over my tongue. “It sounds like we’d need at least three weeks, and something like that… well… it’d make a nice honeymoon. If you fancied it?”

Jace stared at me, his smile widening, and then he settled back into my arms with his head against my chest, letting out a satisfied sigh. “I’d love that. Although…”

“Although what?”

“I think you’re missing a question.”

I chuckled. “Fancy getting married then?”

He looked up at me and nodded, “Yeah, all right then.”

I grinned and kissed the top of his head again, happiness radiating through me. “Good. And when we go on this bread tour, I want to make sure we try as many croissants as possible.”

“Obviously,” he said. “Where would we be without croissants?”