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“You’re twenty-three, so I’m not sure ‘in your time’ applies. We’ve both dated others. That’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s how we find our?—”

“Soul mate,” she finishes as if the concept is as starry-eyed as she is right now. I’m the lucky guy on the receiving end of those ocean blues. “This isn’t a fly-by-night relationship. Not for me. It may be new, but I can tell there will be damage left behind.”

“Not if I have a say.”

“My exes grew tired and cheated.” She tosses that out there like a threat, putting distance between us as she moves across the empty room.

I call her on this bullshit. “I’m not one of them.”

“No, you’re accomplished and attractive, very attractive, but you’re good inside and out. You’re a lawyer, for God’s sake. You can have your choice of women to date, Nick.” How do I get her to understand that my occupation doesn’t make me the man I am? What words will convince her that in the months we were separated, my heart had felt half-full as if something—someone—was missing?

“I don’t want other women, Natalie. I want you.”Probably forever.

Throwing her arms into the air, she asks, “Why? Maybe that’s where I’m lost. The sex is incredible, but that’s not what a good foundation is built on.”

“No, it’s built on something deeper, something we possess—a connection like no other. I felt that connection the moment we met. So you can throw out all the reasons you think we won’t work out, but what I won’t let you do is put words into my mouth.”

“I don’t want you to find out that I’m not who you thought I was.” Her voice is so soft, but I’m listening to every word.

“Who are you?”

“Catalina was frivolous fun. New York a chance encounter that led us to think we can be more.” She sits on the large windowsill, so small compared to the world that’s on the other side of the glass. But I hate that she feels small. I never want that for her. “I’m just a girl with her heart on the line.”

I kneel in front of her. Taking her hands in mine, I say, “You’ve been hurt, but I won’t be the one to cause you pain.” Her eyes are glassy, and I’m still not fully aware of why she’s upset. “Who treated you less than you deserve?”

As if I’ve said the magic words to unlock the Pandora’s box in her heart, she replies, “Everyone.” Leaning in, I wrap my arms around her back and bring her against me. She rests her head on my shoulder. “My last two boyfriends cheated on me.”

“That’s not about you. They’re just assholes.”

The slightest of smiles shapes her lips but falls just as quick again as she gazes into the distance. “My parents.” I’m hit with a glare, not intuitively bad upon inspection, but a secret she’s held that she’s not ready to reveal.

“You can tell me anything, and I’ll never feel less about you.” A humorless chuckle chokes in my throat. “I feel . . . there’s so much I feel and have wanted to tell you.”

Cupping my face, she looks at me, reflecting the same emotion in her expression that I feel inside, pain seen in the downward turn of her mouth but so full of love in her eyes. “Me too. It feels natural, not forced. That’s different and new for me, like everything with you. I’ve almost said it so many times after our calls or even last time you were in New York.”

I find myself nodding, knowing that’s when I almost said it as well. “I love you.” I put it out there, tired of holding back my deep-seated feelings for her. She’s ingrained inside me, a part of me that I know I’ll never be able to wash away, so I’ll own the emotions starting today.

Her hands fall from my face, and I miss their warmth already. “Nick . . .”

“You don’t have to say it in return or anything. I know you feel it as well. That’s enough to sustain me until you’re ready.”

“I love you.”Quick. Simple. Direct.Like mine.

Her confession elicits my smile without permission as if my whole wiring is in tune with her words. “Well, there we have it. Two fools who fell in love too fast for the rest of the world.” I sit on the sill next to her and caress her face, admiring her strength for sharing so much of herself. Her beauty is deeper than the surface of her skin. It’s found in her words and how she looks at me like I’m everything.

Covering my hands, she adds, “But it’s not too fast for us.”

“No, I’d say we’re right on time.”

21

Nick

Food motivates Natalie.

She’s been pretty vocal about her hunger pangs. We all get a little cranky when we’re hungry. But after devouring the food I brought, we remain sprawled out on the floor of the apartment on a blanket. Fed, she’s a whole new person and is back to her usual talkative self. “I love cookies as much as the next person, but can they really land a man? Asking for business purposes, of course.” She laughs and waves her arm through the air expressively. “I sound like Carrie Bradshaw.”Must be one of her friends.

“I suppose it depends on the type of cookies.”