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Alice

“ H ey, sunshine,” he said, and she sleepily rolled over.

Taylor was bending down next to the bed, caressing her cheek. “I’m headed into morning skate. I’ll be home when I’m done.”

“Okay,” she said as he bent in closer, giving her a quick kiss.

He stood and turned to leave.

Her sleepy mind decided to say “I love you” as the door clicked behind him.

She froze, her heart stuttering.

Did he hear her? Did it matter? If he had heard her and then just left, that wasn’t good. The spiral was starting to sink in, and there was nothing she could do about it now. There had been a time when she would have followed that spiral all the way down to rock bottom, but she decided it was not the time for that.

He didn’t hear you , she told herself, although sometimes, that voice in the back of her mind was an asshole. That voice was saying, He did hear you, and you freaked him out. Who falls in love after two months? He’s going to leave. He’s going to tell you none of this was real, and it was all in your imagination.

“No,” she said, sitting up. She took three deep cleansing breaths and told herself this was real.

He told you it was real, and he wouldn’t lie .

With those words forcibly playing in her head, trying to drown out the asshole voice, she got out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen. She poured herself a cup of coffee, took a burrito from his fridge, and popped in the microwave.

While it cooked, she enjoyed the morning sun. She made her way to her new studio to see what the radiant beams would look like there. As she cracked the door open, the room was awash in its illumination. Everything had a warm, inviting glow, and in an hour, the light would be absolutely perfect. Part of her still couldn’t believe he did this for her, but when she thought about it, of course he did. He seemed to understand her in a way no one ever had before.

She walked over to have a good look at the crafting closet he had put together for her. Everything she needed was here to make jewelry. She decided she would work on a necklace Evie had said she liked. She wasn’t sure how she would do this, but with someone believing in her, she thought she just might do it this time.

First things first, she needed to organize what was in the closet. He’d done a great job, but it wasn’t quite right. She cranked up music and got to work. Once she was done, the light coming in through the window was perfect. She got out her paints and started on a painting inspired by the team and Mr. Wizard.

As she painted, the world fell away, and she was totally in her zone. Before long, she was dancing around, paint brush in hand, to Starship and singing and painting and existing in her perfect little bubble. She had no idea how long she’d been doing this because all time ceased to exist when she was in the zone like she was.

During the crescendo of the song, she spun, only to see a tall figure lurking in the doorway. She screamed and clutched her chest when Taylor’s smiling face finally registered.

Then he did something that surprised her. He walked in, sang the male part of the song, and reached for her to dance with him. She grinned and sang and danced. And just like the song said, the world around them could fall apart. Nothing that wasn’t in this room mattered to her.

She still wasn’t sure if he heard her or not this morning, but it didn’t seem to matter anyway.

When the song finished, he said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Then he went to pull her in for a hug.

“Don’t hug me,” she said, reaching up on her toes to kiss him. “I have paint on me.”

“Well, whenever you’re ready for a break, I brought home some lunch. I’m going to eat and watch some game videos before I take a nap.”

“Okay, I’ll just finish up here and clean up and join you. If you don’t mind, that is... I don’t wanna mess with game-day habits.”

“Alice, I always want you with me,” he said, cupping her cheek and dropping a sweet kiss on her mouth.

He turned and left.

Alice couldn’t help it. She closed her eyes and sank into the giddy feeling that had taken over her life since he turned up on her doorstep. With the biggest, goofiest smile, she walked over to the canvas to finish things up before heading out to clean up.

Taylor was on the couch, grain bowl in hand, watching videos of the team he would be playing.

“I’m just going to go clean up. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay, I’ll heat up your food.”

“Thanks,” she said as she disappeared into the room to wash her hands and changed her paint splattered shirt.

“Ummm, babe. Did you eat breakfast?” Taylor asked, showing up in the doorway with an amused smirk.

“Ummm, yeah, I think. Why?”

He showed her the plate with a rock-hard burrito.

She just chuckled and shook her head. “Oops. I meant to eat but then I just got to work in the studio.”

“I see how it is. Maybe my morning text should involve a reminder to eat.”

“Ya know, that’s not a bad idea.”

“What am I going to do with you?” he said, shaking his head.

“Just love me, I guess,” she said, trying to be funny without even thinking about what she was saying.

His gaze took a serious turn, and she was regretting saying that, but then he said, “I do.”

All the breath left Alice’s body.

“What?”

“I do love you, Alice.”

“You do?” she asked with a grin, once again, stretching across her face.

“I do.”

“I love you, too, Taylor,” she said, running into his arms.

He was so strong and sturdy he just absorbed her and hugged her and pulled her face up for a kiss.

He deepened the kiss, and Alice snaked her arms around him and slipped a hand under his shirt, feeling the smooth warmth from his back.

“Let’s get you some food before this gets out of hand.”

“Good idea. We don’t need another meal wasting away in the microwave.”

She squeaked when he smacked her ass as she went to the kitchen, got her grain bowl, then returned and settled in beside Taylor on the couch.

Nothing had ever felt this right in her entire life. She belonged here with him, and the thought that he agreed settled deep in her.

He loved her. She wasn’t wrong this time.

The grin was permanently etched on her face, and she thought it just might stay that way forever.