say was crucial to their existence. And no one had ever looked at me like this.
Like I was the most important person in the world.
Like I was the only person in the world.
And there were some silences, but never the bad kind. Just the peaceful kind.
It was unseasonably warm and we sat out under the sun for hours, until my stomach started growling.
“You want to go grab some food?” he asked.
My heart squeezed like it had just been put through a juicer. I stared at him for a full moment because—he made it so easy.
How did he do that?
His lips hitched up on one side in that way I was truly starting to love. I was starting to think of it as my smile—the one that was just for me.
I had no idea if that was true or not, but that’s how it felt to be on the receiving end. LIke it was meant just for me.
“What?” he asked, reaching over to nudge me gently. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
I gave my head a little shake. I almost ignored the question outright, but decided to be honest. “You just make this feel so easy,” I said.
He arched a brow. “This?”
I nodded, heat rushing to my cheeks. I wasn’t about to spell out what ‘this’ was, thank you very much. I was so not ready to have that conversation. “This,” I said again.
His eyes sparkled with laughter. How had I ever thought he was intimidating? This guy was warmth personified. Sometimes that heat was sexy, sometimes it was affectionate, and sometimes—my mind flashed back to that interaction with Alex earlier—yeah, sometimes that heat was dangerous.
But he wasn’t a bad guy, and he wasn’t the druggie loser Alex had made him out to be all these years when he talked about Cristian to his friends.
“What do I make easy?” he asked. Mischief looked good on him and I smiled back as I answered.
“I just meant…this.” I gestured between us. “It’s easy to be around you. It’s easy to…” Gah! I was going to say it, wasn’t I? My cheeks burned as I blurted out. “It’s easy to flirt.”
His smile was slow and made my belly bottom out as air rushed into my lungs. Holy freakin’ crow, he was sexy when he smiled like that.
“And here I was thinking you were the one who made it easy,” he said. “You’re so great to talk to.”
I pressed my lips together as another blush stole up into my cheeks. “Thanks.”
I’d never had issues talking to guys, but that wasn’t what I’d meant. What I’d meant was—after three years of trying to get Alex to see me, Cristian had noticed me without me even trying.
I mean, sure, maybe tears and a hysterical meltdown had that effect on people. It was hard not to notice a nutjob who stormed into your house and fell asleep on top of you, I supposed.
But after spending countless hours reading ‘how to’ articles and devising strategies, this thing between me and Cristian just seemed too good to be true. It was more effortless than I could’ve imagined and more...fun than I knew love could be.
Not that I was ready to call this love.
But whatever it was...it felt like a start. A beginning. It felt like we were just touching the tip of the iceberg.
And I couldn’t wait to discover more.
“Come on,” he said, jerking his head toward the front where the cars were parked. “My treat.”
Just then Buttercup decided to wail and we both looked to her with exasperated sighs.
“I’m not sure any restaurant would be much fun right now,” I said. “But, I do have some frozen pizzas in the freezer if you’re interested.”
He smiled. “That sounds great.”
And that was how I ended up making dinner with Cristian...and Buttercup. Like we were one big happy family.
I watched him pour a prepackaged salad into a bowl and had to smother a laugh of sheer happiness.
The crazy thing was—this was exactly the type of homey, cozy scene I’d imagined when I’d come up with this plan for me and Alex.
And yet...I didn’t miss Alex at all. If he was here I would have been nervous and I had no idea what I would have talked to him about. And I just knew that no matter what I said, it wouldn't have held his interest.
Alex wouldn’t have been interested.
I got that now. Like, right this second it clicked and I understood.
All these years, I’d been right there in front of