box of chocolates and my eyes go wide. This is so much more than I expected. My hand presses to my chest. I feel faint.
But like, actually faint.
My knees go wobbly, and Matt must notice because he drops everything and rushes to me, scooping me up in his arms. He carries me to a bench in the restaurant and lays me down, cradling my head in his hand. “God, are you okay?”
I exhale, blinking slowly. “I think so… You just… surprised me.”
He frowns. “You didn’t think I’d be coming back?”
I breathe him in. He smells like a man, like sweat and sandalwood and a cologne that reminds me of a hike I took once in the Redwoods of California. Not that I’ve been on a hike in years.
“I hoped you would but… I’m not the kind of girl who gets her hopes up too high.”
“And why’s that?” he asks, leaning closer, searching my eyes, as if trying to memorize my very thoughts.
“I know how hard it is when I get let down.” I close my eyes, thinking of the last few years.
“Your brother said you’ve been through hell.”
“Ovarian cancer.” I know the two little words will change the way this strong and capable man sees me. But still, I say them anyways. I’m tired of being half the girl I was. Not saying what I want, what I need. I won’t push this man away. This man who brought me roses and chocolates and who lifted me up, quite literally, so I wouldn’t fall.
“Shit, Bella. You really have been through hell.”
“I’m in remission. Two years. I’ll be okay.”
He runs a hand over my cheek. An intimate gesture, but I don’t shy away from his touch. In fact, my heart slows, my breathing steadies. I welcome it. It’s like I’m ready for it. Ready for him.
“My mom had breast cancer,” he says. “I know how hard it was, how hard she fought. You’re a survivor, Bella. Thank God for that.”
“Is she alive? Your mom?”
He nods. “She is. And so are you.”
“Tony, my brother, he thinks I’m gonna break. But he’s wrong. I’m stronger than he thinks. In his mind, I’m keeping everything in — but I’m not.”
“No?” Matt takes my hand. My fingers wrap around his as if this is something we’ve done a hundred times before. “You have someone to talk to?”
I nod. “Not to get personal, but I have a therapist at my doctor’s office. She helped me process losing my parents when I was a teenager, then getting sick. Everything.” I don’t know why I'm so blunt with him… but I think I’m testing him. Wanting to see how he is going to take my truth. I need a man who isn’t scared by it. I need a man who sees me as strong. An asset, not a liability.
“That’s good,” he says. “I work out most days to clear my head. We all need a way to deal with our shit, ya know?”
I lick my lips, sitting up, and he sits next to me. “You really wanted my number?”
He smiles. Shakes his head. “I wanted more than your number. I wanted… hell, when I saw you yesterday, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
I roll my eyes. But he takes my face in his hand. “Don’t do that — dismiss my truth. You are, Mirabella. You are something out of a fairy tale. Dark eyes, dark hair, curves that make me…”
“Make you what?” I ask, biting my lip.
“Make me need —” He stops talking then. And instead he pulls me in his arms and kisses me. Soft. So, so soft. I melt against him, his lips the first I’ve ever kissed. His lips the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted.
My eyes are closed, my heart hums, a whimper escapes me, coming from somewhere deep within.
Finally, we pull apart.
“What happens next?” I ask, my voice a whisper, just as I hear the back door of the shop open.
Matt smiles. “Tonight, you come to Angelina’s on Perry Avenue at eight.”
He stands, takes my hand and kisses the top of it. And then he walks right out the door.
Leaving me breathless, speechless, and utterly smitten.
Chapter Four
Matt
I walk away, grinning like a fool in love. Crazy, maybe, but I know she is the one for me. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and her heart — damn, what a precious thing. But I have a feeling that isn’t how she acts with