We Have Till Dawn - Cara Dee Page 0,62
seconds-long look he gave me made me grin.
“Fine, by your standards, maybe I am social,” I chuckled. “My point is, I love staying at home. It’s what I prefer. I wanna have movie nights and make dinner together and just be with you.” I eased the pad of my thumb over the worry lines between his eyebrows. “We also never stay out very long, my friends and I. We’re busy with our own lives. Most of the time, it’s a couple drinks, and then someone’s yawning because they’ve had a long day.”
Some of the tension left his shoulders, and he leaned forward to drop his forehead to my shoulder.
“I already know you’re picky and not flexible.” I kissed the side of his head. “I’m the opposite, so chances are I won’t fight you if you have a strong preference. And sometimes we’ll compromise. Sometimes I’ll push. We’ll talk, we’ll make mistakes, we’ll even fight, but as long as we have each other’s backs and wanna be together, we’ll work things out.”
He hummed. “You make it sound easy. I hate embarrassing myself, not to mention others. What if I embarrass you? I need breaks sometimes, you know. If it’s too loud in a restaurant, I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, but…and please don’t take offense, but if the display between you and your father after the concert is any indication of what a Sunday dinner is like, what if—I mean—how—” He cursed and stumbled over his words.
“Hey. Look at me, honey.” I cupped his cheeks and got him to stop hiding against my neck. “First of all, it’s impossible to embarrass me. Second of all, I want us to be a team. If it’s that important to you to be discreet about wanting a breather, we’ll come up with a system. You can signal to me whenever you need to duck out for a moment, and we’ll take turns coming up with excuses. Maybe I’ll send you down to the car to get something, or maybe you can step outside with Anthony when he takes a smoke. Or, if you want Nonna to fuss over you and give you extra dessert, you pretend to take a work call in the stairway, and when you come back, she’ll express her worry about you working too much by filling your plate.”
There were countless options. It wasn’t an issue.
It seemed to be a big deal to Gideon, however. His eyes became misty, and he managed a wobbly smile. “You’d do that for me?”
“Of course.” I rested my forehead against his and wiped my fingers under his eyes. “Just be patient with me. I fucked up badly today, and I need time to learn your cues and recognize your needs better. I shouldn’t have just shown up like that.”
He shook his head and closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath. “You don’t understand the impact you’ve had on me. I feel more alive now than I ever have, and I welcome the moments of discomfort if it means I’m making strides forward with you. For goodness’ sake, you give me memories worth remembering.” When he opened his eyes again, they were clearer and more beautiful than ever. There was a spark of hunger, of determination. “I foolishly thought you’d be another temporary obsession at first, but I could not have been more wrong.”
Oof, serious case of nerves suddenly wreaked havoc in my stomach.
He inched back slightly and didn’t waver. “I don’t know the exact moment I chose you, Nicky, but I knew there was no going back when I saw you with that little girl at the recital. She sat on your lap and gave you the biggest hug when her mother showed up.” He paused. “I practiced those words on the way over here.”
I grinned widely and became all mushy again.
We were fucking happening.
“Good emotions?” he asked, to make sure.
I nodded and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Overwhelmingly good. A future with you is all I want.”
His expression softened. “Me too.” Then he leaned in and kissed me gently, and it was the perfect way to continue after our tumultuous beginning. I wanted heaps of comfort. My body screamed to be held and, fuck, I wanted to sleep. Believing I’d lost the man of my dreams for even a day had drained me completely.
“Let’s get under the covers,” I mumbled against his lips. “I wanna make out and cuddle. And sleep without setting the alarm for dawn.”
Because we