They head to the other end of the restaurant where Kelsey stands on her tippy toes and leans across the bar to hug them goodbye. Once they leave, she comes to my end of the counter.
“How did that go?” she asks with an amused grin.
“Oh, that was easy. Parents freaking love me.”
She playfully slaps me on the arm. “Does everything come easy to you?”
I shrug and turn to face her. “Everything except you. I think you were worth the wait though.” Her lips part and I revel in the soft, surprised sound she makes. I dip a finger into the ties of her apron and pull her to me. We’ve got maybe an hour before we close for the night, and that can’t come soon enough because I want her all to myself again.
She collects herself and pats me on the chest. “Did they invite you over for dinner?”
I nod. “Your dad said I could come over and he’d grill steaks.”
Her brows shoot up in surprise. “Wow, they must really like you then because my mom rarely lets Dad eat red meat anymore."
“Like I said, parents love me.” She rolls her eyes, but I don’t miss the way she smiles at me—something she’s been doing more and more of lately.
“Hey.” She pulls my hand out of the pocket of her apron and squeezes it, catching me off guard. I look down into her eyes to see them sparkling back up at me. “I wanted to tell you something later, but I don’t feel like waiting anymore.”
My pulse quickens and I feel a tinge of panic creep over me because this doesn’t feel like a casual conversation anymore. She must see it because she laughs. “Relax. It’s good news. I just wanted to say that I’ve been thinking about it and I’m in. I want to do what we were talking about earlier.”
Alright. Good news, not bad news. A wave of relief comes over me and I regain my composure. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific because we’ve talked about doing a lot of different things lately.” That’s a fact because between our work schedules, there aren’t enough hours in the day for all the things I want to do with her, and to her.
She cocks a hip and rolls her eyes before pointing at the ceiling. “What we talked about before. Upstairs? I want to do it.”
I lean in and whisper into her ear. “I love the enthusiasm and I’m totally on board with this, but I don’t think putting on a show with whipped cream right here in the restaurant full of people is the best idea you’ve ever had.”
She nips at my ear and I chuckle when she scowls back at me. “That's not what I meant. Are you really going to make me spell it out for you?”
“Yep, because this is too fun.” I extend a finger and boop her on the nose.
She makes a cute growling sound that I wish I could bottle up. “Again, you’re lucky that you’re pretty.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before looking back at me with renewed determination. “OK. I was referring to moving into the studio full-time. I want to do it, assuming that offer is still on the table?”
“Of course it is.” I drop a hand to the dip ofher waist and hold her close to me. Of course, that’s the moment Rich decides to squeeze past us to get to the other end of the bar. He eyes the two of us and gives me a wink before going to his drink station. I turn my attention back to Kelsey who’s beaming back at me.
“OK! I’ll have to take some stuff to my parents’ house, then I’ll need to move some things in upstairs before we leave for the wedding this week. I need to be out of my old place before I owe them another month’s rent, but I’m sure my dad will help…” She starts to ramble about borrowing her dad’s truck but I can barely follow along because my brain stops functioning.
This feels big.
I can hardly contain my joy because—selfishly—she’s going to be closer to me. More importantly, she’s doing something for herself. Something that’s going to make her life better and that means more to me than anything.
I always knew that there was a chance it could be a temporary arrangement, especially once the pass reopens. That didn’t stop me from hoping she might want to take me up on my offer to be closer to the town she loves, and maybe even me.
She grins up at me before standing on her toes and kissing me. I hold her waist tight and keep her there. She breaks the kiss and her eyes meet mine. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” My mouth lifts into a goofy smile. “Who knows? Your landlord could be really shitty, your downstairs neighbors could be noisy late at night, and your new next door neighbor might have an evil cat.”
“Oh, are you agreeing with me now that Oscar’s evil?”
“Technically, I never said she wasn’t. You’re right, no one actually understands cats and their witchy ways. She’s probably holding a seance upstairs with Felix right now for all we know.”
Her lips press together and I tilt my head, touching the dimple in her cheek. “You’re trying not to laugh, aren’t you?”
Now her nose scrunches and I know I have her right where I want her. I move closer and press my mouth to her soft lips. They finally part and she giggles into my mouth. “Knew it, Shadow. You’re too easy to read.”
“Hey, are you two going to work? You know this is a restaurant, right?” We both turn to Rich smirking at us with his arms crossed over his chest.
Kelsey looks back at me and pats me on the cheek. “Yeah, come on, Chef. You’re supposed to be setting a good example for us.”