“Oh, Tiff,” she coos. “That man is not playing house. He’s trying to build one with you, and my romance-loving heart is already thinking of a ship name. Jiff? Tamie?” She scrunches her nose. “You know what? I’ll keep working on it. I need to make it something cute to match the two of you.” Her eyes widen and she leans closer to the screen. “Shit, am I Team Jamie now? Don’t tell Zach. He’ll revoke my cousin privileges and convince you to stick me at the kids’ table at the wedding.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I say, shaking my head. “A wedding? He just figured out Ella doesn’t like crusts. Let’s not skip to matching monograms.”
“Fine, fine,” Madison says with a laugh. “No monograms yet, but don’t act like you haven’t thought about it. I can see the smile on your face.”
“I don’t think we’re there yet.” I take a deep breath, pressing my palm against my chest. “He, uh, kind of told me he loved me last night.”
Madison takes a sharp inhale. “Hold up, back up, rewind,” she blurts. “He said helovesyou, and you were just going to slide that in between pancake and laundry?!”
“I was getting there,” I protest weakly.
“When? After you sent out the wedding invites.”
“Stop talking about a wedding. It’s not going to happen.”
“Tiff! This is huge. Probably the biggest thing that happened to you last night.”
“Give me the details. How, when, where? I need to know.”
“During—when we were intimate.”
“Intimate? Tiff, I know you have a kid, but you aren’t a grandma. You can say sex every now and again, and it won’t be frowned upon.”
I roll my eyes, nodding. “I know.”
“So, he let it slip during sex. How did that make you feel?”
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.
“Do you think he meant it?” she asks cautiously.
“Yeah, I do,” I admit, almost feeling ashamed.
“What did you say back? Or were you too busy screaming his name to notice?”
“Stop it,” I mutter. “I didn’t say anything back. I don’t know, it all feels a little too rushed, you know? How can he already know he loves me when we’ve barely spent any time together?”
“Sometimes you just know. I know I’ve admitted tons of things I wish I could take back with Dash.”
“I don’t think I’m there yet.”
“That’s okay. You’ve been through a lot. It makes sense. Did he get upset when you didn’t say it back?”
“No. He just kissed me.”
That’s the part that keeps replaying in my head.
“He stayed,” I add. “Even without hearing it back.”
Madison exhales. “Well, that’s huge. Are you happy about it?”
“I don’t know.” I bite my bottom lip, because I do know. I’m just too afraid to admit it out loud. “I'm scared, Madison. He’s saying and doing all the right things now, but what if he leaves?”
“Has he given you any indication that he's going to bail?”
“No,” I say quietly. “But that doesn't mean he won't.”
“Well, you can’t keep waiting for him to prove he won’t leave,” Madison says. “Love isn’t a hostage situation. At some point, you have to step into it without a backup plan.”