I know that voice in the depth of my bones, in every part of me that’s been missing him since the night of Carmen’s wedding.
When I look up, Brendan is there, his warm body flush against mine, making me tingle in that familiar way.
“Well, hello, Heart-Jammies,” he says in a low rasp. “You’re exactly the person I wanted to see.”
That’s when I throw my arms around his neck. “I heard what you did for me,” I say against his solid chest, burying my face in his shirt. “You told your uncle you’d walk away from the Crushers for me.”
His voice brushes my ear as he tugs me against him. “Of course I would. I would walk away from everything for you.”
And that’s when I kiss him in the middle of the hallway, where anyone could walk by. Because I know where I belong. Right here, in this man’s arms.
THIRTY-FIVE
Scarlett
“That’s quite the welcome home,” Brendan murmurs, looking down at me.
“I needed to see you.” I try to catch my breath, which is impossible after he kisses me like that.
He links his fingers through mine. “I was coming to find you.”
“What’s going on?”
“I have a surprise for you.” He leads me down the hall.
I groan. “You know I hate surprises.”
“I know,” he says with a smirk. “But you’ll like this one. I promise.”
We walk to the parking lot where I climb into his immaculate SUV. He still has my sticky notes stuck to the interior, the ones I left in here after the police pulled us over.
“You still have these?”
He glances over with a guilty smile. “They reminded me of the time you were all over my lap looking for that earring.”
Then he reaches into the console and hands me a piece of paper. “By the way, I talked to Eli and your parents about this first.”
I unfold it to find a lease agreement for the cafe. “What’s this?”
“I met with your landlord this afternoon and told him about the situation with your dad. I requested a more reasonable lease increase than his proposal. He agreed to bring down the new terms. It’s still more than you’re paying now, but it’s manageable.”
“Brendan—” Tears well up in my eyes. “Thank you.”
“That’s not all.” He pulls out another document. “When you mentioned that Lauren was moving out of the apartment above the cafe, I jumped at the chance to rent it before anyone else.”
“Wait.” I narrow my eyes, studying the document. “You’re moving above the cafe?”
“No, you are,” he says, taking my hand. “I can’t let you keep living in that dump with the drug dealer downstairs and the tuba player keeping you awake at two a.m.”
“What?” I throw myself across the center console, nearly tackling him in the driver’s seat. “I can’t believe you’d do this for me!”
“Scarlett, I love you.” His eyes are warm. “And we’re a team now. That means making you happy is my job.”
“No,” I remind him. “Making each other happy is.”
He kisses my forehead before reaching into his coat pocket. “I’m going to ask you to trust me about something.” He pulls a cloth from his pocket. “Wear this blindfold.”
“What kind of surprise is this?” My smile widens. “Is this some kind of sexy kissing game?”