Page 384 of Safe With You

He smiled.

And there it was.

I love him.

The thought came so easily I almost missed how big it was.

Almost.

I looked at the man standing in front of me. The same one who annoyed me over french fries and showed up to move furniture because I asked him to. The one who somehow became the person I called when something good happened and the person I wanted beside me when nothing was happening at all.

I love him.

I waited for something else to follow the thought. A question. A warning. Some reason I should slow down and examine it from every possible direction.

Nothing came.

Ellis studied my face. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

I smiled. “I’m happy.”

Something in his expression softened.

“Good.”

His hand found mine, his fingers slipping easily between mine.

“You ready?”

“For what?”

“Dinner.”

I looked at him. “I thought you came to see me.”

“I did.”

“And now you’re taking me somewhere?”

“That was always the plan.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What plan?”

“The one where I made reservations.”

I stared at him.

“You made reservations?”

“Why do you sound surprised?”

“Because you didn’t tell me.”

“That’s usually how surprises work.”