Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“I’m fine. What are you doing on the floor?”
“I’ve been sleeping here.”
“Every night?”
“Yes.” He stood up and pushed his hair out of his eyes.
That made my heart ache. He must have been exhausted after being on his feet all day, every day, trying to finish the painting so we could get out of here. But instead of curling up in a warm, comfortable bed, he’d chosen to sleep on the floor outside my room.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I wanted to keep you safe while you slept. I couldn’t stand the idea of leaving you alone and defenseless in this place. If I was out here, anyone who wanted to get to you would have to go through me.”
Tears tumbled down my cheeks as I pulled him into the room and pressed my lips to his. I kissed him with everything I had, and he responded just as passionately.
Then he grabbed me in an embrace, burying his face in my hair as he whispered, “I thought you hated me.”
“I love you, Tory. I just needed some time, because I was upset. But then I got scared that I’d waited too long and ruined everything. I was coming to find you, because I wanted to fix this.”
He leaned back and stared at me in wonder as he whispered, “You love me?”
“Yes. God, yes.”
“I love you too, Arie. More than anything in this world.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t come to you sooner.”
“I’m the one who’s sorry,” he said, as he ran his fingertips along the curve of my jaw. “I should have told you everything, right from the start.”
I held his face between my hands and kissed him again before saying, “I know we need to talk, but let’s do that tomorrow. You must be so tired.”
I led him to the bed, and we slid under the covers. When he wrapped me up in his arms, a sense of relief washed over me. We had some things to work out, but we were going to be okay. I was sure of that.
We spent the next morning in bed, enjoying each other for hours. Once we finally came up for air, Tory grinned and said, “We were pretty loud. I wonder if anyone heard us.”
“I don’t care if they did.” I cupped my hands into a megaphone and shouted, “I hope you enjoyed it, assholes!”
He chuckled and said, “That’s pretty unlike you.”
“I’m done worrying about what people think of me. That’s one of my recent revelations.” We both settled in so we were facing each other, and I told him, “I’ve had a lot of time to think these last few days. Way too much time, actually. I was always so busy before, and maybe part of that was because I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. Here though, with all this free time, I’ve had a chance to take a hard look at myself and my life.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I think so. I have more clarity now, and I’ve come to some conclusions. For one thing, I truly love the diner, but I have to stop devoting my entire life to it. Fitzpatrick has been showing me the texts I’ve received from my employees this past week, and the place is fine without me. I know I should be happy about that, but it was kind of like when Kit moved out and went to San Francisco. It made me feel… obsolete.”
“Both Kit and the diner still need you, Arie,” he said gently.
“I know, but not in the way they used to. And that’s a good thing! I’m glad Kit is off living his life, and it’s great that the diner can function without me being there all day, every day. But now, I’ve had to ask myself what’s next for me.”
“What have you decided?”
“The only certainty in my future is you.” That made him smile. “As far as the rest of my life goes, I’m still trying to figure it out. I know I want to stop working all the time and actually live my life. Also, I want to find a way to do more for other people. That’s really important to me. The very best parts of my job are helping my senior customers, who rely on the diner for much more than food, and reaching out to the community with my holiday dinners. I want to expand on those things, but I’m not sure how yet.”
Tory said, “I know you’ll come up with something.”
“What about you? Once we leave here, you won’t be on the run anymore. Have you thought about what you’ll do?”
“All I know is, I want to be with you.”
I kissed him and said, “You will be. But what else?”
He thought about it before saying, “I’d like to paint whatever I want, in my own style, but I don’t want to make my living as an artist. I’m tired of thinking of art as a product to be bought and sold. I just want to find joy in it again, the way I did when I was a kid.”