Page 32 of The Perfect Love

“It’s still not the best, but I’m going with TreChe. But don’t worry, I’ll keep workshopping it.” She gives me her brightest smile. Annoying me has always been her favorite pastime.

“Fantastic.”

“I’ve got to go, but have a great time. Love you!” Mom says.

“Love you too.”

She kisses Hyla’s cheek, then walks away.

“I guess I should let you go too,” Hyla says.

“Yeah, I need to get going.”

“Seriously, have an awesome time. I expect details.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I love you. Take care of yourself. And just… call me if you need anything. Okay?”

Her eyes lose some of their brightness. “I’ll be fine. Go have fun with your girl.”

“She’s not my girl yet.”

Hy rolls her eyes.

“Whatever you want to tell yourself. Love you. Bye.”

“Bye.”

I end the call, take one last look in the mirror, then head out to pick up Chelsea.

The apartment house I pull up in front of is a four-story brick building. It’s simple and unassuming, shrouded by trees. Chelsea didn’t actually tell me which apartment is hers, but when I get out of the car, I notice she’s sitting on the front porch, talking with some guy.

I force my jealousy deep, deep down because that’s not the kind of shit Chelsea needs. Unless she’s inviting me to be the third part of a throuple, it’s not like she’s talking to some other guy she’s dating.

When she sees me, she smiles and stands up, and I get to spend the entire length of time she walks toward me taking in how stunning she looks.

Like me she’s in casual fall vibes because despite it being late August, it’s only supposed to be sixty-three today. Last weekend it was eight million degrees. Welcome to upstate New York weather.

Chelsea has on a dark gray tee with the wordsBasic Fall Vibeson it and a graphic of a pumpkin spice latte. She’s wearing some lightly distressed jeans with brown boots, and a cream-colored cardigan ties the entire look together. It highlights her curves and her body shape, making her look show-stoppingly gorgeous.

“Hi.” Her smile is warm and her eyes are dancing as she comes to a stop in front of me.

I lean down and kiss her cheek. “Hey, babe. You look incredible.”

“Thank you,” she says on an inhale. Then she skims her fingers up my forearms and leans in. “You look deliciously hot.” Her cheeks heat, but she doesn’t break my gaze.

The hardest part about today is going to be not kissing her when she says things like that because it’s all I want to do. But until she can enthusiastically tell me she wants that, I’m not going to try. Her feeling comfortable is the most important thing.

Instead, I channel that energy and take her hand, caressing my thumb over her skin. “Thank you.”

Next to us, a throat clears.

Chelsea rolls her eyes. “This is Robbie.”

“UncleRobbie,” he says.

“Oh, sure,nowyou want to use the word uncle,” Chelsea mutters.

He pins her with a look. “Can you give us a minute, Chels?”

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