Page 55 of Must Have Been Love

She tips her head to the side, her hair falling over her right shoulder. “I like music. Dancing. Dressing up as a slutty princess.”

I laugh. “You’re very good at it.”

“I know.” She grins. “I like that moment before you fall asleep when your whole body goes soft and it feels like you’re about to slip under the surface.”

She runs the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip, like she’s really thinking hard.

“I like that too,” I tell her. “Tell me more things.”

Her body shifts forward, like it’s being pulled toward me. “I like the smell of hot concrete when it’s freshly rained. The smell of babies after they’ve just had a bath and they’re all warm and cuddly. I like eating breakfast for dinner.” She pulls her lip between her teeth. “And the feeling of somebody playing with my hair.”

I can almost feel the silkiness of it between my forefingers and thumbs.

“And most of all I like not knowing where life is going. I like the excitement of not being pinned down. I like being free to be whoever I want, whereever I want.” Her gaze is soft as she glances at my mouth. “What about you?” she breathes. “What do you like?”

I think about it. Not because I’m trying to impress her but because I genuinely think she won’t judge me. “I like knowing my family is safe,” I say. “That nobody can hurt or touch them.”

She lets out a soft breath.

“I like the way my daughter thinks I’m a hero even though I’m just her dad. Just a flawed man. I like eating good food like this. But I also like eating a slice of toast when it’s late and there’s nobody around to tell me I’m making poor nutritional decisions.”

She laughs at that. And I smile right at her. “Tell me more,” she says, looking fascinated.

“I like having enough money to be able to tell people to fuck off to their faces,” I continue, waiting for her to wince, but she doesn’t. “I like the power it gives. The safety.”

“Because it allows you to protect those you love,” she murmurs.

“Something like that,” I admit.

“What’s your favorite childhood memory?” she asks me suddenly. She leans forward across the table.

I have to think about that one. I’m not one for looking back. There’s too much baggage and it’s history. But then I remember it. That day.

“Teaching Autumn and Eden how to swim.”

“Eden’s your other sister?”

“Yeah,” I nod. “They’re both younger than the rest of us. Asher and I used to be big swimmers. It’s hard not to be when you live on an island. We’d race each other every day during the summer. Go down to the beach at first light and spend most of the day there, goofing around.”

“It sounds idyllic,” she murmurs. Her hand is on the table, so close to mine I can feel our fingertips touch.

“It was.” I nod. “Except Autumn and Eden used to constantly beg us to take them. And of course we didn’t want to because we were assholes and they were kids who cramped our style.”

“How so?” she asks, smiling at me. Our fingers are touching now and it feels weirdly comforting.

“The usual. We’d like to flirt with summer girls. Having our sisters with us made it harder.”

“I bet they loved you.”

“My sisters or the girls?”

“Both.” She laughs lightly. “But I was talking about the summer girls. Is that what you called them?”

“Most people on Liberty call them out-of-towners,” I say. “But they mostly came in the summer.”

“I bet they did.” Her lips curl.

“Are you bringing the conversation back to sex again?” I ask, my voice teasing.

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