Page 147 of Come to Me
He leads me to the kitchen and points me to a hot pink thermos. "I figured you'd like the color."
There's a matching blue Thermos next to it. Normally, he'd mock such obvious gender divides in coffee cups. But I do love hot pink.
He hands me the mug and our hands touch, just for a moment. The spark is enough to make my knees weak.
Dammit, this is even harder than I thought it would be.
"Thank you." I push the lid open and take a sip without asking for clarification.
It's the Kona coffee we were drinking all morning in Hawaii. A strike against it.
But it is damn good coffee.
He meets my eyes, not shying away. "There's oatmeal in the microwave," he offers. "In case you're hungry."
"You want me to eat oatmeal?"
He shrugs.
"If you say you like oatmeal, I believe you."
"You'll be the first," I mutter.
I dig my fingers into my purse, feeling for the notebook in it.
No, I'll call it what it is. It's a diary. A year or so worth of thoughts collected over a single night.
A very, very long night.
Luke holds my gaze. There's something sweet about it, sincere. Like maybe he's about to say he made a mistake, that he loves me too much to let me go, even if he foolishly believes I'll be happier without him.
"Do you need help with anything?" he asks.
I shake my head. "Just some clothes for the week."
"Oh." It's a happy oh, an oh, so does that mean you expect to be back here in a week.
The tension in my chest eases. He still loves me. That might be enough.
"You have a suitcase?" he asks.
I shake my head. A suitcase is too much, too permanent.
"You're usually more prepared." It's sweet, a joke, like he knows I can't bring myself to remove anything from our house.
He grabs a paper bag from the kitchen. "Is that enough?"
I nod. It's too much, really. I don't want to take anything from here. I don't want to set up shop at Laurie's. "I only want a few clothes."
"Ally... I did mean what I said in Hawaii."
I don't want to ask which thing he meant. It could have been that I'm always welcome here. Or it could be that he's intent on staying broken up.
I set the bag on the table and place my coffee next to it. "Hey, Luke..."
I don't know why I say it. It isn't like his attention hasn't been laser focused on me since I stepped inside. "Yes?"
"I... have something for you."
