Page 43 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice
“Maybe a bit of both,” he says with a grin, then brushes his thumb along my cheek. “But mostly, I think you’re worth the risk.”
Silence settles over us, but not the bad kind. The kind that settles softer than a warm blanket.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Then let’s try. I’m in. Cautiously. Anxiously. Probably with some unnecessary commentary.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. And I’ll be more than happy to shut you up like this.”
He leans in again, and when our lips finally touch, it doesn’t feel like falling. It feels like choosing. And I think that might be even scarier—but better.
So much better.
Chapter 15
Nic
"Now that's what I'm talking about," I whisper and sit down on my patio couch. It's a beautiful autumn morning – a crisp breeze in the air that makes me reach for the blanket I brought along and drape it around my shoulders, heavy clouds hanging over the mountains in the distance. Red and golden leaves fly past me, with the occasional drop of rain joining them.
It's the perfect morning to sit outside and start my day slowly. To have a calm morning, watch a squirrel climb up a tree while I'm drinking a piping hot pumpkin spice latte out on my porch, on my mission to romanticize the fuck out of life.
I blow on the hot liquid before I dare take a sip, the sweet taste of cinnamon and ginger hitting just the right tastebuds as I pull the blanket tighter around me and my legs up onto the couch.
I've waited years for a moment like this. A moment of calmness. Where my thoughts don't circle around worries. Just watching nature, no phone that incessantly buzzes, no people to disturb my peace. Just a moment ofbeing.
At least for a while before I start my day. Reality will catch up soon enough.
“I’m nervous. Why am I nervous?” I mumble, pacing the sidewalk two houses away from Henry’s clinic. I know he’s in. I saw him from the other side of the street when I arrived.
Then I got overwhelmed by the butterflies trying to burst out of my stomach, and now I’m here, trying to talk myself into going inside—for once, without a feline reason to.
I mean, he kissed me. And he said I’m worth the risk. That means he more than tolerates me, right? That I can pop in randomly and unannounced, because I want to see him? Or is it too soon?
Don’t be such a chicken, Nic. Take a deep breath, square your shoulders and go visit your boyfriend. Situationship.
Wait. What are we exactly? We never talked about titles. Do Ineeda title?
I shake my head at myself. What I need right now is to get a grip. I count down from ten in my head and then storm toward his clinic before I can change my mind.
“Nic!” His face breaks into a smile that melts my heart when he glances up from the computer on his reception counter.
Jensen emerges from behind it with a happyawoo-woothat I interpret as “So happy to see you.” It makes me grin so widely that I fear my face might get stuck. God, they’re both behaving like the biggest golden retrievers. Even the husky.
“Hi.” I give Henry an awkward little wave, then crouch to greet his dog.
And when I get up again, he’s right there. Very close. I squeal in surprise, almost losing my balance, but his arms snake around my hips and he keeps me upright, pulling me flush against him.
“No cat this time?” he asks, his eyebrow lifted in amusement and a smirk tugging at his lips.
“Pssst, don’t give Chaos any ideas,” I playfully scold him, letting my hands wander up his arms until I can interlace my fingers around his neck, and begin playing with his soft hair.
“It’s good to see you, sweetheart.” He stares at me as if we haven’t seen each other in weeks instead of a day, and it’s sending all kinds of emotions bubbling in my stomach.
“Sweetheart?” Now it’s my turn to lift my eyebrow, biting my lip.
“Is that a ‘no?’”
I tilt my head, rolling it over in my head. “It’s not. I love it.” I release my lip, a nervous laugh spilling out. “Now I need a nickname for you too, don’t I?”
“You don’tneedone.” He shrugs, but I can see him fighting a grin, telling me he’s not against that idea.
