Page 144 of Fostering Chemistry
He frowned. “I wouldn’t have gotten you something if I’d known it was going to cause panic. But you’re right, the four of us should probably get on the same page about whether we’re doing some kind of gift exchange, so that no one feels bad.”
“And so Aaron doesn’t buy us each a house or something,” I added.
He laughed, his hands warm on my shoulders. “Now take a deep breath and open that.” I inhaled fully and let it out before sitting on the edge of the bed, where he joined me. Opening the bag, I pulled out something made of yarn. I smoothed it out and saw that it was a beautiful knitted pair of mittens. They were made of cream-colored yarn with a tree on the front.
“Every time I hold your hand lately, it’s freezing, so I thought you could use these.” Diego’s voice was almost a little shy, as if embarrassed that he’d been thinking about me. Which was pretty damn sweet.
“Thank you. And they’re beautiful. I tend to lose gloves and mittens, but I’m not going to lose these.”
Diego hesitated. “The tree… it kind of reminded me of the one from the scavenger hunt. The one you so bravely climbed.”
“And fell out of.” I brushed my thumb over his cheek. “And you caught me.”
“That scavenger hunt… it was kind of the first time it felt like we were on the same page. You seemed more relaxed with me, and I didn’t yet know about the party, so I wasn’t freaking out on you. It’s a good memory.”
“Yes, it is. Except for that damn tutu. I still don’t get the point of those.”
“Do you think it’s still up in the tree?” he asked, and I laughed.
“It’s probably been made into a bird’s nest by now.”
“A real one,” he agreed. “Not the symbolic kind you had to photograph.”
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
If his skin weren’t on the tan side, he might’ve blushed. “There was a little holiday craft fair in the quad, and I was thinking of you, and then I spotted those. So there we are.”
“I think of you a lot, too.” I set the mittens down on the bed next to me and took his hand in mine.
“Yep,” he said softly, squeezing my fingers. “Still cold.” He drew my palm to his lips, his mouth, and blew warm air on it, then rubbed it with both hands. “Better?”
“Yes,” I said, feeling warm all over, not just my fingers. “You make a pretty good mitten substitute.”
But then I grew more serious.
“I thought about you a lot, too.”
One dark eyebrow arched. “Why did you say that in the past tense?”
His look of mock concern made me smile softly. “I meant before. Even when I was uncomfortable with you. I mean, I wasn’t uncomfortable withyou, just the circumstances and the fact that you didn’t remember.”
“I get it, Mia. But that is in the past. Where we are right now makes all of that worth it.”
“I agree. And I hope you’ll still think that after I tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
His arm slipped around me. I would have liked to look him in the eyes, but I wasn’t quite brave enough. So I looked at where he still held my hand in his.
“I love you,” I said softly.
His body stilled, and panic filled me.
“You don’t have to say it back or feel the same way. I just… I just… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have?—”
I started to get up, but he tugged me back down. He waited until I looked up at him, and then he said simply, “I love you, too.”
“Are you sure?” I said, and then stopped. That sounded a little stupid. “Seriously, you don’t have to say it just because…”
