Page 58 of Voyeur Café

“I bet you will,” she responds, watching the stars above as we lapse into an easy silence.

Devon’s words repeat in my head.You’ve already taken the one thing her entire future was hanging on.If I hate the idea of taking anything away from Allie, how do I justify letting her lease run out? What am I offering her if I’m the source of her biggest problem? I see her strength, keeping a brave face for everyone around her, but she’s being brave about losing something that I’ve taken away from her.

Allie points the toes on her right foot, admiring her strappy tan shoe. “You have a nice talk with Devon?” she asks, the laughter in her voice showing she knows it was anything but.

“Nice isn’t the word I’d use,” I answer.

Allie laughs, setting her cocktail down on the bench beside her. “She really loves me.”

“She really does,” I agree. “You want to know what we said?”

“Nope. Doesn’t matter. I trust you. She likes you.” Allie squeezes her hands on the edge of the bench on either side of her partially exposed legs. Now that she’s sitting, the top of theslit reaches nearly to the fold of her hip.

“That’s not the message I got.”

“You must be confused, silly.”

Moving my arm off the bench to rest across her shoulders, I ask, “Agree to disagree?”

“Have I ever?” Allie crosses her legs toward me, leaning into my hold. She’s so close now and she smellsso damn good. Warm and sweet. “Agreeing to disagree would be admitting I’m wrong. Which I never am.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good, don’t forget it.” Tapping her fingers lightly against my chest, she adds, “For the record, I’m happy Bea invited you tonight.”

“So am I, sweetheart. You shine so brightly when you’re with your friends. I’ve never seen you laugh so much.”

She tries to bury her face in my shoulder to hide her blush, but I catch her chin between my fingers, drawing her eye to eye with me. “Why do you do that?” I ask, smoothing my thumb across the silken skin of her jaw before releasing her face.

“Do what?” she asks as she blinks up at me.

“Hide from me when you blush.”

“Didn’t know it was obvious.”

“Hard not to notice.”

“Blushing is so embarrassing. When I was in high school, kids used to make fun of me for it, and then my cheeks would turn even redder, so I started hiding my face. I guess I never stopped.”

“I hate that they did that to you.” The thought of anyone making her feel bad for one of her most adorable, and vulnerable, traits makes my own cheeks red, but for a different reason. “You’re not looking for revenge, are you? I could help.”

“No, but you’re very cute,” she laughs, the sound sugary andfull.

I brush a loose curl behind her ear. “Try not to hide from me when I say this next part, okay?”

Turning on the bench so she’s facing me directly, she brings her legs all the way across my lap, resting her feet on the other side of my thighs. “Okay,” she nods emphatically, sending her hair out of place again. “I’m ready for whatever you’ve got.”

I resist the urge to explore further as I run my fingertips up the length of her thigh, so I can make my point. “Your blush is beautiful. It’s beautiful that you wear every emotion raw on your face. When you’re happy, your smile is electric. You radiate joy. When you’re laughing, your ponytail bobs, and your whole body dances. And when you’re mad at me, and you try to glare—”

“Ugh, damn Bambi eyes and round cheeks,” she interjects.

“Allie Walker, I never want to hear you curse your perfect features again.” Clearly, I haven’t gotten through to her yet. “It’s fucking adorable when you do your little glare thing. I know you’re mad. You get your point across, but you’re too good inside for it to overtake your face. Bambi eyes and round cheeks are exactly what you should have. They suit you. Your remarkably kind heart. You are so thoroughly good from the inside out.”

Allie blinks up at me, cheeks brighter than I’ve ever seen them, but she makes no move to hide. I can tell her mind is whirling behind her teal eyes, so I continue tracing a path up and down her leg and wait for her to speak. “That was—I’m not—I don’t even—,” taking a deep breath, she clasps her hands together across the top of her knees and tries again. “You make me feel seen. And not just right now. Always. Every day at our building.”

The sound of ‘our building’ on her lips cuts me to my core. She’s forgiven me for taking Station 19, but I haven’t forgivenmyself. Devon was right. She gives magnitudes more than she takes, and I refuse to be someone who takes from her. I want to be the man who gives her everything, no matter what I have to give up.

“You’re impossible to miss, Allie.” I tap her chest above her heart to emphasize my point before tracing her bare collarbone with my fingertip. “Did I tell you how much I love this tiny pink dress?”

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