I step out of the bathroom and sigh with disappointment. “Hey…” I point a finger at Phoebe as she zips up her jeans. “What are you doing? Did I say you could get dressed?”

“No,” she answers, “but I am a strong, independent woman and I do what I want.”

“God, you’re sexy.”

She laughs and bends down to pick up her shirt. “I know. I also still have work to do today, so…”

I throw up my hands. “Fine. Going back into the office?”

“No, actually.” She gestures to her bag by the coffee table. “I brought it all home with me.”

“Good.” I cup her face, burrowing my fingertips in her hair. “I want to spend every possible moment with you while I’m home.”

Her lips twitch. “Home?”

“Yeah.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “Home.”

“I thought the sky was your home.”

“So did I.”

She smiles and pushes up onto the tips of her toes to kiss me. I feel the urge to pick her up and carry her back to bed with me but she squirms out of my grasp, giggling playfully. I reluctantly release her and turn around to search the floor for my clothes.

“So…” She chuckles as she wipes the edge of her mouth. “This is the first real moment alone we’ve had since…”

I look over at her as her voice falls. “Since…?”

“… Since you left me that shot glass.”

My eyes flick to her bedside table. The glass — I noticed before but didn’t say a word about — is still there. All by itself. Empty and clean.

“Did you like it?” I ask.

“I did!” she says. “Thank you. That was really sweet of you.”

“You’re welcome.” I pull up my pants. “Figured you’d get a kick out of it.”

The silence stretches between us and I wonder just how long she’s going to let it go on for.

“You wrote me a poem, too,” she finally says.

I grin. “I did.”

“It was beautiful.” Her eyes shine. “Thad, you’re really talented.”

“No. I’m not, really.”

She steps closer. “Well, I think you are and I kinda do this for a living sometimes, so…”

“Well, I think that one little writing sample isn’t enough to properly judge that,” I say.

“Does that mean you’ll let me read more?”

“It might.”

She smiles. “Good.”

I can’t help it. I wrap one arm around her and pull her close to me again. She sways in, guided by the sweep of my palm, and doesn’t fight it as I tilt her up to kiss her. I take the moment to shut out the world with closed eyes. My chest clenches amid the endless touch of butterfly wings. I don’t want this to end. I don’t want her to step away, taking her sweet taste and pleasant scent along with her.

Phoebe pulls back but I don’t let her go. “Thank you,” she whispers to me. “I really think it’s beautiful.”

“Me, too,” I say, my eyes never leaving her face. Gray eyes and pink cheeks. How could I have ignored this woman for so long?

I kiss her again, inhaling as much of her as I can before she steps out of my arms.

“Okay…” She exhales. “For real this time. I have a few hours to kill before Max gets off work. I need to go over the book one more time…”

She walks over to the couch and leans over to pick up her notes with her back to me.

My tongue twitches between my teeth. “Phoebe…”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

She pauses in place for a moment before slowly turning around. “Oh,” she says.

“You can ignore and disregard that, if you’d rather,” I say, swallowing the panic down my throat. “I’m an impulsive guy. Just felt like a good time to say it, that’s all.”

She nods, her face free from expression. “Okay,” she says.

I bend down to pick my jacket up off the floor.

“Thad…”

I look into her blank eyes. “Yeah?”

“Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean it?” I repeat.

Her face screws up. “Because you also said that it just felt like a good time to say it. So, did you say it because you really meant it or because the moment traditionally would call for someone to vocally express affection or did you say it because—”

“Phoebe.”

“What?”

I bridge the gap between us in a few quick strides. “You talk too much.”

I kiss her and she falls into my embrace as she drops her notes to the floor.