Page 67 of His to Save

It’s a simple thing, just the three of us camped out in front of the television as we devour our takeout, but at the same time, it’s one of the best days I’ve had in a long,longtime.

CHAPTER 23

NORA

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Atlas asks as we step out onto the sidewalk.

The sun is so bright overhead, I have to squint my eyes to look up at him. “I don’t know. There weresomany people in there. It was… kind of awful.” I pretend to shake off my disgust.

Atlas laughs and I swear the rich sound warms me more than the sun. “Welcome to the DMV, pretty girl. It’s one of the worst parts of adulthood. Just wait until you have to renew your tag.”

I don’t mean to, but I scoff. “That would require me to know how to drive.” Dad used to always talk about teaching me. He drove an old Jeep named Mavis, and he swore up and down if you could handle Mavis, you could drive anything.

“You don’t—” He clamps his lips together and then slips his hand into mine as we walk back to his truck. “Of course, you don’t. I’ll teach you.”

“Really?” I pivot my entire body to face him, throwing my arms around his neck.

Miraculously, he catches me, and smoothly swings me around to his other side. “Hell yeah.” Atlas once again laces our fingers together. “It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t know about that.” I roll my eyes to disguise the excitement rushing through me. Driving is something I thought I’d never get to do. “But I’m grateful all the same.”

He unlocks his truck once and opens the passenger door, scooping me up and setting me on the seat before running around to his side. “I’d be hard pressed to think of a single thing you could ask me for that I’d say no to, Pip.”

My laughter bubbles up from my belly. “Be careful now, you might live to regret saying that.”

“Nah.” Atlas starts the truck, checks his mirrors, and pulls smoothly into traffic. “There’s no regrets when it comes to you.”

Contentment swells within me, leaving no room for doubt. “Thank you, Atlas,” I whisper, even though those three words aren’t the ones I really want to say.

I love youhas been stuck on the tip of my tongue for days now. But that’s crazy, right? Is it even possible to fall in love this fast? I mean, sure, technically I’ve known Atlas for years, but only in the loosest sense of the word.

Maybe love is like grief—maybe it’s not logical either. Maybe trying to justify or quantify my feelings isn’t the answer. Because the reality of it is, no matter which way I slice it, I love Atlas Wallace.

The question is, could he ever truly love someone as broken as me?

“Did you hear me?” Atlas asks, alerting me to the fact that he asked an actual question.

“No, I’m sorry.” I tuck my hair behind my ear and focus all of my attention on him. “Say it again.”

“Do you want to grab something to eat?”

“Like from a restaurant?” I drum my fingers over my well-worn leggings. “Sure.”

“Are you?” He glances my way before flicking on the turn signal. “We can hit a drive-thru if you want.”

“No, I’m good. It’s just… been a long time since I’ve been out to eat.”

“Gonna kill that rotten motherfucker,” Atlas mutters viciously under his breath. “What sounds good to you?”

“Take me somewhere you love.” He knows so much about me, it’s only fair for me to learn all about him. “Your favorite place.”

He shoots me a wicked grin. “Hope you don’t mind getting a little messy.”

Before I have a chance to really think about what he meant, he turns into a familiar parking lot.

“Cluckers?” I ask, bouncing slightly in my seat.

“You know it?” He parks and cuts the engine.

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