Page 36 of Not Your Basic Love Story

Then, he whispered in my ear, so soft, so gentle, barely audible over the beating of my own heart.

“I love you.”

A mist of tears sprang to my eyes. My lips found his again, and he rolled over on top of me, the weight of his body nearly sending me to climax once more. I managed to pull away for a moment and look at him, a tear escaping and sliding down my cheek.

“I love you, too.”

CHAPTER TEN

I wish we could have spent the day lazily in bed, but my mom woke us up bright and early by knocking on the door and announcing there was hot coffee and fresh croissants.

“Be there in a minute!” I shouted, groggy, then rolled onto my side and rested my head on Dev’s chest. He stretched and groaned before checking his phone for the time. Nine fifteen. So, not that early, I guess. It was actually late for my mom. The two of us got dressed into our family-appropriate pyjamas and exited the little cottage into the crisp morning air, the sound of geese out on the harbour greeting us. Inside, the house was fragrant with fresh baking, coffee, and… bacon?!

“Mom! Are you making bacon for breakfast?”

She stood over the stove, the sound of popping and crackling betraying her. “Dev doesn’t have to eat it.”

I looked up to Dev and mouthed ‘Sorry’ to which he shrugged and went for the coffee. He handed me a cup first, always the gentleman, to which I added a generous pouring of Baileys. “Want to sit outside?” I asked, worried that the smell of meat cooking offended him. He nodded. I grabbed a throw from the couch and a plate where I piled up three croissants before heading down to the dock.

We sat together in silence for a while, like two old people, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. Did I want bacon? Of course, but not enough to make Dev uncomfortable.

“What’s the plan for today?” he asked. I wondered if he was really asking how much longer he had to stay here.

I licked the flaky crumbs from my fingertips. “Nothing we have to rush for. I thought we’d explore downtown a bit, maybe grab some lunch. Our ferry is at eight, so that gives us lots of time for supper with the folks. You must be starving; I don’t think you ate much last night, and now apparently, we only have croissants for you. Want to shower and leave sooner rather than later? Hit up a cafe or something?”

He smiled. “Sounds great. Are your parents coming?”

I shook my head. “God, no. I think two evenings with them is enough.”

Dev laughed and reached for my hand. “Are you always like this with your parents?”

“What do you mean?”

He shrugged, taking a moment to choose his words. “You don’t seem excited to spend time with them, is all. If I only got to see my parents a few times a year, I’d want to spend time with them. You don’t have to worry about entertaining me. We can stay here if you want to.”

“No, that’s not it,” I said, tucking my feet underneath me. “I guess I’m nervous having you around them too long.”

His brow furrowed adorably. “Why?”

I sighed, looking out over the harbour, my anxiety rising at my lame attempt to express my emotions. “When it’s just the two of us, it’s so perfect. I don’t want anything to ruin it.”

He reached out and took my chin in his hand, gently directing my gaze back to his. “Hey. I don’t like you. I love you, remember? And your family is part of who you are, which means I’ll love them, too. And if you think your family is weird—” He shook his head and exhaled sharply.

I kissed him, tasting coffee. “I’m sure your family is great. If I ever get to meet them, that is.”

He smiled. “How about next weekend, then?”

I kissed him again, lingering, my heart soaring. My plan had worked!

After cleaning up in the tiny, cramped little closet that passed as a shower in our suite, Dev and I packed up and said goodbye to my parents, agreeing to meet up for dinner later.

As we finished loading the car, my dad jogged up to us. “Wait a second, Squirt! Look what I found.” He was carrying the downspout water turbine I’d built in high school. It looked the same as it had back then, kept in pristine condition. I was flattered he still had it after all these years.

Dev took it from him and turned it over in his hands, clearly interested.

“There are hinges on it, so you can see the inside mechanisms.” Dad indicated, to which Dev pried the thing open to see a neat line of little turbines.

“This is so cool,” Dev said. I shifted uncomfortably back and forth, uncertain if he was being honest or polite.

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