Page 72 of ICED
After she drinks, I crouch down too, brushing her curls back. “You wanna come sleep in my bed tonight?”
She nods, eyes drooping.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Owen stands to help her, but I shake my head. “I’ve got her.”
He gives me a quiet look. One I can’t read fully.
Back in my room, I tuck her under the covers and kiss her forehead. She’s out again in seconds.
I linger for a moment, just breathing.
Then I return to the kitchen.
He’s there, hoodie back on, wiping down the counter like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
He looks up. “For what?”
“Getting interrupted. The timing. I don’t know.”
His eyes soften. “You don’t have to apologise. That’s your daughter. And you’re her world. She comes first. Always.”
I lean against the wall. “I was ready for more. I really was.”
“I know,” he says gently. “And it’s okay. I’m not going anywhere.”
Something about the way he says it makes my chest go tight.
I walk over to him, slowly, and slide my arms around his waist. He pulls me close without hesitation, resting his chin on the top of my head.
We stand like that in the soft light of the kitchen, surrounded by cupcake crumbs and a thousand unspoken things.
After a long beat, I murmur, “I really, really want to finish what we started.”
“I really, really want that too.”
“But I also really, really need to check on my daughter.”
He chuckles, low and warm. “Fair.”
I tilt my head up and kiss the edge of his jaw. “You wanna stay for actual tea?”
He raises an eyebrow. “With clothes on or off?”
“Let’s say on. For now.”
“Then yeah. I’d like that.”
I grin and nudge him toward the table. “You know how to make it. Get to work.”
He salutes me with a wink andmoves to the kettle.
And somehow, just like that, I know.
This isn’t just a one-night thing.
