Esme’s heart thudded, but thankfully, she’d cried enough these past couple of days that her eyes stayed dry now. “There’s nothing to fix. We don’t fit, C?.”
Her certainty must have been written all over her, because C? Nga took one look at her, and her face went slack. “Are you sure?”
Esme nodded.
“Where have you been? Is it safe? Do you need money?” C? Nga asked, patting Esme’s cheek and squeezing her arms like she needed to reassure herself Esme was really there.
“I have everything I need, thank you. I’m staying at that place down the street, the one that rents rooms monthly. It’s nice,” Esme said with a bright smile. Compared to her house back home, it was luxurious. It wasn’t hard to be nicer than her house, though.
“You’re here.”
She whipped around and found Kh?i standing in the doorway to the restaurant. He wore his regular secret agent uniform of black suit and shirt, but he looked different than usual. He looked tired. But still so beautiful he sent a sharp pang to her chest.
Desperate for a distraction, she grabbed the tray of sugar packets from the shelf and began adding the appropriate number of packets to the little boxes in the booths. “Hi, Kh?i.”
“You didn’t answer any of my calls,” he said as he strode inside.
“Sorry.” She could do this. She was going to maintain her composure. Three white packets of regular sugar. Two brown packets of Sugar in the Raw. Three yellow packets of—
He pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “I was worried about you.”
For the longest time, he simply hugged her, and she let him. There were reasons why she shouldn’t, but at the moment, she couldn’t remember them. He felt so good, smelled so good, and her lonely self drank him in. Something unfamiliar prickled against her cheek, and she brushed her fingers over his face and leaned away to get a better view. What was this?
“You didn’t shave—”
He kissed her, and sharp sensation arrowed straight to her heart. As soon as she softened against him, he deepened the kiss, taking her mouth with aching presses of his lips that made her dizzy. It was impossible not to respond when he kissed her like this, like he’d been worried sick about her, like he was passionately in love with her.
His mom coughed noisily. Esme broke the kiss and tried to step back, but Kh?i’s arms tightened around her.
“Where have you been?” he asked.
“I got an apartment close by.”
He went motionless. “You’re … moving out?”
She hesitated for a second before nodding.
“I don’t see why you can’t stay with me. Like before. We don’t have to—” He released a frustrated breath, looked out the front window, and grimaced. “This is not the best neighborhood.”
His disdain for the area made her muscles stiffen. “It’s fine.” The people weren’t as rich here, but that didn’t mean they were bad. They were a lot like her, to be honest. She pushed against his chest, and he reluctantly let her go.
“It’s really not fine. The crime stats in my neighborhood are lower. You should come back.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
He raked a hand through his hair and took a half step toward her. “You were fine at my place until recently. Why can’t—”
“Do you love me?” she asked softly, giving him a chance to change everything.
He clenched his jaw tight and clasped her hands in his. “I can keep you safe, and I can carry you when you’re hurt, and I can …” His gaze dropped to her mouth. “I can kiss you like it’s the first time every time. I can—I can …” His expression went determined. “I can work with you on the lawn. I can even get it professionally done. I can fix up the house for you. If you want. Whatever kind of wedding you want, I can—”