Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hallie had been right. About how much Brynn would love the tapas restaurant, at least. What she couldn’t have anticipated was that she was going to tell Brynn that she loved her.
And Brynn had said it back!
Even if Brynn hadn’t right at that moment, she couldn’t let herself regret uttering the words. Especially as Brynn’s entire face had lit up, like it was the most important, life-changing information she’d ever been told.
Hallie would always choose Brynn, would always love Brynn, and she desperately wanted her to know that.
Still, she wasn’t quite sure where her bravery had come from.
They’d been sitting at the restaurant, and all of a sudden, an overwhelming feeling had washed over her.
It had struck her a little dumb, even though she’d been accepting the weight of her feelings for weeks now.
But they were somehow already stronger, especially in the face of how Brynn had been looking at her.
This new awareness had settled deep in her bones in a way that made it feel so real and present. She’d had that sensation before, but not like this. Not like everything in her life had been leading to this moment.
What she’d been planning, at the very least, had been to tell Brynn that, no matter what, they’d figure things out.
Because she truly believed that they could. It was insane to even think about, let alone accept.
Still, it hadn’t encompassed the depth of what she’d needed to convey.
Her heart had felt so full, thinking about what Brynn had done for her the night prior.
The care with which she’d held her. How Brynn had known exactly what Hallie had needed and had supported her through what could have been one of the worst days of Hallie’s life.
Instead, she’d ended the night with her girlfriend, her best friend, and her soon-to-be best-friend-in-law.
The thoughts of earlier in the day had been reduced to a shitty situation instead of a moment that could have sent Hallie spiraling for weeks, if not longer.
Or worse, running back to her parents and apologizing, like she’d been the one in the wrong.
All because of Brynn and the love that she’d shown to Hallie.
So Hallie had wanted to be brave. And when she’d felt the words bubble up, she’d said them out loud. Because Brynn deserved honesty and to know what an impact she made on Hallie’s life.
It was all crazy. The way that she felt about Brynn was crazy!
The whole situation was exhilarating, and for the last hour, she’d been trying to lean into the excitement instead of any niggling fears and doubts, should they want to crop up.
They’d finally picked up their menus and ordered food when she’d realized that the restaurant would probably kick them out soon if they didn’t.
It had been no small feat for Hallie to take her eyes off of Brynn long enough to pick different things for them to try together. Deciding on what they’d get had taken close to twenty minutes as Brynn had excitedly rattled off different facts that she knew about the various items and ingredients.
And just like Hallie had known, she’d been enraptured. She’d never tire of watching Brynn engage with the world. It was probably the first thing in her life that had ever made her want to actually get out of her safe, sterile bubble.
How would Brynn take in beautiful architecture? Or a baseball game? Or a tropical landscape?
Hallie wanted to know the answer to all of those questions.
Their food had arrived in short order, which had forced Hallie to peel herself away from Brynn’s touch. Nine small plates, in fact, were somehow oriented around their part of the bar. Hallie watched, mesmerized, as Brynn started to work her way through them.
This was what Hallie wanted. To watch the excitement flicker across Brynn’s face, intrigued by the gambas al ajillo and the calamares fritos and the mejillones al vapor. They could go to Spain and see whether this restaurant actually did the cuisine justice.
That thought struck Hallie like a lightning bolt at the same time Brynn turned in her direction, leveling her with a concerned stare. “You okay, Hallie? There’s no dairy, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
Hallie shook her head, a smile on her face that was threatening to overtake it. Just like the rest of the night, the words she uttered couldn’t be contained even if she tried. “I want to experience everything with you. I hope you’re ready for that.”
Hallie wanted to live inside of this feeling forever, the nervous, fluttery anticipation stirring in her belly as she and Brynn walked hand in hand back into The Stone’s Throw.
She thought again, not for the first time since meeting Brynn, that things like this didn’t happen to her.
She was Hallie Thatcher, a woman who, mere months ago, had been lamenting the state of her life and her place in this world.
Who’d been so lonely, even if she tried to never let the feeling sink in too deeply.
It wasn’t a stretch to say that Brynn had opened up her entire world even if they’d never left Stoneport to do it.
In the little world that they’d created, made out of comfy sofas and longing glances and so much softness, all she’d thought about for weeks was what it would be like to touch Brynn.
To taste her. To be as close as two people could possibly be.
And all of the feelings rushing through her veins just made it all the more heady.
Brynn was currently leading them through the lobby, past the check-in desk. Hallie slowed, taking in the room she’d walked through thousands of times before. Tonight, it was like she was seeing everything with new eyes.
The lobby was where she’d chipped her tooth when she was six, after tripping over her own feet. Thank god it had only been a baby tooth, which had fallen out a few weeks later. It was also where she’d made Brynn laugh so hard she’d cried as she told a story about dating in her early twenties.
And the sitting room next door, with the fireplace that Hallie loved to watch flicker, was where she’d accidentally singed off a few inches of her hair as a kid, when she’d removed the safety grate to get closer to the fire.
Coincidentally, it was also where she and Brynn had snuggled up the other day, sneaking out in the early morning to cozy up under a blanket and drink their morning coffee.
It had still been dark outside, and Brynn had cuddled in close like she always did, resting her head on Hallie’s shoulder.
Hallie stopped when they reached the end of the check-in desk, looking at the corner where she’d sat for most of her adolescence, watching the world go by. But it was also the place where, just days ago, Brynn had placed a deep, searching kiss on her lips when they’d been the only ones in the room.
Even when The Stone’s Throw had been a place that was hard for her to exist in, whether it was because of her family or Sydney leaving or her just feeling like time was marching on while she was staying the same, she’d always loved it.
It would always be home.
But now, it was imbued with so much more… light. And she was warmed from the inside out by the intensity of it.
Brynn had slowed and then stilled, shooting Hallie a smile over her shoulder. “Did you forget something?”
Hallie shook her head. “No.”
Turning fully, Brynn grabbed Hallie’s other hand, swinging their arms playfully. “Just taking a walk down memory lane?”
“More like thinking about how much my life has changed for the better since you wandered into it.” Hallie was committed to owning her feelings. No more running. No more fear. It was the absolute least that she could do for Brynn, a woman who deserved to always know how wanted and adored she was.
“I hear love can be crazy like that,” Brynn said.
Hallie’s heart skipped a beat and she moved closer, their coats brushing together as she wrapped Brynn up in her arms. “Do you know that from experience?”
Brynn smiled and leaned forward, brushing their noses together.
When she leaned back, she had the most beautiful, lopsided smile on her lips.
“Nothing I’ve done is crazy. I’m in love, yes, but everything happening between us makes more sense to me than anything else in my life ever has.
” Hallie’s chest ballooned until butterflies exploded in her stomach when Brynn said, eyes trained intently on Hallie, “Now, will you take me home? I have plans for you.”
Brynn hadn’t been joking, Hallie thought dimly as she was pressed against the closed door to their apartment.
She’d barely tugged off her boots before Brynn’s lips were on hers, hot and hungry and consuming all the air in the room.
All the control in Hallie’s body. All of Hallie’s well-meaning intent to take things slowly and make this as good for Brynn as possible.
Who, Hallie should have realized, didn’t need to be guided. Something in Brynn had been unlocked all those weeks ago, and if anything, it was Hallie who was trying to keep up.
Brynn shrugged out of her own coat and threw her hat on the floor before she pushed the bulky material off of Hallie’s shoulders, trying to do the same for her.
All the while, she never broke their kiss.
And she wasn’t going to get any resistance from Hallie, who pulled away from the doorframe at the same time that Brynn’s hands, needy and insistent, tugged her jacket down, where it fell with a soft thump to the floor.
It hadn’t been that long ago that they’d been in this exact position, only Hallie had been the instigator. The least surprising information for her to accept, wholeheartedly, was that Brynn had an exponential learning curve.
Still, she needed to be sure. Healthy communication and all that.
“Brynn,” she breathed out when Brynn’s lips shifted and she started placing light, nipping kisses across Hallie’s jaw. When she made it to Hallie’s ear and lightly sucked on her lobe, her whole body shuddered from how fucking good it felt.